0-3 Refresher Course

2026 Topic: Practical Life
Online • January 12 – April 27, 2026
Mondays • 6:30–8:30 pm CT

A space to reconnect, reflect, and rediscover the heart of Practical Life.

Register Now!

Welcome to Refresh with MINT

Refresh with MINT is an invitation to return to the roots of Assistants to Infancy work. Over the course of five months, we will slow down together, revisit the foundations of Practical Life, and renew the practices that support young children in the earliest years.

Created with the realities of today’s Montessori communities in mind, this online refresher blends meaningful discussion, focused observation, and space to integrate new insights into your daily work. The monthly rhythm offers time to practice, reflect, and return with new questions.

Whether you’ve been in the classroom for many years or are returning after time away, this refresher is designed to hold and support your continued growth.

Meet the Trainer

Cristel Ruiz, M.Ed.

Cristel Ruiz is an AMI 0-3 Trainer and an AMI-USA 0-3 Consultant. Cristel has studied and followed Montessori philosophy for over twenty years in many capacities, most importantly as the Montessori parent to three amazing humans. Cristel has worked as an Assistants to Infancy (0-3) Classroom Guide; the creator of the Parent-Infant Program at Waypoint Montessori (formerly the Barbara Gordon Montessori School); the Chief Education Officer at a Montessori toy company; an AMI 0-3 Trainer-in-Training with The Montessori Institute in Denver, Colorado; the Head of School at Waypoint Montessori; and the Special Projects Coordinator and Operations Manager at the Montessori Institute of North Texas (MINT). Cristel holds a Master of Education in Montessori Integrative Learning from Endicott College, the AMI Assistants to Infancy (0-3) Diploma from the Montessori Institute of North Texas, a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature, with a focus in Education, from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and the AMI Montessori Core Principles Certificate from MINT, as well as Musikgarten Training for ages birth to five. 

  • During the 0–3 refresher, you will:

    • Revisit core principles of Practical Life in the Nido and Infant Community

    • Strengthen observation and intentional planning

    • Refresh your understanding of how environment, materials, and routine support the child’s development

    • Explore new ways to prepare beauty, order, and purpose in daily life

    • Reconnect with a community of Montessori guides reflecting on similar joys and challenges

    • Integrate learning gradually over time, supported by the monthly format

    This is a space to deepen—not rush—your practice.

  • The refresher unfolds gently across eight live sessions, each 120 minutes, held every other Monday. All sessions take place online via Zoom, making participation accessible for guides around the world.

    Between sessions, you will be invited to observe, reflect, and try small shifts in your own environment. Attendance is encouraged for the full experience. Recordings will be available when unavoidable absences occur.

    No special software is needed beyond Zoom.

  • Mondays • 6:30–8:30 pm Central Time
    Online via Zoom

    • January 12, 2026 — Re-envisioning Practical Life in the Nido and Infant Community

    • January 26, 2026 — Food, Glorious Food

    • February 9, 2026 — Caring for the Whole Person: Dressing, Undressing, and Toileting

    • February 23, 2026 — Caring for the Whole Person: Sleep in Communities

    • March 9, 2026 — The Great Outdoors: Engaging Young Children in Nature

    • March 23, 2026 — Grace and Courtesy: Supporting Adaptation in a Positive Community

    • April 13, 2026 — Informing Practical Life through Purposeful Movement

    • April 27, 2026 — Care, Order, and Beauty in the Indoor Environment

  • Coming Soon