free printable Archives - montessori works

a compilation of free montessori resources!

For the last few years, at the end of the year, I reread Julie Volkman’s The Promise of Fall. It’s not because I am a super teacher that is constantly thinking about how I can improve, or what I can do better, it’s just that I finally realized it is the perfect time to reevaluate and think about your classroom, your homeschool routine, your co-op. At the end of the year we can see and remember “what’s going well” and “what’s not going well, and honestly driving me crazy.” Come September, the summer sun has faded those thoughts and feelings, everything has a rosy glow and I can’t even remember how I have the shelves arranged.

To that point, I wanted to share this article so you too can also start thinking about next Fall. I also complied of some of the best and free Montessori resources I could find on the internet. I purposely kept this list not based on free downloads and printables and more philosophy/albums/lesson plan based.Continue reading “a compilation of free montessori resources!”

montessori presidents day & money sorting work

Presidents Day is coming up this Monday, traditionally, it is a day to celebrate Lincoln’s and Washington’s birthdays, however, this year I decided to celebrate it in a more inclusive way by focusing on all the Presidents that appear on common coins and bills.

I prefer my works to start at a very concrete (real) place. Children are familiar with money, it is common and known to them. We build on this concrete foundation by providing a range of images, concrete to abstract – pictures of money, real photographs of the Presidents, paintings of the Presidents, statues, and monuments. Since many of these paintings and statues are not familiar to the children in our class, I have color-coded the cards so it is a self-correcting and independent work.Continue reading “montessori presidents day & money sorting work”

Montessori Record Keeping

We have just finished up our fall conferences at my school. One important tool that we always use, revisit, and expand,as we write up our conference notes, is the master record that we keep for each child.

This year my co-teacher and I revisited the form we had been using, which was an inherited form that neither of us had developed, and while it was great, it wasn’t working for us. We wanted to make something that was meaningful for us, and that didn’t seem overwhelming to update, the previous record was 8 pages.Continue reading “Montessori Record Keeping”

parts of a stink bug

If you read the title of this post and your reaction is “What’s a stink bug?” be thankful. The brown marmorated stink bug is an insect that was introduced to the United States by accident in 1998. It has now become an invasive pest in many states, Virginia is one of those. The stink bugs are now looking for a warm spot to pass the winter, our school must seem very cozy to them.Continue reading “parts of a stink bug”