Jenny Piriankov is the Director of Kamelini Montessori Centre.
She was born and raised in Bulgaria. She received her Bachelor Engineering degree from the Technical University in Sofia. She also studied and completed a course of Professional Photography at the National academy for Theater and Film Arts in Sofia. After marrying, Jenny and her husband spent 12 years in South Africa. In 2002, they bought a house in Johannesburg, which was functioning for more than 35 years as a private kindergarten and they converted it to a Montessori Pre-primary School. They named it “Kamelini”. She worked there as a Directress and Manager for almost 6 years.
Jenny discovered the Montessori philosophy when her first child Kamen was born and she signed up in 2001as a student at The College of Modern Montessori, where she became a certified Montessori Directress. In 2007, Jenny with her family moved back to Bulgaria with the intention to open a Montessori School in Sofia.
Jenny especially enjoys teaching math, English language, geography, art and cultural activities. While in Johannesburg, she ran a Bulgarian School on Saturdays where she was teaching the children of Bulgarian families the Bulgarian language, traditions, history and culture. Her Montessori classroom was an International mixture of English, Afrikaans, Portuguese, Greek, Swedish, Polish, Bulgarian, Serbian, African, Indian children. Jenny feels it is very important to bring the outside world into the classroom by making children aware of current affairs.
Jenny lives in Sofia with her family – husband and three children – Kamen, Elitsa and Ralitsa. All of them graduated from Kamelini Montessori.
In her spare time, she likes to go to the theater, read books, sewing and watching movies. She also enjoys playing tennis, swimming and going for nature walks.
Jenny feels the primary attributes students gain from the Montessori program are independence, respect for others, culture and education. “From the Montessori method, they’ll be more independent workers and achievers, and more contented and patient.” She feels that through Montessori, they will be happier in their lives and have the courage to face the truth.
Dr Maria Montessori, the first woman to graduate from the University of Tome Medical School, became interested in education as a doctor treating mentally handicapped children. After returning to the university for further study, she began her work with non – handicapped children in 1904.