I am not an expert, nor even what one would call a novice, to Montessori. I had come upon her methods some time ago, but it was after I had already started down the path of homeschooling and it was intimidating due to the cost and amount of materials involved. Since then, after a 9 year gap between him and his older sister, I have given birth to Daniel. Previously, I had been intrigued a little with the idea of a home atrium for religion and so recently, had started making "play sets" that corresponded with teaching about Jesus. As I delved a little more, I learned a little more about Montessori and the idea of creating a learning environment for the little guy became more appealing. So, I am on the beginning steps of delving into Montessori home schooling.
Fortunately for me, there is so much information about Montessori on the internet. There are also so many free and inexpensive Montessori printable materials and ideas on how to create your own materials. Some of the Montessori materials are still beyond my budget to purchase and my ability to make, but I am able to see how it could all come together.
Below are some resources that I have found on the internet. I am using the same symbols to categorize them as I did with the homeschool resources. There really is a lot of information.
Internet Resources:
F - Free
$ - Cost involved
$$ - Catalog of materials available
http://www.simplymontessori.blogspot.com (F) - Check out this new site I discovered - it has free printables, as well as links to other sites for ideas and free printable things.
http://www.montessoriprintshop.com/ (F/$) - Montessori Print Shop features downloadable files for Montessori learning materials. They take credit card and paypal on site and materials are available for download immediately after payment. I like the nice bright cards and pictures. They also have CD-Roms available for purchase.
http://www.montessorimom.com/ (F) - Tons of free stuff here - - and lots of helpful information, especially for those who are just getting started with small toddlers.
http://www.montessoriforeveryone.com/ (F/$) - They have some great free classification cards here and also downloadable with CD-Roms also. Bright pictures that print well. I haven't paid for anything from here yet.
http://www.montessorimaterials.org/ (F/$) - They have a variety of items that are nice and some that I am not so sure about. These seem to be user contributed files, which is great, but the high quality isn't always there. The items that are not free seem to be higher quality. I haven't paid for anything from here yet.
http://www.montessoribyayashy.com/ (F/$) - Not a large selection of free items, but the items look very nice. I will be looking more here as we delve in more.
http://www.livingmontessorinow.com/ (F/$) - Many great ideas and a Montessori community forum. I am currently looking around here for ideas and information.
Print Resources:
Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years
by Elizabeth Hanstock
I found this book to be delightfully simple and easy. It presents easy lessons that were adapted for the home environment and gives great ideas for making some of your own Montessori materials. While it may seem outdated to some, it is still a gem and perfect for people like me who are wondering how to implement a Montessori learning environment at home. Elizabeth includes lessons, ages, and materials that are easily obtainable
Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under-Fives
by David Gettman
This book, while not as simple as above, does give an idea of where to start. He lists learning activities for each subject area and gives an idea of where to start. Good, but I like the above better because I think it is easier to understand and use for a beginner with no Montessori training.
