Free Women in Science Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities

March is Women’s History Month! There are so many amazing themes within women’s history, and we’re focusing on women in science with a Montessori-inspired women in science unit! We’re including a few women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) printables and activities as well.

Here, you’ll find links to free women in science printables used to prepare hands-on activities and a new Montessori-inspired women in science pack for our free newsletter subscribers’ resource library! This unit has resources for preschool through elementary.

Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

Montessori Shelves with Women in Science Themed Activities

You’ll find Montessori-inspired women in science themed numbers, letters, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) Note: The Montessori-inspired women in science pack isn’t designed as a complete women in science unit but as supplemental materials. I design the packs using realistic images that I’ve often looked for when preparing a unit study (such as font cards and phonogram cards featuring the letter and phonogram related to the theme and math cards with realistic images that fit the theme and can be adapted for math activities at a variety of levels.)

You could mix your women in science themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special women in science themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves at the beginning of our unit have a mixture of skill levels. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.

Notice the framed art print Woman Science by Eugène Grasset. It’s a free download from Wikiart.

For our monthly featured art print, I purchased a Li’l DAVINCI art frame that opens in the front for easily changing a free art masterpiece printable or vintage illustration to fit with the month’s theme. The frame can be switched from horizontal to vertical without changing the hanger, which is perfect!

If you’re wondering about the rugs and rug box I use, both the rugs and wooden rug holder are from Montessori Services. I love the Montessori Services rugs and rug holder! I used to use an umbrella stand something like these. I loved that for 1-3 rugs, but I needed something different when I had more grandchildren and some projects that needed more than one rug.

Favorite Shelves, Trays, Baskets, and More for Montessori Homeschoolers

I often get asked about the trays, baskets, etc., that I use, so I published a post with many of the items. You can find lots of helpful resources here. They’re not all essential, so don’t feel you need to have everything. Just choose what’s best for your budget and your unique family’s needs. You’ll find more ideas in the Living Montessori Now Amazon shop

Women in Science Themed Books for Kids

Even though I have books on shelves, I usually have many of my themed books in a forward-facing display after placing a plant where the themed book basket was before. Most of my seasonal books are now in that book basket. Most of the books and activities in this unit are for preschool through elementary.

For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles). 

Books on Themed Shelves: 

• I love the She Persisted book series! So many great books for Women’s History Month (or any time)! For our women in science unit, we’re using She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference as one of our books.
• The book Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World has 2-page spreads  for 50 notable women in science. 
• National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book of Science isn’t about women in science, but it has lots of great science information that’s easy to understand along with gorgeous photos. I’m a fan of the National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book series! We have (and love) most of the books in the series!
• I love the Little People, Big Dreams book series, and the Marie Curie book works well for preschoolers through first graders.
• I Am Jane Goodall book is part of the Ordinary People Change the World book series.

Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:

• Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls (This is an amazing series! Each book probably includes some notable women in science.)
• Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2
• Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World

2nd Shelf:

• Black Women in Science
• Women in Chemistry (In this series, there are also Women in Biology and Women in Physics)
• Scientist, Scientist, Who Do You See? (This isn’t just women, but I appreciate that there are as many women as men.)

3rd Shelf:

• Thinking Like A Scientist: The Guide To Scientific Thinking For Kids Through The Adventure Of Sofia
• Maria Montessori (Little People, Big Dreams)
• Mae Among the Stars

4th Shelf:

• Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist (This award-winning book tells the story of Eugenie Clark who spent her life studying zoology and working to prove that sharks weren’t mindless killers but beautiful animals that should be appreciated and protected. Recommended for ages 4-8.)
• Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist

Bottom Shelf

• Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist: The True Story of a World-Traveling Bug Hunter
• Reach for the Stars (by Emily Calandrelli of the Netflix series Emily’s Wonder Lab)
• I Love Science

On another shelf and in a book basket I had a number of fun books, such as

• Ada Twist, Scientist
• lots of Magic School Bus books. Magic School Bus books were favorites of my now-adult kids, and now they’re favorites of my grandkids!

You can see more books here: Women in Science Books for Kids (including books as they’re published)

She Persisted in Science Book with Women in STEM Timeline Activity

I love the She Persisted book series! So many great books for Women’s History Month (or any time)! For our women in science unit, we’re using She Persisted in Science: Brilliant Women Who Made a Difference as one of our books.

Free Printable: Periodic Table of Women in STEM Field by Liliia Khmarskaia at TPT

Even though the printable is called a periodic table, it doesn’t quite work. It makes a great timeline activity for elementary-age kids or even a counting number line activity for preschoolers. The reason it doesn’t work as shown in the chart is that some of the STEM fields are incorrect for specific women in science. Because of that, I didn’t use the STEM field labels, such as physics, for this work. You’ll notice I cut that part of the chart off and only used the periods in time. I also had to change the numbers on the cards for Marie Curie and Mary Somerville. Marie Curie should be 3 and Mary Somerville should be 4 to have the colors and letters work with the chart as shown.

You could lay out the cards as they’re shown here for a timeline activity. Younger children could lay them out in a long line 1-50.

Women in Science Book with Women in Science Card Game, 10 Black Women in STEM Cards, and Diverse Women in STEM Cards

Free Printable: Women in Science Card Game by Luana Games

Free Printable: Black Women in Technology and STEM Posters by Naomi Meredith –The Elementary STEM Coach at TPT

Free Printable: Diverse Women in STEM Printable Cards by Creative Chemistry Teachers at TPT

The book Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World has 2-page spreads  for 50 notable women in science. 

The Women in Science Card Game is great for elementary age to adults! There’s also an online version available.

I printed out the Black Women in Technology and STEM posters and Diverse Women in STEM printable cards 4 to a page to make small booklets instead of cards. You could always use the cards for matching with younger children or just read about the individual scientist. The Black women in STEM cards include QR codes for children who want to learn more. There are many diverse women in the STEM cards who aren’t typically recognized. Depending on your school policy and the age of children, you could omit two of the diverse women in STEM cards. 

Also, check out the Women in Science freebie from My Mega Bundles! If you sign up for their free newsletter, you’ll get access to a number of freebies each month. The lovely Women in Science freebie is part of the February 2024 freebies (for February 11 International Day of Women and Girls in Science).

Pages from Little Kids First Big Book of Science with Magic School Bus Science Kits in the Background 

Here, you can see pages from National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book of Science (the book on the easel) with Magic School Bus science kits we’ve used in the past in the background. I’m a fan of the National Geographic Kids Little Kids First Big Book series! We have (and love) most of the books in the series!

For Magic School Bus lovers, the Magic School Bus science kits are lots of fun. They don’t use high-quality materials, but they’re extra fun for kids who follow Ms. Frizzle and her class. For younger children, I would put individual activities from kits on trays. Because my grandkids are kindergarten through elementary, they’re able to choose the activities they want to do from these kits … especially since we’ve used these kits before.

In a book basket and on another shelf, we have lots of Magic School Bus books. Magic School Bus books were favorites of my now-adult kids, and now they’re favorites of my grandkids!

Sand Writing Tray for Women in Science Unit

Free Printable /q/ for questions (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber). They come in print, D’Nealian, and cursive. 

You’ll see a variety of simple letter writing trays in my previous unit study posts. I often used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though.

The sandpaper letters I use with younger kids are available in print or cursive.

I typically now use this lovely spelling/alphabet tray from FamilyTreeWW on Etsy. I like it for writing more than one letter or spelling words. (Note: That sand tray is currently unavailable, but you’ll find lots of other options for Montessori sand trays on Etsy.) I found some colored sand in 12 colors on Amazon that I started to use instead of salt or colored salt. I love it because it’s so soft and feels great! 

If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.

Silent C Work

Free Printable: Silent c in scientist (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)

Free Printable: Silent “c” Printables from Galactic Phonics

Silent c isn’t typically introduced in Montessori, but it’s interesting as a spelling rule. It’s helpful for elementary-age kids to understand that “c” is silent after “s” when it’s before e, i, or y. The exception is the word “muscle.”

Marie Curie Alphabet Cards in Print and Cursive

Free Printable: Marie Curie alphabet cards (part of my subscriber freebies, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber). 

There are so many ways the alphabet cards can be used! This is just one idea for younger kids. I love the Little People, Big Dreams book series, and the Marie Curie book works well for preschoolers through first graders.

Here, I used the sandpaper letters s, m, t (the first 3 letter sounds I introduce) with the matching Marie Curie alphabet cards for young children who are just learning the letter sounds.

For children who are proficient readers and working on spelling rules, you could use the silent c in scientist cards (part of my subscriber freebies, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) along with the Marie Curie alphabet cards to spell science words, such as scientist.

The Marie Curie alphabet cards in print and cursive are easily adaptable, depending on the child’s level. As I said, they can be used for a variety of activities, such as matching letters with sandpaper letters, matching print to cursive letters, or movable alphabet word building. 

Jane Goodall and Chimpanzee Addition

Free Printable: Jane Goodall number cards and symbols (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my free newsletter to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber).

I Am Jane Goodall book is part of the Ordinary People Change the World book series.

I used the cute miniature chimpanzees from UnconventionalJ at Etsy. They’re available at a reasonable price in a number of quantities. They arrived quickly, too! This seller has so many fun miniatures. I believe they’re the Safari Ltd. Good Luck Minis, which are hard to find in a variety of quantities.

For an early activity using 3 addends, I like to make a simple story problem, such as “ ___ chimpanzee friends, ___ chimpanzee friends, and ___chimpanzee friends come together to play. How many chimpanzee friends are there altogether? The child draws a card to find the number of each (or spins one of the spinners from our Montessori-inspired Women in Science pack) to find the number of each. At the end, we’ll read the equation (9+6+7=22 in  this example). 

You can also use a spinner for a child simply counting numbers 1-10. There’s even a spinner for the numbers 1-5 only. 

There are so many different activities you can prepare using the math cards! You’ll find many ideas in our previous units.

Scientific Method Bookmarks and Matching Activity

Free Printable: Scientific Method Book Marks by Simple Little Pocket at TPT

These are fun bookmarks with Penelope, the candy scientist. I prepared a tray with options for cutting out bookmarks for readers or matching scientific method steps for younger children.

Another great activity for a study of women in science or science in general is the Parts of a Microscope 3-Part Cards by 21st Century Montessori at TPT. This would be especially good if you have a microscope for your classroom or homeschool.

Free Montessori-Inspired Women in Science Pack

Montessori-Inspired Women in Science Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).

More Women in History Resources

• Favorite Books for a Women in Science Theme
• Women and Girls in Science: Free Songs and Educational Videos
• You’ll find many exceptional women featured in my Free Black History Printables and Montessori-Inspired Black History Activities,  Favorite Black History Books for Kids, and Free Black History Songs and Educational Videos for Kids.

If you’d like ideas for calendar-based themes throughout February and March, see my February Themed Activities for Kids and March Themed Activities for Kids. 

Have a wonderful Women’s History Month!

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