How to Start Using Montessori at Home

Written on October 13, 2011 by in Montessori Homeschool Classroom and Materials, Montessori Overview, Montessori Principles
36 Comments - Leave a comment!

It seems overwhelming, I know. There are so many amazing Montessori activities and resources online, books to buy, and materials to make and buy. So, what should you do first?

I am sometimes amazed at how many resources are available on my site alone – and I link to TONS more. It becomes difficult to find them all among the many blog posts after awhile. So, here, I’ll try to put an order to some of the posts I think are most helpful if you’re trying to get started using Montessori at home for a child from birth-6. This applies to parents, grandparents, and anyone who has a special role in a child’s life.

First, read this post:

Top 10 Montessori Principles for Natural Learning

Child Washing Salad (Photo from The Montessori Child at Home)

Child Washing Salad (Photo from The Montessori Child at Home)

(Photo from M. Helps Prepare Dinner at The Montessori Child at Home)

Next, if you have an infant or are expecting an infant, read these three posts:

Will's bedroom, 1985 (Please excuse the '70s carpet!)

Will’s bedroom, 1985 (Please excuse the ’70s carpet!)

How to Set Up Your Home for an Infant by Using Montessori Principles

How to Prepare a Montessori Baby Room

How to Make a Treasure Basket for Your Baby

If you have a toddler, read this post:

How to Prepare a Montessori Toddler Environment at Home

Kitchen Corner (Photo from Peaceful Parenting)

Kitchen Corner (Photo from Peaceful Parenting)

(Photo from Peaceful Parenting)

If you have a preschooler, read this post:

How to Set Up a Montessori Space at Home

Juicing Oranges (Photo from How We Montessori)

Juicing Oranges (Photo from How We Montessori)

(Photo from How We Montessori)

Now, try to follow at least one of the Montessori principles that works for your child’s age and developmental level. Do it today. Don’t wait to start using Montessori at home.

Next, add to your knowledge, materials, and activities.

Gradually, start using more of the Montessori principles and activities. Add any Montessori-inspired activities online that you feel drawn to.

It’s impossible to do every wonderful Montessori idea available, so pick activities you think will be interesting and meet your child’s developmental needs. Often, you’ll feel drawn to preparing certain activities but not others.

For an infant, check out the posts and links in my infant and toddler category.

If you’re interested in starting a Montessori homeschool or just in using a number of Montessori-inspired activities at home, you’ll find lots of ideas and links to resources in these two posts:

How to Set Up a Montessori Preschool Classroom at Home

How to Set Up a Montessori Homeschool Classroom (with lots and lots of resources and links within links!)

And don’t forget my activity of the week and Montessori Monday link-up with Montessori-inspired ideas from wonderful bloggers around the world!

Buy and start using activities from two books:

Books by Maria Montessori are wonderful, but they are more abstract than many parents want in the beginning. To start using Montessori at home, my two favorite books for parents are below. You can’t go wrong in buying both:

How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way


How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin (for birth-age 6). Here’s a review I wrote: How to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way (Book Review).

Montessori at Home

Montessori at Home: The Complete Guide to Doing Montessori Early Learning Activities at Home (for ages 2-6). Here’s an excerpt and example of an activity from the book: Activities with Marbles and Golf Tees. Here’s a link to many sample pages: Sample Pages for Montessori at Home. It’s only $8.95 for the 296-page e-book filled with Montessori ideas and activities. There are many ideas at the Montessori at Home site and blog as well!

Since there are so many activities in these two books alone, just start doing some activities and add on as you’re able. Again, you don’t need to have a perfect setup to start. As the slogan goes: Just do it!

UPDATE: If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, read Don’t Be Afraid to Start Using Montessori at Home. And don’t miss my Montessori-Friendly Home Pinterest Board to see lots of different ways to use Montessori at home.

I’d love to hear how you started or plan to start using Montessori at home! :)

Linked to AfterSchool Linky Party, Living Life Intentionally Linky Party, The Mommy Club Resources and Solutions at Milk and Cuddles and Crystal & Co. , Pinterest Tuesday, Show-and-Share Saturday, Link & Learn, and The Sunday Showcase at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas and Classified: Mom.

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Related posts:

  1. Start the School Year with a Celebration
  2. How to Set Up a Montessori Space at Home
  3. How to Set Up a Montessori Preschool Classroom at Home
  4. How to Prepare a Montessori Toddler Environment at Home
  5. How to Set Up Your Home for an Infant by Using Montessori Principles
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36 Responses to How to Start Using Montessori at Home
  1. Jessica
    October 13, 2011 | 5:55 am

    Hi Deb,

    I have just posted my curriculum on my blog, then I noticed your post :) Quite timely for me :)

    Just wanted to ask your opinion on the widely available home montessori sets like the mini knobbed cylinder and smaller version of the pink tower. Are they good enough for home use or would the difference in size matter?

    Eagerly awaiting your reply. Thanks
    Jessica recently posted..Our Toddler Montessori CurriculumMy Profile

    Reply
    • Deb
      October 13, 2011 | 6:59 am

      Thanks so much for your comment, Jessica! It’s great that you’re planning out your curriculum so thoroughly!

      I’m glad Jennifer from Montessori Print Shop was able to respond to your question. I haven’t actually had experience with the mini materials. My first thoughts were questions were about difficulties for children developing fine-motor coordination. I also thought about the wonderful printables that are available for sensorial extensions. They’re created for the larger materials. So I would tend to go with the standard-sized materials. Jennifer’s experience confirms that, too. I love that she has experience with other problems of the mini materials, such as their being too light and not mathematically correct.
      Deb recently posted..How to Homeschool without Spending a FortuneMy Profile

      Reply
  2. Montessori Print Shop
    October 13, 2011 | 6:44 am

    I know this post will be very, very helpful to so many people Deb. I’ll definitely add a link to this on our Using Montessori at Home articles – thank you!

    To Jessica – Not to overshadow Deb’s opinion (she’s not had a change to answer your question yet), but I’ve handled both the regular and the ‘mini’ sized Montessori sets and in my opinion there is a huge difference between the two. Both the size and the weight of the materials helps to give the child the sensorial impressions. The mini materials simply don’t offer the same impressions. They aren’t mathematically correct, and the pieces are just too light in weight. As well, many of the pieces are so small they’re definitely a choking hazard.
    When I’ve put Toddler rooms together for schools, I’ve used the regular materials but only used cylinder blocks B & C, the first 5 red rods, pink tower cubes 5 thru 9, etc. This have given the toddlers an introduction to the materials that they could physically manage, and help reduce the possibility of choking on small pieces. When they join the Casa (primary) class, they are somewhat familiar with a few of the sensorial materials – but have a new challenge with all of the pieces now being available.

    Reply
    • Deb
      October 13, 2011 | 7:04 am

      Thanks, Jennifer! I really appreciate your linking to my post! And I really appreciate your insights into the mini materials. I haven’t had personal experience with them, but I was hesitant because of fine-motor difficulties and the thought that the awesome printables for extensions (such as your sensorial materials) would be a different size. It’s so helpful to have information on the other problems associated with the mini materials!
      Deb recently posted..How to Homeschool without Spending a FortuneMy Profile

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  3. Lisa
    October 13, 2011 | 10:06 am

    Thanks for putting all this information together in one post!
    Lisa recently posted..Attitude CheckMy Profile

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  4. elissa
    October 13, 2011 | 10:53 am

    I’d love more advice on how to use these principles for kids in the 7-9 range. It seems that most info is for toddlers/babies. Got any tips?
    elissa recently posted..While we waited – part 3My Profile

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  5. Neptune
    October 13, 2011 | 12:26 pm

    Love this post, the child’s environment is one of my favorite topic!
    I’ve just posted about this a few days ago here:
    http://thefreechild.blogspot.com/2011/10/setting-environment-where-to-start-faq.html since I got a lot of questions on that.
    Thanks for compiling all this great info in one post!
    Neptune recently posted..14 months old activity: cleaning the tableMy Profile

    Reply
  6. John Bowman
    October 13, 2011 | 2:03 pm

    Great resource, Deb! I love the photos of your home Montessori setup. Your posts are must-reads for anyone interested in doing Montessori At Home!

    Reply
    • Deb
      October 13, 2011 | 5:46 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind words, John! I wish I would have had more photos of our Montessori activities and environment. I’m just able to sprinkle them through posts here and there (wasn’t a blogger back then and didn’t have that many photos of our Montessori activities). Of course, you can only take just so much of looking at that 70′s carpet! I’m thankful that so many bloggers have given me permission to use their photos! It’s amazing how many awesome Montessori home environments are shared online now. I definitely love doing research and sharing my finds! :)
      Deb recently posted..How to Homeschool without Spending a FortuneMy Profile

      Reply
  7. Jessica
    October 13, 2011 | 8:11 pm

    Jennifer: Thanks so much for the prompt reply. I was worried about the same issues because I have the mini knobbed cylinders and I thought they were pretty useless :)

    Deb: Thanks for your feedback :) I was thinking about the possibility of choking as well. Will stick to the actual size materials.
    Jessica recently posted..Our Toddler Montessori CurriculumMy Profile

    Reply
    • Deb
      October 13, 2011 | 9:37 pm

      The mini materials would have some advantages of price and saving shelf space, but I think the disadvantages definitely outweigh the advantages. And the choking hazard would be a real problem with toddlers. I was so glad to hear about Jennifer’s actual experiences with the materials. It’s always good to now what to recommend – and what not to recommend! :)
      Deb recently posted..How to Homeschool without Spending a FortuneMy Profile

      Reply
  8. Maureen Sklaroff
    October 13, 2011 | 11:18 pm

    Thanks! As we’re heading more into the preschool years, I’m needing some new guidance.

    Reply
  9. Lulu
    October 14, 2011 | 5:46 am

    Whoops, commented on an older post that you linked to from here. Loved this post and the one I commented on though about a toddler environment at home. Working towards it here!!

    I am struggling with my 22 month old`s jealousy towards his little brother and his other “quirks”- I love my boys I do but they are both so exhausting and I find myself losing my cool a lot when that is definitely NOT the type of mother I want to be. Would love to hear your thoughts on how to deal with two kids so close in age {12 months apart} and also what you would do or what the montessori approach would be for kids that are violent {22 month old bites and hits me, throws things in rages, pushes his brother over etc..}

    I have montessori at home {old edition} and how to raise an amazing child! Love both!
    Lulu recently posted..Shion- 9 months…My Profile

    Reply
    • Deb
      November 4, 2011 | 4:58 pm

      Thanks for your comment, Lulu (I just found these comments). I used logical consequences and Parent Effectiveness Training techniques a lot if there were problems. Here are the posts I’ve written on discipline: http://livingmontessorinow.com/category/discipline/.

      In Montessori, lots of practical life activities help develop self control, which helps prevent discipline problems. When a child does hurt someone or disrupt others, he or she is typically asked to work alone for awhile until he or she is ready to interact nicely with others. I hope that helps.
      Deb recently posted..Don’t Be Afraid to Start Using Montessori at HomeMy Profile

      Reply
  10. maryanne from mama smiles
    October 14, 2011 | 6:59 am

    Such great ideas for Montessori in homes! Thanks for sharing these ideas and links!
    maryanne recently posted..Making ApplesauceMy Profile

    Reply
  11. Palmy
    October 15, 2011 | 6:21 am

    Beautiful post! Thanks!!!!
    In italian: grazie mille!
    Palmy recently posted..Generazione sfruttataMy Profile

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  12. Candi Elm
    October 15, 2011 | 1:32 pm

    My kids are a little order now, I wish I had known about this when they were babies.
    Candi Elm recently posted..10 things that are better left unsaidMy Profile

    Reply
  13. Jennifer Altman
    October 16, 2011 | 6:18 pm

    So glad to have read the comments about the mini ones, I was considering purchasing the mini cylinders with knobs….will be rethinking that now! I was just getting ready to do a blog post on doing Montessori in everyday life, it’s amazing how many ‘Montessori’ type things I was doing with my kids just day to day and not even realizing that I was doing ‘Montessori’…..
    Jennifer Altman recently posted..Unit Study with Amanda Bennett Passport United Kingdom Review (and discount)My Profile

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    • Deb
      November 4, 2011 | 5:01 pm

      Thanks, Jennifer! I always find it amazing to realize how many Montessori principles really are a part of natural learning. Makes sense when the method was developed by observing children! :)
      Deb recently posted..Don’t Be Afraid to Start Using Montessori at HomeMy Profile

      Reply
  14. Yasmeen Warsi
    October 17, 2011 | 12:58 pm

    Thank you for such a great help. Beautiful post, keep up the good work. My son is in elementary school (grad 5), but i still use Montessori ways to teach him maths.

    Reply
    • Deb
      November 4, 2011 | 5:02 pm

      Thanks for your kind comment, Yasmeen! How wonderful that you’re using Montessori methods to teach math! I can’t think of a better way for a child to truly understand math concepts. :)
      Deb recently posted..Don’t Be Afraid to Start Using Montessori at HomeMy Profile

      Reply
  15. Sofia's Ideas
    October 28, 2011 | 12:54 am

    I must confess that I don’t know much about Montessori at all, even though my sister taught at a Montessori based school for about a year, AND my husband went to Montessori school when he was very little. I’ve always been intrigued, and even remark to my husband that I think it would suit one of our children, and that I should look into it. This gives me exactly what I needed! Thank you for this great collection of resources! :)

    Reply
  16. Sara - My Merry Messy Life
    September 3, 2012 | 8:37 pm

    Oh I am so excited to have found this! I have a 3 yr old, 1 yr old and a baby on the way and I have been thinking of doing Montessori preschool for about a year now. I’m going to use your guide and can’t wait to dive in. I didn’t know that I’ve already been using the Montessori philosophy at home! I’m sharing your blog on my blog’s facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/mymerrymessylife. Thank you!
    Sara – My Merry Messy Life recently posted..Homemade All-Natural Foaming Hand Soap with Free Printable LabelMy Profile

    Reply
  17. amanda
    November 5, 2012 | 6:52 pm

    Why do most of your link titles have a line through them? Do u not recommend them or.is your page just displaying oddly from my phone?

    Reply
    • Deb
      November 5, 2012 | 7:16 pm

      Hi, Amanda! My computer doesn’t show a line through any of the links, so it must just be how it’s showing up on your phone. I’m hoping the links work for you anyway.
      Deb recently posted..Montessori Monday – DIY Constructive TrianglesMy Profile

      Reply
  18. Ella
    February 11, 2013 | 9:03 pm

    Thank you so much for the information you provided! The website is so rich in its content. I have a 7 year old and a 2.8 year old boy. I have so much in my head for them that I don’t know where to start…you website is helping me a lot. Thank you again!

    Reply
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