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Honey Bees: Cooking in the Montessori Children’s House

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I am honored to share with you this simple food preparation activity from the Cooking in the Children’s House series by Megan Ray Durkin.  Megan has a goal — to help children feel they are stewards of the earth and true citizens of the world. The projects from Cooking in the Children’s House blend her appreciation for children’s […]

Learning About Bees

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Hands on activities for learning about bees in the preschool and Montessori classroom. When you’re working with preschoolers and young children, keep in mind that they need to have exposure to the real thing before working with abstract representations of it.  This is particularly true for nature.  Spend lots of time in nature.  Get dirty, see […]

A Tour of Jennifer’s Montessori Language Shelves

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Jennifer Nichols’ gave us a tour of the materials on her Montessori Language shelves in the Trillium Community Facebook group a few weeks ago and I am delighted to feature her photos on the blog today!  Jennifer has a charming little Montessori school in her home, called Whole Child Montessori.  Affiliate links are used in this […]

How I Started My Montessori School in Brazil

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We have another Montessori startup story!  This one comes from a mother and daughter team in Brazil.  They opened their school, Ziriguidum, a few years ago as a music program and added Montessori classes last year.   How did you discover Montessori and what made you fall in love with it? My mother worked with Montessori […]

A Tour of Audrey’s Montessori Classroom

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This week’s classroom showcase comes to you from Audrey Morrison of The Walden School in Pennsylvania.  Audrey shared these photos with us in the Trillium {Community} Facebook group and graciously answered lots of questions!  If you’re wondering about something you see on the shelves, you can find more details in this thread.  (You will need […]

Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: Science and Geography

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Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. This is the gorgeous special interest table aka “The Museum”. We rotate the objects to showcase various leaves, plants, animals, remains, etc. that the children find […]

Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: The Math Area

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Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. The first math shelf with the number rods, spindle boxes and other 0-10 work.   The Seguin Boards, Stamp Games, Dot Game, Hundred Board, Number Scroll […]

Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: Language Area

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Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! Let’s take a closer look at her language area here. You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. Sandpaper letters (lowercase, capitals and phonograms) as well as Sandpaper letter boards   A large […]

Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: Sensorial Area

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Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. The pink tower on a special stand and the brown stair color boxes and the binomial and trinomial cubes the geometric cabinet and cards. Missing on […]

Lauren’s Montessori Classroom: Practical Life

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Thank you to Lauren Franchek for sharing her beautiful classroom with us! You can find links to explore the other areas of her classroom at the bottom of this page. This is the Practical Life area of her Montessori classroom.  Lauren has a great eye for selecting attractive and unique materials. One corner of the […]

Simple Ways To Bring More Diversity Into Your Classroom Materials

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If you’re reading this, I’ll assume you already care about diversity in your classroom. And that you put in a conscious effort to make sure you avoid enforcing stereotypes and cultivating an atmosphere of tolerance and respect in your classroom. “Peace” and “inclusion” are probably mainstays of your curriculum already.   With that in mind, […]

What to do About Burned Out Teachers

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Burned out teachers are an unfortunate reality. Last week we discussed four common signs of teacher burnout. This week we are focusing on what to do when we have a teacher showing signs of burnout. I know a lot of leaders who put their heads in the sand when a teacher shows signs of burnout. […]

Four Common Signs of Teacher Burnout

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The start of the school year is always so exciting. Classrooms are refreshed and beautiful. New ideas and plans are on the forefront. The children are as inspiring and delightful as ever. Teachers seem ready to dive in and make their magic happen. Then, sometime in October or November, some teachers hit a wall. I […]

Movement in the Montessori Music Room

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by Carolyn Lucento “Okay! Time for our musical movement activity… but how do I effectively manage the children?”  If you find yourself asking this question during Music circle, then check out these tips from Carolyn Lucento of the Magical Movement Company!  Carolyn is a long time Montessorian and trained Orff-Schulwerk music specialist.  She teaches music classes […]

A Pun for Father’s Day

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Here’s an easy Father’s Day craft if you need to throw something together at the last minute! Even the preschoolers got a chuckle out of this one!  “He’s cute!”  “He looks nothing like my dad!” “I love his nose!” We talked about how this was a “pun”.  “A pun is a kind of joke where […]

9 Keys to Writing Effective Progress Reports

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I find it helpful to think of progress reports as just one of the components in my overall parent relations strategy.  Building a strong connection with parents is an essential piece of running a successful classroom and school. Keeping this in mind, we can structure our progress reports in a way that meets our overall goals […]

Integrating Cosmic Education into Everything

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Today’s post comes to you from Lisa of Montessori Kiwi.  Lisa is a Montessori Elementary teacher from New Zealand.  She shares some simple and easy ideas to help you integrate the concept of Cosmic Education into your daily classrom practice. -Seemi   What Cosmic Education Isn’t What it is Since it has been … necessary to give […]

Disruptive Classroom Behavior

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By Pamela Green In my years of teaching I have had opportunities to be with children who seem to bring disruption to the classroom. These are the ones who tend to be louder in body and voice, take up more space, make themselves heard before being seen, and at times leave others quaking in their wake. The parents of […]

Easter Preschool Activities

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This week I’m honored to share with you some photos contributed by one of our long time readers, Dagmar Brumovska!  She has a lot fun ideas that you can try on your preschool shelves for Easter.  We also have photos of the printable cards included in the Trillium Montessori Easter Preschool Pack.  Between the two, your […]

5 Simple Tips to Make Your Home More Montessori

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by Jo Ebisujima One of the striking things about a Montessori School is the style of the classroom. One will often find beautiful objects upon the shelves, laid out in a clean and uncluttered environment. The children are able to move freely and to access what they need. The environment is designed to promote independence. Montessori […]

How Rachel Started Her Montessori School

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Starting a Montessori school isn’t child’s play. You know that. It can be tough and it can challenge and change you in more ways than one. Rachel learnt that first hand when she made the transition from nannying and odd jobs to becoming the owner of a Montessori school. With a K-12 certification to teach […]

5 Crucial Steps to Firing a Teacher

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Leadership is an opportunity to connect with people and help them realize their greatest potential. As leaders, we are in a position to inspire others and support them as they build their strengths and make our organizations stronger. Sometimes, we have the distinct privilege of seeing potential in someone who does not see it in […]

Free Printable: Penguin Life Cycle

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We have a new free printable about the life cycle of a penguin on our subscriber page this week!   Emperor penguins are one of the most fascinating and iconic birds in the world. Known for their striking black and white feathers and their incredible endurance, these penguins live in one of the harshest environments […]

How Lindsey Started Her Montessori School

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A full-time job as a statistician. A thriving business creating and selling organic and natural creations such as soaps, massage bars, bath salts and children’s aprons. And
 starting a Montessori school, too. Yes, Lindsay Rymerson blew us away with her focus, dedication and passion for the Montessori methodology and her story about how to start […]

Social Stories

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I was introduced to the concept of Social Stories about 10 years ago by Pat Getz, the support services coordinator at the Montessori School of Syracuse.  The Social Stories technique, in my experience, works very well with Montessori Grace & Courtesy lessons. What are Montessori Grace & Courtesy Lessons?  “Grace and Courtesy” is the term […]

Pamela’s Story: Growing a Montessori School

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It was the year 1979 and Pamela Green was in college with a major in elementary education.  Her Educational Theory course professor took the class to a small Montessori school to learn about and observe this philosophy of education.  From the moment Pamela walked into that space, she was transformed.  In her words, “This was […]

Chinese New Year Preschool Activities

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Here are some of the activities we have on our Montessori preschool shelves in preparation for the Chinese New Year!   On the Fine Motor Shelf We kept our fine motor shelf pretty simple.  We just have a red theme with some rice and dishes from China.   Pouring red water Pouring 3 Tonging 1 Tonging […]

How Beth Started Her Montessori School

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Serving the Under-Served with Quality and Single Minded Passion Meet Beth Holley, the founder of Renaissance Montessori School. As a young 20-something, she was invited to visit a Montessori school.  Instinctively, she recognized the missing elements from her own education. She was quick to notice the beauty in the environment, the freedom of movement and […]

Simple Ways to Reduce Teacher Turnover at Your School

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“Susan just quit.” The news is delivered to me swiftly, and immediately a hot ball of stress forms in my stomach. This is going to be a pain to deal with. We have to replace her and we can’t just replace her with anyone, we have to replace her with someone who meets our expectations […]

How Summer Started Her Montessori School

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Summer Picha and Katie Wagoner were inspired to start a year-round Montessori school after attending a conference in Chicago. They opened their doors in September 2010 with one student. Their school, Peaceful Valley Montessori Academy, is located in the Golden Valley area of the Twin Cities (Minnesota, USA).  It is a year round school serving infants through […]

Montessori and Preschool Activities for Winter

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Preschoolers really enjoy winter activities! The winter season is a great opportunity to introduce children to new experiences, concepts and skills. Below you’ll find some great resources from around the web to help you create a winter theme for your classroom and provide fun and engaging preschool activities for winter. Montessori Preschool Activities for Winter: […]

How Simone Started Her Montessori School in Amsterdam

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Simone is an AMI qualified teacher with over ten years of experience. She opened her own Montessori program in 2008. Jacaranda Tree Montessori is Simone’s playgroup in Amsterdam (Netherlands). They have classes for babies, toddlers and preschoolers along with their parents. Simone is also the genius behind The Montessori Notebook, an online resource for parents who want to […]

A Year of Early Language Shelves

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I love the early language development area of my classroom!  There is a lot of foundational work that comes before children are introduced to letters.  Today’s post is about the kinds of activities we have on our pre-literacy or early language Montessori shelves.   The Language Area This is a photo of the Language area […]

Hanukkah

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These were some of the activities we had on our Montessori shelves in honor of Hanukkah last week.   On the Fine Motor Shelf We kept our fine motor shelf fairly simple with a blue and white color theme. Dry Pouring  Wet Pouring Funnel Pouring Tong Transfer Tonging and Making a pattern with pom poms Spooning marbles Spooning glittery […]

Types of Bats 3-Part Cards: Free Printable

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Bats are among the most intriguing creatures in the animal kingdom. With their unique adaptations and diverse species, they play a crucial role in our ecosystems. This blog post will introduce you to some fascinating types of bats, each with its own distinct characteristics and behaviors. From the tiny Bumblebee Bat to the majestic Grey […]

Fire Safety

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  A Visit from the Fire Fighters Don’t be afraid of the fire fighter! Up close and personal with the fire hydrant outside We got to see the fire truck! Fire Safety Work I printed this set of Fire Safety Tips Posters from PreKinders in card size (four posters to a page) to make a […]

HR Practices that Prevent Liability

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Leadership is all about relationships. When we work with others towards a common goal, there are bound to be complexities. On top of the natural challenges that exist in human relationships, leaders must also consider the potential liabilities inherent in their actions and policies. There is SO much to consider! That is why I am […]

Classroom Tour: Amy N

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Today I am thrilled to feature my dear friend Amy’s room on the Classroom Showcase Series.  Amy and I worked together for many years.  She is one of the most peaceful, thoughtful, down to earth, and fun people I know! This is an all-day classroom for children ages 3-6 years old.  The room is open from 7:30-5:30 daily. The outdoor […]

11 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

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  I am honored to welcome Maren Schmidt to the Trillium Montessori blog today!  If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t already know Maren, she is the author of Building Cathedrals Not Walls and Understanding Montessori: A Guide for Parents.  She also writes the very popular column Kids Talk and leads a wide […]

Free Printable: Snakes 3 Part Cards

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This week, we wanted to use these beautiful snake clipart illustrations by EduClips to create some 3-part cards to share! This set of 3-part cards includes color illustrations as well as blacklines. The following animals are included: American Copperhead Anaconda California King Emerald Tree Boa Green Python Hognose King Cobra Rattlesnake Sidewinder Western Hognose   Related Products Click […]

Montessori at the Beach

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Today, I am delighted to introduce you to my good friend Virginia Lozuke.  Virginia is the head of school and lead teacher at the Montessori Farm School in Durham, NC.  She was inspired to write this post as she enjoyed some time at the beach this summer.  You can follow her awesome school on Facebook. […]

Three Strategies for Hiring Right the First Time

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Everyone knows that making solid hires is one of the best strategies for ensuring that your school is a successful learning community that is attractive to the families in the area. We know that a terrific team member will make everyone’s experiences so much more positive. We also know that a bad hire can be […]

Stop Wasting Your Time & Start Hiring SMART

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When I first became a leader at a Montessori school I was immediately tasked with the job of hiring new teachers. It was a large school with seventeen classrooms and over fifty employees working in the building each day. It was also a school in crisis and employee turnover could officially be classified as “bananas”. […]

Strawberry Patch

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We enjoyed a family field trip to go strawberry picking last weekend! The weather was perfect The berries were plentiful And we couldn’t wait to eat them! Slicing strawberries with an egg slicer (affiliate link) Strawberry Theme Activities in the Classroom We had some red and berry themed activities on our fine motor shelf Spooning little […]

Phonetic Books for Beginning Readers

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Finding decodable reading books for early readers can be quite a challenge!  Below are some of the books we have in our classroom. The Peacekeeper Series I absolutely love the Peacekeeper Series available on Montessori Services.  Each story is set in a Montessori classroom and shows how the children prevent or resolve a conflict.  The words are phonetically […]

Preschool Printables for March and St. Patrick’s Day

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Here are some ideas for St. Patrick’s Day themed preschool activities to help you get ready for March.  These printables are available in the Trillium Montessori Shop.   Sorting pictures of shamrocks and people Shadow matching 0-10 Number Cards 0-10 Number Clip Cards Where is the leprechaun? Prepositions Game Follow 1-3 step directions Related Products Click […]

So You Want to Get Montessori Training

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I often get questions from people who are interested in getting Montessori training but have no idea where to start.   Even though Montessori has been around for a long time, it is just recently coming into mainstream awareness.  You have to dig a little bit to find the information you need. Hopefully the overview […]

Free Printable: Get Ready for February

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Do you have the February Seasonal Guide yet? It’s available in the Free Resource Library. You can also see pictures of many of these activities in the following posts from previous years: Valentine Theme Activities On the Language Shelves in February Grace and Courtesy The Importance of Grace and Courtesy     Related Products Click the images for details. (Affiliate […]

The Solar System

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Today’s guest post is by Disha Patel of Lotus Montessori Extensions.  She has some fun pictures of the variety of ways in which they explore planets in her class. Click the image below to see some of the activities we do here at Trillium when learning about Space in the following posts:     by […]

How Developmentally Appropriate is Sharing?

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By Pauline Meert A few months ago, I read an article on sharing that led to a lot of discussions and thinking.  The article “Some Parenting Rules are Meant to be Broken” by Beth W. from Very Bloggy over on sunnyskyz.com discusses her experience with “sharing”. Through examples of two experiences, one in a park where a child expects […]

Montessori Golden Beads

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by Jessica RenĂ©e A new visitor to a Montessori classroom will likely notice many unusual and intriguing materials, laid out on wooden shelves, as if calling out to be touched. This is exactly what happened recently at my dual-track school where some classes follow the traditional school model, and other classes follow the Montessori model. […]

Short Vowels: How Much is Enough Practice?

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By Cathie Perolman Read more about Cathie’s process for practicing letter sounds here: Are Sandpaper Letters Enough? The Letter Race Game Once a child has mastered some letters and is able to blend sounds into words he is ready for some “heavy duty” work with three letter short vowel words. As I visit schools and support […]

Free Printable: Get Ready for January

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The January Seasonal Guide is ready! You can also see pictures of many of these activities in the following posts from previous years: Fine Motor Activities for January What’s New on the Art Shelves in January? More Winter Activities Animals in Winter Animals in Winter Unit January Printables More Winter Printables The Mitten   Related Products In the Trillium Montessori […]

A Year of Montessori Fine Motor Shelves

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“Practical Life” is a huge area of the Montessori Curriculum.  It’s about giving children opportunities to engage in real everyday activities such as taking care of themselves and their surroundings, preparing food, cleaning up etc.  Real. Life. Stuff. Many Montessori teachers call their fine motor activities Practical Life activities.  I think of them more as […]

December Activities for Preschool

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Here are a few more December activities to round off the month! Sensorial Smelling and matching Christmas scented candles.  Use a blindfold for a fun challenge! Language We LOVE this “I Have Who Has” vocabulary development game from Kindergarten Squared Matching Christmas erasers with their outlines.  I don’t remember where I got these but they […]

Big Nature Connections in Small Spaces

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I’m honored to have Kelly Johnson on our blog today.  Kelly is a talented Montessori teacher, artist, and author.  She is passionate about expanding children’s experiences with nature.  If you’re a Montessori professional, you may have heard her speak at a Montessori conference, attended her recent AMS webinar, or read her articles in Montessori Life […]

A Celebration of Light – The Winter Solstice

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By Lisa Anderson Spending this time of the year with children reminds me of the beauty the holidays have to offer.  Our students come from a variety of backgrounds and we try to acknowledge each family’s cultural traditions and share the joys of the season. This year we are celebrating the winter solstice and preparing […]

Holiday Gifts Your Child Can Sew

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Please welcome Aimee Fagan!  Aimee’s work on the Montessori Works Blog has been an inspiration to me for a long time.  Aimee is a trained Montessori teacher and she has some wonderful resources for the practical life area of the classroom.  She also writes about her experiences raising her children in a Montessori home.  Today she […]

An Introduction to the Baric Tablets- A Montessori Sensorial Activity

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Today I’m excited to welcome Tanya Wright to the blog!  She is sharing some information about the Montessori Baric Tablets.  This is an elegant Montessori activity that you don’t hear about much, which is unfortunate because it’s an important part of the Montessori sensorial curriculum.   The senses are the child’s window to the world; […]

The Connected Family

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I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend Kim Hughes today!  Kim has been a master teacher, mentor and leader for many many years.  Although she’s not a Montessorian, her approach to discipline works very well with Montessori.  She is a certified Conscious Discipline Ÿ Loving Guidance Associate, personally trained by Dr. Becky Bailey. -Seemi by […]

A Montessori Lesson

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Today I’d like to introduce you to Linda Karchmar.  Linda is a now retired Montessori Guide who owned her own school for 28 years, and taught for 32 years.  She has a wonderful online store where she is selling materials from her school, including lots of lovely Practical Life items! You can also find children’s […]

Free Printable: Get Ready for November

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The November Seasonal Guide is ready!  All of our November seasonal activities have been compiled into one easy printable. You can also see pictures of many of these activities in the following posts from last year: November Fine Motor Shelf November Printables Learning About Leaves Thanksgiving in Our Class   Related Products In the Trillium Montessori Shop  

The Letter Race Game

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I’m excited to welcome Cathie Perolman back to the Trillium Montessori Blog!  Last time she was here, she gave us a wonderfully detailed look at many of her letter work activities.  Today she’s got a great letter sounds game to share with us.  This is perfect for students who are in the “second period” of […]

Preliminary Practical Life Exercises

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The Practical Life activities in a Montessori classroom are designed to be purposeful work that lead the child to an understanding of his environment and how it works.  These activities are appealing to the young child as they resemble everyday activities the child has seen adults complete.  The Practical Life Area of the classroom encompasses: […]

Small Space Montessori Setup: Kitchen and Wrap Up

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Montessori At Home Mondays with Marie Mack Small Space Montessori Setup Wow! Our last post in our Montessori At Home Monday’s series. I’m so excited to share with you all and thank you, again, Seemi! Did you miss the previous posts? Check them out here: Small Space: Introduction and Entryway Small Space: Living Room Small Space: […]

Small Space Montessori Setup: Bathroom

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Montessori At Home Mondays with Marie Mack Small Space Montessori Setup I am excited to be back for part four of our Montessori At Home Monday’s series. Did you miss the previous posts? Check them out here: Small Space: Introduction and Entryway Small Space: Living Room Small Space: Bedroom and Closet The Bathroom We all […]

Small Space Montessori Setup: Children’s Room and Closet

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Montessori At Home Mondays with Marie Mack Small Space Montessori Setup I am excited to be back for part three of our Montessori At Home Monday’s series. You can view part one and part two to catch up if you missed them! The Children’s Room Our children have shared a room since our daughter was […]

Montessori at Home and on a Budget

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This week I’d like to introduce you to the talented Nicole Kavanaugh.  I first found Nicole when I was looking for resources to share with the parents at our school about how to set up their homes in a Montessori friendly way.  I loved how she had her bathroom set up to help her little […]

Small Space Montessori Setup: Living Room

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Montessori At Home Mondays with Marie Mack Montessori Setup in a Small Space Thank you, Seemi, for having me back for part two of our Montessori At Home Monday’s series. If you missed part one, check it out here! I would love to show you around our living room next. We used this space for […]

Life Cycle of a Ladybug: Free Printable

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The life cycle of a ladybug has four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs hatch into larvae that eat pests. Larvae molt into pupae. After 1-2 weeks, adult ladybugs emerge to continue eating pests before mating and laying eggs. Ladybugs capture the imagination of preschoolers and kindergarteners everywhere with their bright colors, spots, and […]

Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Free Printable

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Butterflies captivate children with their vivid colors and elegant flight, making them a perfect subject for educational exploration. The life cycle of a butterfly—from egg to caterpillar, then chrysalis, and finally adult butterfly—is a remarkable process that offers valuable lessons in biology, growth, and adaptation. In this article, we take a look at the life […]

Life Cycle of a Cicada: Free Printable

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As spring and summer approach, many parts of the world will be filled with the loud, distinctive calls of cicadas. These insects have a unique life cycle that can be both captivating and educational for children. To help you teach your students or homeschoolers about cicadas, we’ve put together a free download that includes cicada […]

Free Printable: Aquarium Fish

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This week’s 5th Anniversary Freebie Friday features common aquarium fish.   This set of 3-part cards includes color illustrations as well as blacklines. The following aquarium fish are included: Angelfish Clown loach Female molly Male molly Female swordtail Male swordtail Neon tetra Zebrafish    

Free Printable: Arctic Animals

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This week’s 5th Anniversary Freebie Friday features Arctic Animals!  I know it’s summer here in the northern hemisphere right now, but you can always plan ahead for the winter months!   This set of 3-part cards includes color illustrations as well as blacklines.   The following animals are included: Fox Hare Tern Wolf Caribou Dall sheep Harp seal […]

Free Printable: Animals of North America

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This week’s 5th Anniversary Freebie Friday features woodland Animals of North America.   This set of 3-part cards includes color illustrations as well as blacklines. The following animals are included: Badger (looks a lot like the European badger from our Europe set.. uhoh!) Beaver Bear Cougar Coyote Deer Bald Eagle Elk Fox Owl Raccoon Skunk Squirrel Wolf   […]