Teacher Spotlight: Eva Leung, Primary
March 23, 2015

el I was born and raised in Hong Kong. The oldest child in my family, I grew up with my grandparents, parents, two sisters and two brothers, and I spent many hours taking care of my brothers and sisters and helping them with their homework. My grandmother and mother taught me how to cook, knit, and sew. In so many ways, my childhood home represented Maria Montessori’s vision of an ideal classroom. On the weekends, I took music and piano lessons.

Learning and teaching came naturally to me, so I decided to follow my heart and pursue a college degree in Early Childhood Education and become a kindergarten teacher. I learned about Montessori education at Grantham College of Education in Hong Kong, where I graduated  with a degree in early childhood education, and then started teaching in Our Lady Kindergarten in Hong Kong from 1980-1995. After I married, I was very excited to start a family of my own.  I had my first son Keith and was doubly-blessed the following year with twin boys, Andrew and Daniel. I was so excited that I was now able to raise my own children with the Montessori philosophy.

In 1995, my family and I moved to the United States, and the following year, I started to work as an assistant at MSLF. I was fortunate to work with two wonderful mentors. Through careful observation and working along with them, I saw how the philosophy, materials, and environment are all natural ways to support how children work and learn. I fell in love with my work and enjoyed it so much I could not wait to have my own classroom. With my mentors’ strong encouragement, I started my Primary Training at the Ohio Montessori Training Institute in Cleveland OH, which I completed in 2004.

For the next ten years (1996-2006), I recognized that many children spent long hours in school, and I thought it would be wonderful to create a Montessori After-School Club for the children and their families. I created an environment with music, art, cooking, knitting, sewing and Chinese where the children could continue to work and grow in a Montessori manner after school hours. In 2006, I became the directress of the Primary After-School Club. In the Clubroom, we work as a big family with primary children from four different classrooms; siblings and friends work together in a homelike environment which embodies the Montessori philosophy. I encourage children to choose their own developmental path: to learn at a deeper level, increase their social skills, and have more authentic experiences. In addition to my primary training, I hold a Certificate of Music in Pianoforte Playing and Theory from The Royal School of Music in Hong Kong, which enables me to teach the children the art of music appreciation and movement. The children are now enjoying many songs in English and Chinese.

I have taught Chinese lessons in the Primary classroom since 2008 and in Elementary since 2012. I have created all of my Chinese materials according to the Montessori Method while also using music, songs and videos to help children enrich their learning experiences.

All three of my sons are successfully living and working in Hong Kong, and I have recently been blessed with a grandson, Princeton. In my free time, I enjoy my exercise classes and playing the piano. I love to visit my 98 year old grandmother and most importantly to visit with Princeton on Skype in Hong Kong.  I look forward to Princeton attending MSLF in the near future.

— Eva Leung, February 2015

By Teresa Pavelich June 2, 2025
At MSLF, overnight trips become an important part of Montessori learning beginning in Lower Elementary. Each trip is carefully planned to meet the developmental needs of students in the second and third plane of development , with each overnight trip getting progressively longer to ease children into these independent journeys away from their families. These aren't just trips - they're carefully crafted opportunities for students to discover who they are, what they're capable of, and how they can contribute to their community and the wider world. Beginning in their first year of Lower Elementary, students take their first MSLF overnight trip to Nature’s Classroom in Wisconsin. For many Lower Elementary students, this trip represents their first nights away from home. During their trip they explore the outdoors, work together in groups, use their practical life skills during community meals, and grow! It’s this first overnight trip for MSLF students where parents and staff remark how students come back almost transformed after being able to develop their independence in a supportive environment. Our Upper Elementary classroom has embarked on overnight trips to both Camp Timber-lee in Wisconsin and The Country Experience at Amstutz Family Farm in Elizabeth, IL. Both locations provide students with increasing opportunities to apply their practical life skills, like checking the weather to ensure they have weather-appropriate gear for their trip. Every task empowers them to develop self-reliance and problem-solving skills. These trips are also opportunities for the students to get to know one another and build strong relationships with their peers and with the adults in their classroom. Adolescent Program students at MSLF have opportunities to visit both Springfield, IL and Washington, DC . These overnight trips tie directly into their studies – connecting curriculum learned in the classroom to experiences in the wider community. They often take their learning on the road, for example by watching a legislative session in action in Springfield to see which bills are passed during their trip or presenting their research papers at monuments in Washington, DC. And for these students, the skills they built on their trips in Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary are put to work, as they pack their own bags, learn more about public transportation, and plan their daily itineraries to make the most out of their visit. Experiences like these at MSLF support the child’s independence, laying the groundwork for transitions in later life: the start of high school, going away to college, a first job, and beyond. As they conquer challenges outside their comfort zone, their confidence soars, laying the foundation for the autonomy and independence they will continue to utilize throughout their Montessori experience and beyond. It’s good for parents, too, to see how truly capable our children are!
By Teresa Pavelich March 7, 2025
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