Review of Montessori Materials from Alison’s Montessori
I’m often asked about the Montessori materials from various companies. To help you know more about Alison’s Montessori and the company’s products, I was given a set of knobbed cylinder blocks and a set of knobless cylinders from Alison’s Montessori to review. (I was never required to write a positive review for Alison’s Montessori, and any opinions expressed are my own.)
I had reviewed a number of Alison’s Montessori materials in December. I was very pleased with the quality of those materials. This time, I asked to review the knobbed cylinder blocks and knobless cylinders after hearing of a number of homeschoolers who were unhappy with the fit of the cylinders from cylinder blocks from some other Montessori suppliers. I hadn’t heard anything about the fit of the cylinders from Alison’s Montessori, so I was excited to have the opportunity to check out the materials.
I wanted to review materials that homeschoolers and schools on a strict budget could afford. Alison’s Montessori has a premium line of materials that are made from Russian birch and German birch. The premium line materials are mostly handed sanded and hand cut … and meant to be flawless. I’m reviewing the value-line materials, which are solid rubber wood and are machine cut.
As before, my materials arrived quickly and were packed very well. Again, I was very pleased with the quality of the Alison’s Montessori value-line materials. They reflect the beauty of Montessori and are very well constructed.
There are some minor imperfections in the value-line wood but nothing that’s a problem or detracts from the beauty of the cylinder blocks. I’m EXTREMELY IMPRESSED with how well the cylinders fit into the cylinder blocks. I took out all the cylinders to test them, and every cylinder was a perfect fit.
The knobbed and knobless cylinders are some of the sensorial materials that I recommend Montessori homeschoolers buy if at all possible. They’re beautiful to look at and touch. They give an excellent hands-on introduction to size and have numerous extensions for more advanced students. I love that they give an indirect preparation for mathematics.
Knobbed Cylinder Blocks (Set of 4)
Knobbed Cylinder Blocks from Alison’s Montessori
Here’s the description of the knobbed cylinder blocks (set of 4) from Alison’s Montessori online catalog:
Each block contains ten knobbed cylinders of varying dimensions.
The cylinder blocks help develop the concept of visual discrimination of size.
Cylinder Block 1
I’m a real fan of Montessori cylinder blocks. I love that there are so many ways cylinder blocks can be used. They’re wonderful throughout the preschool years. They can be used one cylinder block at a time as in one of the early presentations (shown in the photo above).
4 Cylinder Blocks Used Together
Or, they can be used with 2, 3, or 4 cylinder blocks together, with or without a blindfold.
Knobless Cylinders (Set of 4)
Knobless Cylinders from Alison’s Montessori
Here’s a description of the knobless cylinders (set of 4) from the Alison’s Montessori online catalog:
This is a set of four wooden boxes with painted lids. Each contains knobless cylinders corresponding in size with the knobbed cylinders. The cylinders in each box are painted the same color as their lid.Made out of rubberwood (hardwood), these knobless cylinders are great for your home or school use. The knobless cylinders are stained and slightly lacquered.
We will warranty this set for one year, and assure you that this set will not chip. If breakage or chipping occurs within one year of purchasing this product than we will send a replacement cylinder for the one that is damaged at our cost.
Cylinder Block 1 with Red Knobless Cylinders
I also tested each of the knobless cylinders to see if the cylinders would fit in the cylinder blocks. Again, each cylinder fit perfectly.
Red and Green Knobless Cylinders Extension
The knobless cylinders open up endless possibilities of extensions. An activity like the above photograph with red and green cylinders could even be featured at Christmastime. Alison’s Montessori has printed and laminated extension cards for the knobless cylinders, too.
Knobless Cylinders Extension
The extensions can be simple or elaborate, depending on the child’s age and skill level. In my “Sensorial Size Extensions” post, you’ll find many other ideas for extensions.
To learn more about some of my other favorite Montessori materials to purchase, check out my Alison’s Montessori review from December.
Alison’s Montessori Homepage
Be sure to check out the Alison’s Montessori website with Montessori materials for infants and toddlers through upper elementary! You’ll find a Value-Line E-Catalog, Premium E-Catalog, and other resources such as PDF files, books, arts and crafts, and enrichment materials. There’s even a bargain basement!
Now for the Giveaway:
What You Will Win: 2 lucky winners from the U.S. will win a $100 Alison’s Montessori gift certificate! Note: The gift certificates may not be used to purchase furniture. A third lucky winner from the U.S. will win Alison’s Montessori geometric solids with bases, planes, and nomenclature cards.
Who is Eligible:
This giveaway is open to anyone 18 and older in the U.S. The first entry is mandatory. You must leave a blog post comment telling why you want to win (and be sure to click the green “ENTER” on the Rafflecopter form to let me know you left your blog post comment and to open up the optional entries)! After you’ve completed your mandatory entry, there are lots of optional entries. You have many chances to win! (Note: For the extra entries, you may count ways of following that you already do. For example, if you previously “liked” Living Montessori Now on Facebook, you may still count that for your “like” Living Montessori Now on Facebook entry!)
It’s easy to enter giveaways with Rafflecopter! Just follow the directions to enter.If you still have questions about the Rafflecopter form, here’s a 52-second video with quick directions for entering through Rafflecopter.
You must complete the Mandatory Entry to qualify for any additional entries. The giveaway closes 9:00pm PST on Thursday, May 15. Best of luck! 
(Note: If you have any problems with the Rafflecopter form, you can sign up on the Rafflecopter form at the . Just be sure to leave your blog comment here! Both Rafflecopter forms are the same, so it doesn’t matter which one you sign up on.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
UPDATE:
It’s Friday morning, May 16. I really appreciated the 2,280 entries! 3 winners have been selected using Random.org through Rafflecopter!
Here are the three winners and their mandatory entries (blog comment telling why they want to win). All 3 had multiple entries.
Lisa K. – Alison’s Montessori $100 Gift Certificate
“I would choose something for my high schoolers from the math section.”
Kelli W. – Alison’s Montessori $100 Gift Certificate
“We are a homeschooling family who is making the transition to use the montessori style of learning. This would be of great help to get us some products to use with out son! Thank you for the chance!”
Heat D. – Alison’s Montessori Geometric Solids, Bases, and Planes Plus Geometric Solids Nomenclature Cards
“Excited about the possibilities!!!”
CONGRATULATIONS, Lisa, Kelli, and Heat!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH to Alison’s Montessori for sponsoring such an awesome giveaway – and thank you to everyone who entered!
On orders of $75 or more from the Alison’s Montessori online store, my readers can save $10 by using coupon code LMN at checkout!
Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy!
The Montessori at Home! eBook and Montessori at Home! eBook and Materials Bundle are AMAZING resources! You can learn more about them here. Buy them in the Living Montessori Now shop.
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What I like best about the Montessori Method is the flexibility. The classroom is no longer teacher driven and the students are learning at their own pace and learning it to mastery. This is such a wonderful change from the days when the teacher stood in front of the silent class of students sitting in rows of desks being quiet and everyone learning the same thing at the same time. (And if a child didn’t get it, too bad. It was time to move forward.)
I am moving to a 6-9 classroom next year (last year I was just 1st and 2nd grade) and there are definitely things I could use from Alison’s to add to my shelves.
We are ready to homeschool our boy so this would be great begining to get some materials for the school. Thank you
I love Alison’s! The gift certificate would be great to get some items that are missing from my classroom!
I would love my daughter to have a Montessori eduction, but the nearest school is too far. So I’m trying to provide as Montessori-like environment as possible at home, so it would be great to win this.
I want to win because my little girls and I would love to have some quality Montessori materials for our home school!
I have made several montessori type materials but don’t have any “official” ones. Would love these!
There’s just something so intriguing about the Golden Beads. They would be my favorite item on Allison’s website for now. The Geometric Solids are a close second.
I love the Montessori method due to the fact that the child is allowed to go at her own pace. I also love that math is presented in a concrete manner. I wish I had been taught math using the Montessori method, I may have loved the subject if so.
I am new to homeschooling and also to Montessori. We will certainly be doing math the Montessori way as well as other subjects as I learn more. I am currently learning about the Practical Life area and next Sensorial. Thank you for your review of Allison’s cylinder sets.
Thank you for sharing your reviews of these Montessori materials! I enjoy reading your reflections and value your opinion on the quality and use of the materials. Alison’s definitely has a wide range of materials and the price points are kind to the pocketbook. I would love to win a gift certificate so that I can enhance learning in my classroom.
I am just beginning to teach my young son using the Montessori method. It is an exciting time. Winning this gift certificate would be so helpful in building our classroom.
I would love a gift certificate for Alison’s Montessori! There are still some language and sensorial materials that I would love to be able to afford.
I have been trying to incorporate Montessori principles into our home and this would certainly help with that project!!
There are so many wonderful materials on Alison’s. I would love to add many of them to our new Montessori preschool environment.
Thanks for the fun giveaway! I would love some geometry and science material to add to our home collection from Alison’s!
We would love to win this gift certificate to add more lovely Montessori works to our home collection!
I would love to use it to buy some fun educational toys for my children! thanks for the giveaway!!
We are just beginning our homeschooling journey and we have so many items we want to purchase!
I would love to have a gift certificate to get some Montessori supplies for my two preschoolers.