Montessori Print Shop Primary Teaching Manuals Review

I was lucky to have the opportunity to review the teaching manuals created by Jennifer at Montessori Print Shop.

Disclosure: I received a Montessori Print Shop Primary Teaching Manuals Bundle in order to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and any opinions expressed are my own. This post also contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).

You’re probably already aware of Montessori Print Shop’s free printables, inexpensive printables, and information and resources (see all the drop-down menus at the top of the Montessori Print Shop page).

Review of Montessori Print Shop Primary Teaching Manuals Bundle

The Primary Teaching Manuals Bundle includes 4 Montessori Teaching Manuals – Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, and Math. The manuals are  based on AMI principles from Jennifer’s AMI training through the Foundation of Montessori Education (Toronto, ON). The courses were taught and guided by Renilde Montessori in 1993/94.

You can see all the teaching manuals here.

The presentations and lessons included are for children who are approximately 2½ to 6 years of age. This, of course, depends on the individual child, and many activities also work well for 7- and 8 year olds. (Note: In Montessori education, primary is generally ages 2½-6 or 3-6 with elementary at ages 6-12.)

Each lesson includes:

• materials list
• material photo(s)
• detailed step-by-step instructions
• notes to the teacher
• purpose of activity
• points of interest
• control of error
• suggested age for presentation

Over the years, I’ve accumulated a number of Montessori teaching albums from my training course as well as from other training programs. My first experience in Montessori was through an AMI-trained teacher who let me photocopy her albums and gave me guidance in creating a Montessori environment and activities for a day care center. Later on, I completed Montessori training and worked with Montessori teachers from different types of Montessori training programs. Here are my thoughts on the Montessori Print Shop AMI-based albums:

• AMI albums always feel like I’m coming home. There’s so much available online, which I thoroughly appreciate. Yet it can be very overwhelming, especially for parents or teachers who haven’t had the opportunity to take a Montessori training course. The Montessori Print Shop albums are wonderful for both parents and teachers new to Montessori and for parents and teachers wanting to keep a firm foundation in Montessori principles and techniques.
• I love the clarity and simplicity of the Montessori Print Shop albums. AMI training courses stay the truest to Maria Montessori’s original ideas. You’ll find photos of the traditional Montessori materials in each of the manuals except the practical life manual, where they aren’t essential. There are a number of hand-drawn illustrations for the practical life activities that need illustrations.
• I love that the presentations follow the original Montessori guidelines. Montessori presentations are not all the same. It’s surprising how many presentations there can be for one activity when you look at different Montessori manuals. In general, I like to stay with an AMI presentation when there’s more than one way to present an activity. It’s well-thought-out and focuses on the essentials. When I created DIY Montessori materials in the past, I preferred to use traditional Montessori colors and designs whenever possible. There can be variations. You can count on AMI information if you’d like to stay with the original Montessori colors, designs, and presentations.
• I also love that you’ll find links to Montessori Print Shop materials within the lessons. Montessori Print Shop has so many wonderful free and inexpensive extensions for Montessori lessons as well as printables that are essential parts of many lessons. Having the links within the teaching manuals simplifies the preparation process.

If you go to each teaching manual page at Montessori Print Shop, click on the photos in each page’s left sidebar for a detailed Table of Contents and sample lesson.

Practical Life Teaching Manual

Sensorial Teaching Manual

Language Teaching Manual

Math Teaching Manual

Unless you’re already an AMI-trained teacher and have your own AMI-based albums, I think these are the ideal teaching manuals to have along with any other Montessori materials you already own. It’s easiest to add ideas and personalize your own unique way of teaching Montessori when you have a solid foundation to return to whenever needed.

And check out their eBook Montessori Primary Education – Understanding the Theory.

See all my reviews of Montessori Print Shop materials here.

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