It’s finally time to say goodbye to 2020. What a seismic year to live through. I have been so inspired and moved by the courage and determination I have seen in the Montessori community this year. You have rolled with the challenges of overhauling how you work with and educate children, closing schools and losing […]

by Ashley McLean Connecting the two concepts of gender creativity and following the child should come easily to us as Montessorians. For me, it took my born-male-child asking to wear a skirt to jump start my journey of understanding the link. The Gender Journey My gender education started when Ben (name has been changed for […]

A Free Ebook by Angie Ma As many of us head back to a school year like no other, our children will likely need some extra reassurance that everything will be fine. This sweet, hand illustrated social story by Angie Ma is just what you need right now.  It’s free to use.  Simply click the […]

Sometimes being an educator takes courage. In order to show up as the guides our children need us to be, we have to find the strength to look at the things about ourselves and our environments that make us uncomfortable. The things that make us question what we’ve always taken for granted. The things that […]

A downloadable PDF of this article is available here. Read Part 1 here: Distance Learning in Times of Disaster: Phases of Responding to a Disaster By Elizabeth Slade Spring is making its way across the country reminding us all about the cycles of life – the earth as a great reminder of how to endure […]

Infant-Toddler (0-3) Your Montessori School See More Videos from this Channel Jarrow Montessori See More Videos from this Channel Philly Montessori See More Videos from this Channel   Primary (3-6) Montessori Farm School See More Videos from this Channel Bluebird Montessori See More Videos from this Channel Olive Branch School See More Videos from this […]

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD  (no signup needed) Elizabeth Slade, lead Montessori coach at the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector, has created a simple framework for schools/teachers to use when designing their emergency distance learning programs. This 3-page framework provides guidance for primary (preK-K) and elementary programs. Check the NCMPS website for more […]

We will use this page as a repository of organized resources for school leaders and teachers as they come available.  If you want to keep up with general updates, please bookmark this page and the main update page here. Click the thumbnails below to see all the coronavirus school closure resources we have available.   […]

Coronavirus Response Resource Pages Please click the thumbnails below to see an organized list of resources. Trillium Montessori Leadership Email Newsletter Montessori Primary (3-6) Email Newsletter Montessori Elementary (6-12) Email Newsletter   Updates Do you know of a relevant resources that should be listed here?  Please let us know!  coronavirus@trilliummontessori.org Repository of useful resources from […]

I recently returned from the AMI Elementary Refresher Course, and I enjoyed it so much that over the course of the two days I took 25 pages of notes!  Alison Awes, the presenter and a Montessori trainer, was a very inspiring and engaging speaker, breathing fresh life into some familiar concepts, lessons, and theories, while […]

A second-grade teacher in a public school environment is well aware that, by the end of the school year, their students should be able to add and subtract fluently with numbers less than 100.  However, in a Montessori environment, children begin to learn place-value into the thousands beginning in the 3-6 children’s house.  At the […]

by Karen Federice We talk about connection all the time in the Elementary classroom.  Our cosmic curriculum lends itself to the intrinsically interwoven nature of all things.  Jennifer Morgan says it beautifully in Mammals Who Morph, “Little by little, land, sea and air began to shape the mammals to come – Trees sculpting hands for […]

Teacher Choice, Student Choice  Educators who follow the Montessori approach know that Maria Montessori placed a lot of emphasis on the idea of “choice.”  However, while the notion of choice is universally celebrated and held sacred for young children up until around the age of  6, this idea sometimes falls to the wayside when children […]

The youngest elementary children…the beginning of a new cycle.   When the 6 or 7-year-old child enters into the elementary classroom, teachers sometimes struggle with understanding this newly emerging second plane child.  When I was teaching and had the benefit of observing my students in their primary classroom environment before they transitioned into elementary, it was […]

Identifying the True Need Under the Request Throughout my years of teaching and leading schools, I have witnessed certain personality characteristics surface and resurface again. There’s a particular one that I want to address and that has cropped up a few times during my career in education. Though the children are different, the script is […]

Telling a Story vs. Giving a Lecture in the Elementary Classroom Environment Have you ever been spellbound by a captivating storyteller spinning a thrilling tale that had you propped at the edge of your seat, eagerly awaiting the next piece of colorful imagery to pique your curiosity and tantalize your imagination? If so, you likely […]

If you have taught elementary, you surely have noticed that your youngest community members have a tendency to tell on one another, otherwise known as “tattling.”  I remember when I was a teacher, I always had at least a couple of 6-year-olds who tattled frequently, and I also clearly recall feeling some annoyance with this […]

I recently had the opportunity to visit my friend Erin Roberts in Asheville, NC.  I’ve known Erin for about 14 years.  We worked together at the Montessori School of Syracuse and she is one of the small handful of people I’ve met who seem to have been born with an intuitive understanding of Montessori. A […]

Check out these Etsy shops for delightful handmade resources for your Montessori home or classroom! Affiliate links are used below.  See full disclosure here. CLICK HERE to find Montessori resources on Etsy ON SALE TODAY   Teacher Gifts My Bella Montessori (Click here to see more)             View this post […]

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 […]

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, […]

We are living in pivotal times. Issues of race and racism are not new.  Modern day America was created after a clash of epic proportions over this issue.  A world war has been fought over this.  Many of us thought that we, as a species, had put the worst behind us and were headed in […]

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.  You can keep up with their […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. Sandpaper letters (lowercase, capitals and phonograms) as well as Sandpaper letter boards   A large movable alphabet   Metal insets   Bookcase with an extensive […]

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 […]

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 […]

I am so excited to bring you an updated tour of Lauren’s classroom!  A couple of years ago, Lauren shared photos of her beautiful Montessori environment as part of our Classroom Showcase Series.  You can see the original post here, and see her stunning outdoor space here. Lauren was kind enough to offer us a […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 we use […]

  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. This is a photo of the Language area of our class […]

Today I am thrilled to feature my dear friend Amy’s room on the Classroom Showcase Series.  Amy and I worked together for a 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 […]

I love looking at how teachers have set up their Montessori Shelves.  I’ve collected photos from around the web onto my Pinterest boards.  I hope you enjoy these as much I do!  I will be adding to them as time goes on so be sure to follow the boards to keep up. See more posts […]

I’m delighted to introduce you to my friend Beth Bitts on this week’s Classroom Showcase.  You can find more information about Beth on her blog, Simply Sewn, and check out some of her lovely materials in her Simply Sewn Etsy store. We’d love to feature YOU on the Montessori Classroom Showcase too!  Find all the […]

This week’s Classroom Showcase post is not a tour of a classroom but the (brief) story of how I had to set up my space in under 48 hours when we moved to our current location.  These pictures are from 2010. Step 1:   Get Some Efficient Movers Friday Aug 20th 7pm (in the garage) We […]

Welcome to Part 2 of the tour of Lauren’s class at Creo Montessori in Arizona.  Last week we saw pictures of her outdoor environment.  Today, we get to see the inside!  Thank you, Lauren, for sharing your lovely space with the rest of us. Practical Life Sensorial Language Math Cultural About Lauren Marques My name is […]

For this week’s Montessori Classroom Showcase Series, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Lauren from the Creo School in Arizona.   I have been admiring her photographs in the Montessori teachers Facebook group for the past year and I am so happy that she has agreed to share them on our blog! Lauren has been […]

This is the second post in our Montessori Classroom Showcase Series.  Today I’m delighted to introduce you to April Waxler from the Bloomington Montessori School in Indiana. About April I have been a Montessori teacher for twenty years and I have yet to have a boring day. Bloomington Montessori School (in Bloomington, Indiana) has been […]

This is the very first post is our Montessori Classroom Showcase series.  I’m very excited about sharing with you Montessori classrooms from around the world!  If you would like to have your classroom included in our series, please read details about how to contribute here.  I’ve been in the classroom for over 15 years now and […]

The teachers at Trillium all went to the American Montessori Society Conference in Philadelphia last week and we had a blast!  We loved meeting so many of you, our amazing blog readers! If you missed the conference, you can order the audio recordings of all the workshops and download free handouts from the AMS website. Here we are […]

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 […]

  Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) is a wonderful marketplace where teachers post printable materials they have created.  It covers all age ranges from preschool to high school, and beyond.  You can find amazing, high quality resources made by talented teachers who have tested their materials in their classrooms. I am celebrating two years as a seller on […]

“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 […]

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 […]

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Simone Davies from Jacaranda Tree Montessori.  Simone runs a lovely Montessori playgroup in Amsterdam.  She is treating us today with a detailed tour of her beautiful space.  I am in love with her design aesthetic and gorgeous light in her room!  Enjoy the tour and be sure to […]

How to Start A New Class Today’s post is about  what we do during the first few days in our classroom.  This post ended up being a lot longer than I had originally planned.  It’s also coming a few weeks late since all of you are back to school already.  But, I hope it helps […]

Sorry to disappoint, but this is not a post about the pros and cons of technology in the preschool classroom. While we do not have tablets and smartboards and computers in the classroom for the children to use, the teachers make heavy use of technology as a professional tool.  I bought an iPad® for us […]

Last month I wrote about how I use a unit studies approach to our “cultural” curriculum.  I love how it has simplified my organization system.  I used to keep my materials categorized by curriculum area.  For example, all the language materials were in one cabinet, all the practical life materials were in one spot, and […]

  Organizing Art Ideas Pinterest is now my organizing tool of choice for all curriculum ideas.  I have a board dedicated just to art, but I tend to add more art pins to my Unit studies boards.  This makes it easier to decide when to use a particular activity. But before Pinterest, I had binders […]

 Woohoo!  Only a Montessori teacher can understand the rush of owning tiny bowls and pitchers and tongs.   In the early days, you think you can’t possibly ever have enough.  And then the day comes when you realize, by golly, you have to stop accumulating them because there’s no room left in the ~ahem~ fourth dimension. […]

I have gathered a lot of classroom materials and ideas over the years.  I mean, a lot. I know some of you can relate to this.   I have SO MUCH STUFF.   I feel like a hoarder.  But my classroom does not look like the homes on the hoarding TV shows.  In fact, all […]

I have been working and observing in Montessori classrooms for a good fifteen years now and I’ve seen dozens of different ways to keep track of the mountain of information generated on a daily basis.  I’m also a bit of an information junkie and I collect ideas like they’re about to run out (have you seen my Pinterest boards?!) […]

Do We Really Need a Graduation for Preschool? I have struggled with this question over the years, and more so the last few when we’ve only had preschoolers in our class.   Fancy graduation ceremonies for preschool have always left me feeling uneasy.  Many of the typical graduation rituals seem so… developmentally inappropriate for this […]

These videos show a glimpse of daily life in our classroom during the month of April. The background song is “La Mariposa” (The Butterfly) by Colibri This has been one of our favorite group time songs this month.  We’ve been playing a variation of the freeze dance game.  When the music plays, we dance around […]

Here are the videos of our classes in action during the month of March! Parents, please check your emails for our March newsletter.

Here are the videos of our classes in action during the month of February! Parents, please check your emails for our February newsletter. [vimeo]https://vimeo.com/60799636[/vimeo] [vimeo]https://vimeo.com/60799635[/vimeo]

Here are the latest videos from our class! If you’ve been following our blog for the past month, check out these videos to see all of our winter activities in use! Parents, check your emails for our January Newsletter. See our earlier videos on Vimeo and YouTube Linked to these great early education blogs   […]