When you first learned about Montessori, you may have been enchanted by the peaceful classrooms, by the idyllic language about the nature of children and the hope for the future they offer. You may have imagined yourself a beloved teacher and guide, children gathered...
Look familiar? They should. The Number Rods follow almost the same initial presentation as the Red Rods, a perennial favorite in the Montessori classroom. While the Red Rods demonstrate the concept of length, the Number Rods use that same structure to introduce the...
There are some parts of the Montessori classroom that seem to get all the attention: the beautiful Practical Life materials, the engaged constructions in the Sensorial area, the precise Math lessons or the carefully sequenced Language materials. But there\\'s another...
There are few materials that can claim to be as fully-engaging as the Red Rods. Prominent in the Sensorial area, the Rods are an immediate attraction to children because of their precise proportions, scale and vibrant color. After a careful presentation, the child can...
What do you think of when you hear a Montessori teacher describe, "hands-on, concrete manipulatives?" Maybe it's the building blocks we call the Pink Tower or the Broad Stair. Maybe it's the child-sized tools so abundant in Practical Life. Some are easy to imagine....
It's a sort of curious activity to watch: a young child, mesmerized, repeatedly transferring some small object from one container to another and back again. Maybe the containers are filled with pom poms or small rubber pellets. Maybe the tongs are large and...
A companion material to the Knobbed Cylinders, the Knobless Cylinders offer children extended practice with the relationships of height, width and volume. Four boxes are available to explore, with each containing a series of ten cylinders of varying...
"Can I see your shelves?" What an odd question. And, yet, if you spend much time with Montessori teachers, you'll almost inevitably hear them asking each other about how they prepare their shelves. You'll see them kneeling down in front of each other's shelves...