Designing a Montessori Classroom
The wide range of glorious Montessori materials is one of the best things about the Montessori method, but putting it all together in a classroom so that everything is neatly arranged (and easy to find) is a challenge.
I often get questions from both parents and teachers on how to arrange a classroom, and I’ve blogged about it quite a bit, but the posts are spread around so I’m going to bring them together in one giant post.
Q. What do I need in my classroom?
Essentials of a Toddler Classroom
Essentials of a 3-6 Classroom
Essentials of a 6-9 Classroom
I don’t have a list for 9-12 but if someone does, email me at montessoriforeveryone@gmail.com and I’ll add it to the blog 
Q. How do I arrange the shelves?
The Underlying Organization of a Montessori Classroom
Q. How do I arrange the materials?
Organizing Your Montessori Materials
Tricks and Tips for the Montessori Classroom
Using Multi-Drawer Cabinets to Organize Materials
Q. Questions to Ask When Looking Over Your Classroom
A Little Bit of Thought Goes a Long Way
Q. How can I fit a Montessori classroom area into my home?
My Homeschool Classroom
Our Home Classroom Part 1: The Art Area
Q. How do I organize my Montessori stuff behind the scenes?
My Montessori Closet
Using Carts to Organize Materials
I know that many of you have pictures on your blogs of your classrooms (school or home or both). Please put links in the comments so everyone can see! The more ideas the better.
Here’s to lovely, organized classrooms!
What a great post! And something that I really needed to read. I just posted about some of our homeschooling space over at my site, so this is very timely. Next on my list of purchases: low bookshelves! I just need to find a good place to find them at a good price. And, preferably, with sliding doors so my 1 year-old doesn’t get into all of my daughter’s work.
Thanks for the pics of your learning areas! Good inspiration for the rest of us! Baby steps…
Hi, Raven! So glad you can use this information. Bookshelves can be hard to find. I like the ones from Target, and when my daughter was little I bought the kind with doors – we used a latch to keep them shut when we weren’t using them.
Hi!
Thank you so much for all of your helpful blogs. I have spent a lot of time reading your posts and they are so practical and helpful!
I have been teaching for 2 1/2 years at a private school and I just finished my Montessori training by correspondence in November. I have implemented a lot of what I learned as I went (It took 9 months) and then even more after I finished, and I plan to go “totally Montessori” next year.
The only thing that I am really hung up on is how to store the students’ work. In my training they describe individual student bins with a binder for each subject, but then in all of the illustrations they have lined notebooks. My experience with binders is that pages get ripped out and they are very large and hard for kids to handle (My class is grades 2 and 3). I have searched and read every blog I could find, but could find no clear explanation of how other teachers store student work. As you have experience teaching at the 6-9 level, I was wondering what you had your students do their work in, and how you stored it?
Thanks!
Hi, Sheena!I’ve mentioned this before, but I use notebook paper (not in notebooks) that the students put on their clipboards one sheet at a time. When they fill both sides (putting all work together, whether math, botany, etc.), they give it to me and I put it in a binder for them. One binder per child.
It works beautifully and there is no need to juggle multiple binders/notebooks for each child.
I would LOVE to see pictures of other people’s environments. I’ve been at the same school for 24 years now and have yet to see other classrooms besides the ones I’ve observed in. I love looking at other spaces for inspiration and ideas!