Montessori Basics

Montessori Basics 10: Homeschooling with Montessori

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

I receive many, many questions from people who are interested in homeschooling with Montessori. Even though I’ve addressed this topic before, I thought it would be helpful to answer some of these questions in one big, comprehensive blog post so that I can refer people to it as a resource. It ended up being pretty [...]

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Montessori Basics 9: Sandpaper Letters

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007

In Dr. Montessori’s day, children were made to practice forming letters by first writing an almost endless series of vertical strokes. Montessori immediately saw that this method completely ignored the fact that so many of the letters in our alphabet are based on curves (think about ‘o’, ‘c’, ‘b’, etc.). The work being given to [...]

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Montessori Basics 8: Pink, Blue, and Green Series

Saturday, June 30th, 2007

The Pink, Blue, and Green Series work is an integral part of Montessori language. Many people have questions about these materials, though. They don’t seem quite as self-explanatory as other common Montessori work. There’s a lot to know about the history and usage of these materials – so read on for more info!
When Maria Montessori [...]

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Montessori Basics 7: Essentials of a Toddler Classroom

Monday, May 28th, 2007

Welcome to the next post in the Montessori Basics series! This one is an overview of basic materials for the toddler classroom. While Maria Montessori put 0-3 year olds in a subgroup of the 0-6 plane of development, most schools have an infant room and a toddler room, separating the environments. Children usually move to [...]

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Montessori Basics 6: Essentials of a 6-9 Classroom

Sunday, May 20th, 2007

I’ve actually posted this info before, but now I’m adding it to my “Montessori Basics” series, plus I’ve added some helpful links at the end of the post. Essential General Equipment:
1. Sturdy table or open floor where work can be done2. Shelves for holding the work3. Work rug and a table mat (placemat) 4. [...]

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Montessori Basics 5: Essentials of a 3-6 Classroom

Monday, May 14th, 2007

Welcome to the next installment of the Montessori Basics series! According to my visitor tracking program, the first four posts in this series have been extremely popular. I actually did a variation on this post a few months ago, but I’ve updated and expanded it for this series.
Many times people ask me what the [...]

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Montessori Basics 4: A Montessori Glossary

Tuesday, May 8th, 2007

The next post in this series is a quick overview of some commonly used terms in Montessori education. If you’re new to Montessori, it can be a little overwhelming at first (almost like learning a new language!) so it’s good to get an idea of what these terms mean.
Absorbent Mind: Montessori believed that children [...]

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Montessori Basics 3: Ultimate Guide to Montessori Materials & Links

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007

My favorite “Montessori Basics” post so far – I think this could be very helpful. I’ve done variations of it before, but this one is definitely the most comprehensive. I’m delighted to say that for every website listed here, I have either used their materials or know them personally (or both), so I’m confident in [...]

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Montessori Basics 2: A Guide to Montessori Books

Friday, April 27th, 2007

I’m excited to continue my “Montessori Basics” series with this next post. I’ve assembled a list (with links) to the best printed resources for parents and teachers. The sources vary, since not every company carries every book. In most cases the titles are self-explanatory, but click on any link and you’ll be able to read [...]

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Montessori Basics 1: The 3-Period Lesson

Saturday, April 21st, 2007

I’m starting a new series of posts over the next few weeks. I’m really excited about them! Many of you email me with questions that are basic to the Montessori method, so this will be a way to answer them for everyone. I’ll be permanently linking to each post in my blog sidebar so that [...]

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