Free Montessori resources

Welcome to the Montessori Notebook

Enjoy these free Montessori resources just for you to help you bring Montessori principles into your home today. Bring back the calm and joy into parenting your children.

Free downloads

* Free 44-page PDF of Montessori activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers – with Montessori activities suitable for children up to 6 years old

* Free Montessori routine cards

* A free DIY Montessori-inspired mobile for your baby (for babies around 8-12 weeks old)

* Free printable Montessori language cards

* Free PDF download of “Instead of this, Say that”

* Free infographic “How to Set Limits Montessori-style”

* Free infographic “How to Manage Tantrums”

* Free infographic “Age Appropriate Chores for Children”

* Free PDF with 75+ books Montessori children will love

My Montessori videos

* Live tour of a Montessori toddler classroom in Amsterdam

* Setting up your home for Montessori children

* Montessori activities for toddlers

* Montessori at home: Small Spaces

* Choosing a Montessori school

* Watch a show from the archives of The Montessori Show where I join Jeanne-Marie, Your Parenting Mentor, to answer all your Montessori questions

Frequently asked questions about Montessori

* Montessori FAQs Part 1
Is Montessori suitable for every child?
How does Montessori work in practice?
What should I look for in a Montessori school?

* Montessori FAQs Part 2
How does a child transition to a traditional school after being at Montessori?
What if my child avoids an area?
I’ve heard children in Montessori schools are allowed to do whatever they want. Is that true?

* Montessori FAQs Part 3
I’ve heard Montessori schools are very strict and children are not allowed to play around. Is that true?
So why choose a Montessori school?
Why don’t Montessori schools have homework?

My favourite Montessori books

Don’t forget, you can now order my book The Montessori Toddler! A parent’s comprehensive guide to raising your toddler in a Montessori way. Easy to read for busy parents but covers every question you’ve ever had.

How to Raise an Amazing Child: The Montessori Way, by Tim Seldin
A great introduction for parents how to apply Montessori principles in the home. Easy to read and digest, with photographs to further explain the concepts. Very accessible and very practical.

Montessori Madness, by Trevor Eissler
Written by a Montessori parent, this book gives an accessible overview of the fundamentals of the Montessori approach. Highly recommended.

Understanding the Human Being, by Sylvana Montenaro
This book begins to give parents an insight into the world from their child’s point of view. It gives detailed advice to parents for babies from 0 to 3 years including setting up the home environment, breastfeeding and weaning, and the role of the father.

Montessori from the Start, by Paula Polk Lillard and Lynn Lillard Jessen
For those wanting detailed information on all aspects of the Montessori approach for the youngest children, this book is worth a read. The book discusses the theory and the practice, with many examples given.

Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work, by EM Standing
This book gives details into Dr Montessori’s life and how she came to be a renowned educator. Her pedagogical approach is explained clearly and with a lot of information, for the passionate learner.

The Absorbent Mind, by Dr Maria Montessori
If you would like to tackle one of Dr Montessori’s own books,The Absorbent Mind is a good place to start. I enjoy reading her books, but they are not light-reading!

My favourite parenting books

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk, by Faber & Mazlich
This is the book I recommend most to parents. It made such a difference to how I communicate with my own children and in my work with babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.

The core of the book is that you do not need to use rewards and punishment to get your children to behave in an acceptable way. And this book gives practical examples of what to do and say instead to back up the book’s theory.

I love this book so much, I run parent workshops based on this book as well.

Siblings without Rivalry, by Faber & Mazlich
Another book from Faber & Mazlich. They bring wisdom to an age-old problem – siblings fighting. It gives great strategies on how to guide children to solve their own problems.

Positive Discipline: The First Three Years, by Dr Jane Nelsen
A book full of practical tips how to handle feeding, sleeping and tantrums without using time out. Specialised tips for children under 3 years. Great to read in combination with “How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk”.

Thriving, by Michael Grose
This book takes a look at the big picture of parenting – how to instil values into your children, how to live as a family, and how to make your children resilient. I found this to be a really valuable book that puts it all into perspective. I like this author a lot and recommend his other books too, for example, “One Step Ahead”, his blog, and his “Happy Kids” e-newsletter.

The Creative Family, by Amanda Soule
I love the way Amanda Soule writes and the pictures in the book are beautiful and inspiring. Amanda presents a way to create with children that is accessible and fun. Lots of nice projects and ideas to do with your children. And I really enjoyed the chapter on creating rituals with your family too.

In Praise of Slow, by Carl Honore
This is an easy book to read with nice big type – great for tired parents! It is not a scientific review of the slow movement but a personal account from the author as he explores the art of slow with regard to children, food, sex etc. I really like his chapter on children and his conclusion. Very well balanced and a good reminder to us all to slow down and enjoy.

Toxic Childhood: How The Modern World Is Damaging Our Children And What We Can Do About It, by Sue Palmer
Sounds like a depressing topic and, to be honest, finding out what could be potentially damaging to our children can be quite scary. However, what I really like about this book is the realistic practical suggestions at the end of each chapter telling you what you can do about it given the facts. Worth reading.

My favourite online Montessori stores

www.manine-montessori.com
This is a new website based in Belgium with a lovely selection of furniture and materials. It’s really becoming your one-stop shop for Montessori materials in Europe. The materials are very thoughtfully selected.

www.michaelolaf.net
This wonderful website is the work of Susan Stephenson, a highly-regarded Montessorian. The website gives useful information on the Montessori approach and there are beautiful Montessori materials available. The catalogues they produce are a great resource themself, “The Joyful Child” for children 0-3 years and “Child of the World” for children 3-12 years.

www.absorbentminds.co.uk / www.montessoriservices.com
Both these websites offer a wide selection of Montessori materials and useful child-sized materials such as wooden trays, glasses, and aprons.

www.nienhuis.com
Located here in the Netherlands, Nienhuis is an educational supplier of Montessori materials

www.mariamontessori.com
Interesting blog posts about the Montessori approach

Now, are you ready to go deeper into the Montessori approach?

I’d love to help you apply the Montessori approach in your home through one of my online courses. I offer a 4-week e-course to help you set up your home and 2-hour online workshops to help you apply the principles with your baby, toddler, or getting cooperation from your children.

Click here to find out, “Which course should I follow?“

Some of the links on this page will earn us a small percentage with Amazon to go towards our school library at Jacaranda Tree Montessori. Thank you so much for your support!