Montessori Education & Finances
... Make money without diluting your classroom
Tips for Schools:
Start with a small group of toddlers (equipment needs are minimal), so you can gradually grow your class. This approach improves the quality of your 3-6 classrooms while allowing you to fund equipment purchases through tuition.
Be vigilant about maintaining Montessori standards (see details at the end of the post).
Save money by avoiding “filler” toys, equipment, plastic items, inexpensive furniture, and cheap decorations.
Unless you're in a tropical climate, opt for incandescent bulbs that provide warmth and full-spectrum light. This makes a significant difference for many children. Since incandescent bulbs also warm a chilly room, there's no wasted energy or money.
Use stainless steel and sturdy glassware from your kitchen in the Practical Life area.
Create a school store featuring your branded items, such as shirts, notebooks, and sterling silver charms and jewelry. You can run this online without carrying inventory, but some parents enjoy shopping while dropping off their children, so it’s nice to have a few items available at school. This provides an additional revenue stream that doesn’t come from cutting the equipment budget.
Sell coffee and pastries (or breakfast sandwiches) to parents during morning drop-off to fund library purchases. Many parents head straight to Starbucks after dropping off their children, so you can explain that you'd like to use this money for books. This is also a great way to give older children some work experience, such as making food, brewing coffee, pouring, and handling payments.
Depending on your parent base, you can look for donations for raffles and auctions to raise funds for special equipment, such as the long bead chains.
Ask publishers for free samples of books and equipment in exchange for reviews on your school’s social media platform.
Quietly let parents know that you’d like to establish a scholarship for a handful of needy children. Some parents really want to help out!
If you have HVAC, spend money on true HEPA air purifiers that include an activated charcoal prefilter and HEPA filters. Opt for the simple Honeywell models, not those with extra functions such as ozone or ion-generators that are frequently unhealthy. Also, maintain fresh airflow from the windows.
Remember, the easiest way to start introducing Montessori is by offering parent-child work, as you won’t be providing child care. It’s simply an invitation to your home or another location. If you have Montessori equipment, many parents will want to know how to use it, making this a great opportunity for a seminar or a weekly event. Including coffee and a chat time for new moms will create a pleasant gathering atmosphere.
Tips for Maintaining Montessori Standards:
Maintain the authentic Montessori equipment selections.
More items on the shelves are not better. It just clutters the classroom and confuses students. Every failing AMI school I have seen has made this mistake. See this Montessori classroom tour.
Never replace authentic equipment in the curriculum with printed material.
Do check out my post here on fake equipment.
For AMI schools, it is crucial not to buy items just because they appear in the catalog. Products like the red and blue lined mats for the Movable Alphabet can cause unnecessary confusion for children due to poor design.
Make the original green floor and table mats! If someone does not offer these for sale, I will arrange something.
When I first started seeing a lot of odd “Montessori” equipment cluttering classrooms and confusing students, I thought schools were just buying cheap items on Amazon. Then I realized that Nienhuis has been randomly creating “new Montessori” equipment.
Important Background:
Dr. Montessori personally whipped and drove the Nienhuis founder to create equipment that satisfied her standards. The Nienhuis family actually blamed her for their father’s early demise because of this.
The Nienhuis family SOLD their brand many DECADES ago.
Nienhuis is now a toy company. It has embraced global manufacturing, so it is no different than any other toy company.
You will notice some of their products have the AMI logo, but their “new Montessori” products do not.
“New Montessori” products are not a thing in Montessori education. They are random toys that the toy companies create. These are junked up so badly that they confuse children — for example, puzzle attributes are added to number and letter work (we never do this).
I have never seen a Montessori equipment production line in North America. If there were one, the prices would not be competitive with world market prices. You do not need to pay someone else’s margin as we can shop directly from Alibaba’s directory of manufacturers. Look for the ones who export to the EU, as their standards are higher than those of the US.
The Montessori Method by Dr. Montessori is free on Gutenberg because it is old. She shows the equipment.
Happy December!