Montessori Curriculum: Samples & FAQs
... You can download all the samples for our Montessori curriculum as well as the reading material for Pink through Green levels and beginning books.
Montessori work is like college: Students begin with Primary One, regardless of age, to build the proper foundation of equipment knowledge.
Our print and digital material is on our Montessori House shop.
For teaching, we also start learning how to teach using the material in Primary One, so it is a good fit.
Once a well-developed child is over two years of age, we suggest that you begin with Primary One because it provides a teaching foundation and knowledge of key equipment.
Much of the equipment in Primary One is used for the second and third years.
Reading material for ages 3 to 6: Start with Pink, introduce Blue, end with Green. You may begin earlier, if your child has sought out the language material earlier.
FAQs at the bottom of this post (after the samples).
Gift: You can download 3-lined paper from my post here.
FAQs:
Q: My child is 5. They can sing the ABCs and count to 20. Can they skip to Primary Two?
A: No. Children must learn the letter sounds, understand numerals & quantities, and practice the brain-body work in the Sensorial and Practical Life sections. Plus, the work that is introduced in Primary One is used through age 6+. For example, the Pink Tower is used for volume calculation later.
Q: I already bought many “Montessori-inspired boxes of material,” so do I need to buy the material in the Official Montessori Equipment Guide?
A: Your child definitely needs authentic Montessori equipment that we show in our guide (we do not sell it). I know that many companies have created monthly boxes of “Montessori-inspired material,” but it is not the same.
Q: I’m confused. There are so many “Montessori” things for sale on the internet…
A: This is why we posted our official Montessori guide. You might also enjoy reading Dr. Montessori’s own words in her The Montessori Method book (it’s free online because it is old). Sadly, we also had to post a discussion of fake Montessori material here. Any factory can make something and call it “Montessori.”
Q: Regarding reading, I know each child learns at their own pace, but what age child use the Pink, Blue, and Green level words?
A: Generally:
3 years = Learns letter sounds (sandpaper letters) and simple words (movable alphabet). Begins Pink Series large format word cards with the movable alphabet.
4 years = Continues using the movable alphabet with the cards, reads the Pink Series books, and begins Blue Series words. Some begin Green Series words.
4-5 = By the time a child is five, they are working with the Green Series words.
5-6 years = Children have mastered Pink, Blue, and Green words, though five-year-olds may still sound out words. It is fine to sound out words!
(You can download the samples for the Pink, Blue, and Green Series above.)
Q: When do children learn the names of the letters?
A: After they can read well enough that they do not become confused. Usually around the Blue Series. We have a listing in our Etsy shop that includes capital letters, lower case letters, and an animal for each letter in the format originally suggested by Dr. Montessori.
Q: Can I use printed cards instead of the movable alphabet?
A: No. Absolutely not! It is really important that your child be able to touch and feel the differences in each letter!
Being able to handle the letters as one manipulates them to make words is one of the important parts of learning to read.
For the same reason, children need to do hands-on work in Practical Life and Sensorial materials. This provides important brain - body work that allows children to easily distinguish letter shapes, words, math quantities, and other important work.
(For example, think of boiling a pot of water for pasta vs looking at a card with a pot of water! How much difference it makes, right? Or, maybe a real diamond ring, instead of a picture of one.)
Q: Montessori material is expensive.
A: Once your child is performing above grade level, you will see what an excellent investment Montessori has been. This is why we do NOT sell Montessori equipment. I do not want anyone to think that I am pushing a sale.
Some parents sell the equipment that their child no longer needs by adding a lesson given by their child for the child of the purchaser!! This is a fabulous way to give your child experience presenting material (something we do in class).
I would also encourage you to buy directly from the factory or wholesaler via Alibaba and Aliexpress. Here is a post about the shopping process, Shopping for Montessori equipment.
Q: What are Montessori “Sensitive Periods”?
A: Dr. Montessori observed that children are uniquely able to soak in many aspects of learning between infancy and the age of six. We recommend reading Dr. Montessori’s book, The Montessori Method, for complete discussions and details. I’ll also post more on it later. Basically, children can learn quickly, easily, and naturally many skills when they are between infancy and six years of age. There are stages within this broader age range, so that is why our albums are arranged in the order you see.
Does this come with a schedule or calendar for what to do each day?