CONTENTS
SEPTEMBER 2020
Erica Scherzer on motherhood, philanthropy and this year’s crazy baseball season.

Pg. 39
12
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Nuturing a love for performing during a
pandemic 14

18

30

34
STAR TEACHER
Expert advice on helping your kids thrive online
this semester
AWKWARD TIMES
How to navigate social interactions with your
family’s health and safety in mind
YOU CAN DO THIS
A back-to-school guide for parents of kids with
special needs
OPTING OUT OF ZOOM
One mom’s decision to log out of distance
learning in the spring
DEPARTMENTS 6
8 EDITOR’S PICKS
This month’s must-haves and must-know-abouts
RECIPES
Easy lunch ideas
9 DIY
10
32
Make vanilla latte soap
DMV FUN
Fall festivals and activities for the whole family
HEALTHY FAMILY
Youth sports during COVID-19
36 BOOKMARKED
Books about the performing arts
39
MOM LIFE
Meet Erica Scherzer: mother of two, volunteer
and baseball wife
DIRECTORIES READERS’ RESPONSES
WE WANT
YOUR FEEDBACK
We welcome your feedback—on specific articles,
overall themes and anything else related to
editorial content. Email your comments to
info@washingtonfamily.com. Please note we reserve the right to edit or refrain
from publishing comments we deem inappropriate.

2 Washington FAMILY SEPTEMBER 2020
22 BACK TO SCHOOL
27 THE ARTS
28 MONTESSORI
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERICA SCHERZER ; IZUSEK / 1224902548 / E+; OLGA NIKIFOROVA / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
FEATURES



ADVERTORIAL
OUR FUTURE LEADERS WILL COME FROM MONTESSORI
If the COVID-19 crisis has taught us
anything, it is that we are part of an
interdependent, fragile world. It has
also taught us the vital importance of
scientific thinking. Finally, it has taught
us that problems of this magnitude and
complexity require adaptive leaders who
can work with others to create effective
strategies around which all segments of
society can coalesce.

Fostering an interdependent mindset,
scientific thinking and adaptive
leadership skills has been foundational
to the Montessori approach to education
since Maria Montessori launched her
first school in 1907. These outcomes are
natural by-products of the way Montessori
classrooms function: teachers introduce
concepts in a big-picture perspective,
allowing students to move about freely and
work in small groups, experimenting and
engaging in self-directed projects. This
structure provides many opportunities for
students to practice leading teams and
working together to accomplish a goal.

Sometimes parents ask, “How will my
child be prepared for the real world?” Our
answer is that Montessori principles are
the very things our children need to learn
to not only be successful in the world,
but to improve the world. Montessori
principles such as self-motivation,
initiative, creative thinking, scientific
theory, emotional intelligence, ethics,
communication and leadership will be
integral if we want to see a world that can
better address the next global crisis.

At Oneness-Family Montessori High
School, the only Montessori high school
in the Washington area, we are building
a 21st Century Leadership program
founded upon Maria Montessori’s vision.

We’ve gathered a team of exceptional
thought leaders to create a program
that incorporates essential leadership
skill sets and will have students
joining together for a real-world
capstone project in their community
each year. The program will launch in
September 2020.

6701 Wisconsin Ave. / Chevy Chase, MD 20815 / 301.652.7751
onenessfamily.org / admissions@onenessfamily.org
OFFERING the best
in MONTESSORI
EDUCATION for
30 years
Join Us for
a Virtual Tour
301-652-7751 admissions@onenessfamily.org
admissions@onenessfamily.org VOTED “BEST MONTESSORI SCHOOL
IN THE DC-AREA”
— 2016,
2017, 2017,
2018, 2018,
2019, 2019
2020 — 2016,
— —
WashingtonFAMILY.com 3