illumine

11/04/2026

Would Maria Montessori use AI? 🤖

Tim Seldin says she "was always interested in the idea that technology could be useful." But, in his words, "let's not go crazy."

"Let's not just assume that AI is going to be the next instructor, or that it's going to be how our kids learn to write."

On the new episode of Talking with Tim, he shares how he uses AI as a Montessori educator, from asking Claude to help him write better prompts to drafting parent reports. Plus, 7 Montessori misconceptions, cleared up.

🎧 Full episode on YouTube. Link in bio.

Would you use AI in your classroom? Tell us below 👇

EarlyYears

11/02/2026

Gearing up for a busy November: 5 events, 5 states. 🚀

Here is where the illumine team will be this month:

📍 Nov 1–4 | HINGE Advisors SHIFT Leaders Conference, Clearwater Beach, FL
📍 Nov 6 | New Jersey Montessori Association Corporation (NJMAC), Edison, NJ
📍 Nov 7 | American Montessori Society (AMS) Regional Labposium, Palo Alto, CA
📍 Nov 12–15 | Childcare Millionaires Association (CMA) Live 2026, Houston, TX
📍 Nov 14 | AMS Regional Labposium, Philadelphia, PA

Catch Navneet, Nasser, Isabel and Tony along the way. Attending any of these? Come say hi! We would love to meet you 💜

CMALive ChildcareConference Preschool FloridaEvents NewJersey CaliforniaEvents HoustonEvents TexasEvents PhiladelphiaEvents

10/21/2026

October, wrapped. 4 events, 4 states. 🚀

📍 Child Care Success Summit (CCSS), Arlington, TX
Anna Leichter and Nasser Hedjazi kept our booth buzzing. Thank you, Ben Poswalk and the CCSS team!

📍 American Montessori Society (AMS) Labposium, Denver, CO
Tony Ortiz led a workshop, and we were proud to be a Platinum Sponsor.

📍 Florida Association for the Education of Young Children (FLAEYC), Jacksonville, FL
Isabel Riley represented illumine at The Power of Play.

📍 Attract, Enroll, Engage, and Retain Families, Oakland, CA
Our own event, led by Tim Seldin and Anna Leichter. Thank you, Sandi Zorinich, for hosting us at Rockridge Montessori!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by. See you at the next one 💜

childcareleaders FLAEYC AMSLabposium

10/16/2026

09/05/2026

Behind every face, behind every picture, there’s a bigger picture. 🌎🏫

This is what staying close to ECE looks like.

Sitting across from the people making enrollment decisions. Talking with the leaders thinking about their next location. Hearing what directors are still doing by hand. Meeting the partners influencing where the industry goes next.

For illumine, those rooms matter.

We’re building one platform that follows the actual lifecycle of a childcare center, from that first family inquiry to enrollment, tuition, classroom management, staff operations, parent communication, and the data leadership needs to know what’s happening across their school.

So yes, we’ll keep showing up, asking questions, making connections, and paying attention.

There’s a much bigger picture behind what we’re building at illumine, and a whole lot of smiles to prove it. 💜

09/04/2026

Some of the best conversations happen right here at the booth 💜

Directors shared what their days actually look like: covering classrooms, supporting teachers, answering families, managing billing, and still trying to grow their schools.

That’s the work behind every illumine feature. Childcare AI and automation built around the real needs of early educators, so teams can spend less time managing the chaos and more time creating meaningful experiences for children and families.

We’re always grateful for every conversation, every story, and every opportunity to keep learning from the ECE community. ✨

09/03/2026

A child has a great day at school.

They try something new. They finally write their name. They make a new friend. They say something hilarious during circle time.

The teacher knows the moment.

But what happens when the family receiving that update speaks a different language?

That small moment still deserves to make it home. 💜

With our Ai translation tool built directly into illumine, educators can share the moments that matter with families in the language they understand, without adding another step to an already busy day.

More families included in the conversation.
More moments making it home.
More connection between school and family.

Sometimes the smallest features make a very human difference. 🌍🧑‍🧑‍🧒

09/01/2026

The best part of ECE will always be the people. 💜

A little look back at Born to Teach, surrounded by directors, educators, owners, and some seriously good energy.

We spend a lot of time talking about how technology can make childcare easier. Being in rooms like this reminds us who we’re building it for.

The people opening the doors every morning, keeping classrooms moving, supporting families, and somehow still finding time to laugh through the chaos.

That’s the community behind illumine. And that’s who we’ll keep building for.

08/29/2026

Take a look inside one of our illumine workshops 👀

This one was all about turning inquiries into enrollments, but the bigger picture is simple: we want to be in the room with childcare leaders talking about the things that actually impact their schools.

Real conversations. Real challenges. Real strategies providers can take back and use.

That’s a big part of how we show up at illumine, not just as a technology partner, but as part of the ECE community itself.

Because the more we listen, learn, and share with the people doing the work, the better we can build for them. 💜

08/28/2026

The part of childcare we’re getting dangerously close to losing…

Nobody chooses childcare because they’re passionate about paperwork.

You chose it for this.

The little hands reaching for yours.
The child who finally trusts you enough to join the group.
The high five after they did something they swore they couldn’t do.
The hugs that somehow happen right when you need one too.

For directors, it’s walking past a classroom and seeing those moments happening naturally.

For teachers, it’s knowing that in the middle of the chaos, you became someone’s safe place.

But somewhere along the way, being present started competing with everything else that has to get done.

Document it. Upload it. Plan it. Send it. Track it. Repeat.

And the people who came into this work to pour into children are spending more and more of their day trying to keep up with the work around them.

We don’t think technology should replace what happens in these photos.

We think it should protect it.

Because the best thing we can give educators isn’t another thing to do.

It’s more time to do the part that made them choose this work in the first place. 🤍

That’s the intention behind what we’re building at illumine.