Montessori: What is it?
Montessori education, a revolutionary approach to learning developed by Dr. Maria Montessori over a century ago, stands out for its unique focus on the individual child’s natural development. Characterized by self-directed activities within a prepared environment and guided by specially trained teachers, this method nurtures children’s innate curiosity and desire to learn, fostering both academic […]
Rocks Observation and Discussion
Walkinā N Rockin’ A beginning-of-the-year lesson plan by Claudia Mann If my Facebook āteacherā groups are any indication, this is a pretty exciting time of year for most of you who are called to this profession. Photo posts of prepared classrooms almost shout the anticipation of teachers who are ready to get those little ones […]
Handwork in the Montessori EnvironmentĀ
In Montessori environments, we pride ourselves on having a culture of self-lead work. We inspire children to be mathematicians, writers, discoverers and researchers. We also teach children the value of the ability to work with our hands. How to Create a Culture of Handwork in Your Montessori Environment By Carol Palmer Handwork, the creative, constructive […]
Filtering Out Hiring Bias
I am dripping with bias. So are you. From affinity bias to confirmation bias, we are all prone to filtering our decisions through the lens of our personal biases. It is normalā¦and it is not okay in a hiring process. In the United States, hiring bias is significant. The rates of several measures of hiring […]
A Tour of Pine Cottage
I am delighted to feature Pine Cottage from the Montessori School of Syracuse (MSS) in our Classroom Showcase series this week! My Montessori spiritual roots lie at this school. This was the school where I first discovered Montessori. I found a job here as an assistant teacher right out of grad school. I then went for […]
Care of Self for Montessori Teachers
If you have Montessori training for the 0-6 year old levels, then you are familiar with the section in your Practical Life Album called “Care of Self”. This section covers all kinds of exercises to help young children learn to take care of themselves such as dressing, blowing their nose, preparing a snack for themselves, […]
Montessori Home Tour by Bella’s Casa
Jae Jun from Bella’s Casa gives us a tour of her Montessori home. Montessori Home Tour by Jae Jun I have used 3 simple ideas to set up our home for my daughter Emily, age 3. Here are the 3 big ideas: Love of learning Less is More Independence Let’s take a look at a […]
Cooking in the Montessori Classroom
Food preparation and cooking are some of the most fun practical life activities in a Montessori environment! My personal preference is to create individualized food preparation activities that children can choose on their own, rather than group cooking activities that have to be done with a teacher. I want to show the children how to […]
A Tour of Jennifer’s Montessori Language Shelves
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
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
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
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 akaĀ “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
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 firstĀ 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
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
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 standĀ 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
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. Ā Lauren has a great eye for selecting attractive and unique materials. One corner of the […]
A Tour of Lauren’s Montessori Classroom
I am so excited to bring you an updated tour of Lauren’s classroom! Ā A couple of years ago, Lauren shared photos of her beautiful Montessori environment as part of our Classroom Showcase Series. Ā You can see the original post here, and see her stunning outdoor space here. Lauren was kind enough to offer us a […]
An Open Door Promise
By Pamela Green I awoke this morning thinking of my Grandpa, my Motherās father, and of a lesson he had passed on to me many years ago. It was one of the moments upon waking when I could feel myself as a child, the ground beneath my body, looking into his eyes as we sat […]
What to do About Burned Out Teachers
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
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
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 […]