Comments on: My Top Ten Favorite Montessori Materials

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 03:12:54 +0000

Yes, I love that video! I have linked to it from my Montessori for Everyone Facebook page and of course it’s been passed around on Twitter, Facebook, etc. by many people.

By: Salena Tucker

Salena Tucker — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:07:35 +0000

I love that quote ! Thank you for that. Have you seen that video of Ken Robinson “School kills creativity” ?

By: Salena Tucker

Salena Tucker — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:06:00 +0000

The ease of the 3 part lesson with my 5 year old. I realized that in the past I was not taking the time to actually say the names of things with him. The fact that I know now a way to show him without frustration.. Name it, Show it, Ask it. If he gets it wrong, name it again, without correcting him… This montessori method I have been doing really makes our education at home seem very natural. I can see that they are more relaxed. They smile when I say thank you for coming to play with me (what I call the introduction sessions). I so appreciate how free that makes me feel too.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:02:26 +0000

Yes, it’s really true, that old saying: “Education is not the filling of a bucket, it’s the lighting of a fire.” Just grab their curiosity and they take it from there!

By: Salena Tucker

Salena Tucker — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:59:41 +0000

And the most beautiful part is, they don’t know that they are learning! We try to introduce them in a way that is very casual. “Look at this beautiful place”. Wonder what these kids did everyday! ” And that relaxed, non-threating method is what Montessori has taught me. My 8 year old would run if he thought it was school, or something I was forcing upon him. (Sad statement on what public school did to him, I know).

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:46:59 +0000

Hi, Salena! You’d be surprised at how many homeschooling families and public school teachers bring “a little bit of Montessori” into their classrooms. I agree with you – every little bit is a gift you can give to your children!

By: Salena Tucker

Salena Tucker — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 00:32:23 +0000

I am a homeschooled mom, and not trained in Montessori. As I’ve researched Montessori, I am coming to realize that I may not be able to teach my kids in the true Montessori way. I can’t afford lots of materials…but with all the free and fairly affordable printable materials, nomenclature cards, classification cards, the one thing I know for sure is, even if all my kids get to do is look at those, they will be exposed to much more than what I would have thought to expose them to. For instance the 7 wonders of the world cards on this site. Beautiful! Just showing my kids those make me feel like I have done a good thing. Just with those cards, and the internet and the library, my 8 year old can find days worth of things to learn and talk with mom about ! We may not have the rods and beads and checkerboards, but we have the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, and the temple of Artemis! My 5 year old and I do the calendar activity set, just for fun ! In my opinion, thats is what education should be. Thank you for that!

By: Meredith

Meredith — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 22:38:00 +0000

Well, I caved and went ahead and bought ALL the bead material, I couldn’t wait, LOL!!! I’m sure I’ll be inspired to make other stuff, this was just too daunting!! Maybe I’ll make a quilt checkerboard in my spare time Thanks for the links to the presentation materials.

By: Lori Bourne

Lori Bourne — Tue, 22 May 2007 01:32:00 +0000

Good for you for making the beads! That’s definitely a “doable” project; I buy handmade bead stairs from a mom on eBay and they’re awesome – I don’t have the time to make them, but she does a great job.

By: Meredith

Meredith — Mon, 21 May 2007 15:33:00 +0000

Thank you for your list! And the links for info too!! I’m just about to embark on making my own bead materials this summer. I’d love to just buy them all, but there are so many other Montessori materials that I want to buy that I couldn’t make appropriately so I thought I’d start with the bead materials as I know my dc will want to work with them right away!! I really enjoy your blog and site, thank you for providing such great resources and ideas!! Blessings!
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/sweetness_and_light/