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Materials to Make for the Children

Maitri Learning now offers digital materials you can purchase to make materials for your children. This page includes the masters I used to create materials for my primary (3 to 6) classroom before I even started Maitri Learning. If you find anything out of date, or have your own master you'd like to add to this collection, please send us an email. If we all work together, we can make setting up a classroom much easier for those who follow! For suggestions on how to prepare your classroom, visit our Lesson Plans page.

Keep in mind that our primary role in guiding the children through the curriculum is to free them to become independent in every way. With this in mind, we try not to rely on black-line masters. We want the children to be free to create their own art and their own work without being required to "stay within the lines." Rather than handing them outlines, we offer open materials (paper, pencils, glue, chalk, watercolors, paints) so they can create whatever their hearts inspire.

The structure of the brain is directly altered by the child's interactions with her environment. So don't skimp on your work to prepare and maintain the classroom. It is critical that the environment we offer children be organized, free from clutter, logical, and aesthetically just plain lovely. If there is anything in your room above the child's eye level, take it down or cover it up. If you have storage or things meant only for teacher use, put them out of sight. We must allow the eye to focus on what we have prepared for it.

Math Equation Masters

Make copies of these and cut them into small slips for the children to use when they perform mathematical operations with the golden beads and/or stamp game. There are two pages: one for addition, multiplication, and subtraction, and the other for division.

Arithmetic Signs

Print these on card stock, or on paper to laminate, and cut them into 3.25" squares (one symbol per square). Use them when you first introduce the signs for arithmetic operations. In my training, we did this as a 3-period lesson after the children had a lot of experience doing the operations with the bank game but before they started using the stamp game. Some trainings introduce them with the bank game.

Dot Game Paper

The Dot Game helps prepare the child for abstract (memorized) addition. It is used after the child has a good deal of experience doing hands-on dynamic addition (with exchanges) with the golden beads and stamp game.

Multiplication Charts

Print the complete chart and the blind chart to use in finger chart activities. Remember that these come well after the child has begun unknowingly memorizing multiplication facts with the golden beads, stamp game, multiplication bead bars, multiplication bead board, and squaring/cubing chains. Do not give this material to the child too soon! We must always ensure they have a concrete understanding of a mathematical concept before moving into abstraction (memorization).

• Full multiplication chart
• Blind multiplication chart

Decimal Chart

This isn't the official elementary version, but it is the adaptation I created to help my son with his decimal place work. It works for him, and you are welcome to it!

Want ready-made, laminated math materials? Shop Montessori math →

Room Labels

Labeling the classroom is a wonderful activity for your students who are reading. It helps build vocabulary, deepens their connection to their environment, and sparks renewed interest in the materials. First, give lessons on how the children can make their own labels for the environment. Then, use these prepared labels.

• Labels for Practical Life/Everyday Living
• Labels for Math
• Labels for Sensorial
• Labels for Language/Geography
• Labels for The Farm (these are perfect for Function of Words work with the Farm)

Ready for the next step after farm labels? Shop Montessori grammar cards →

Etiquetas en Español

• Nombres de objetos del ambiente
• Vida Práctica
• Sensorial
• Función de las palabras: Adjetivo

Looking for more Spanish materials? Shop Spanish →

Geography Map Labels

These pages include labels for political geography for all continents, and topical geography/land and water forms (e.g., lakes, mountains) for the globe, North America, and the United States. Considering the turmoil of governments, these labels may not be up to date, and there may be labels worth adding. If you find an error or have something to add, please send us an email and we will update the files.

• English Geography Map Labels
• Español: Etiquetas del Mapa de Geografía

Want ready-made geography materials? Shop Montessori geography →

Puzzle Words

This Word file lists high-frequency American English words that do not follow the phonetic rules. They must be memorized. Move on to these once the child is a strong phonetic reader (including phonograms). Use the 3-period lesson (described in our Lesson Plans) to present 3 or 4 of these at a time.

Prefer printed, laminated cards? Shop Puzzle Words →

US Presidents List

I bought a book with photos of all the US presidents and made cards out of them. The older children used this list to put the cards in order. What an impressive work! The list includes the names and dates of each president's term, in order.

Scissor Cutting

Use these to create paper strips for scissor cutting exercises. Remember that cutting paper is just one type of cutting exercise. You can also increase challenge, add interest, and provide preliminary exercises for more complex activities by putting out twine, thread, yarn, cardboard scraps, and more.

• Horizontal cutting
• Diagonal cutting
• Wavy cutting

Setting up your practical life shelves? Shop practical life →

Materials to Support Adults

Lesson Planning Book/Record Keeping (3 to 6+ Curriculum)

These books list the entire Montessori primary curriculum as included in the Maitri Learning albums. Read our blog post about how to use these books.

At the end of each day in the classroom, I made notes in these books. I made one book for each child and was more or less able to keep them up to date. On the front cover, I wrote the child's name and put their sticker (it matched their cubby hook and storage drawer sticker). Sometimes the child would bring me their book when they were looking for work. Sometimes I would ask them to bring me their book if they needed redirection and I couldn't think where best to send them or recall which lesson they needed. My assistant also used these books to redirect children. I would post a sticky note inside the cover listing specific lessons I wanted to give or thought the child would like to repeat.

• Montessori Record Keeping Book (PDF file), 2 per page: ready to print double-sided on 8.5" x 11" paper (landscape)
• Montessori Record Keeping Book (Word file) (editable)

Want the full lessons behind the planning book? Shop teaching manuals →

Free E-Books

These books by Maria Montessori have been digitized by Google:

• The Montessori Method (1912)
• The Advanced Montessori Method (1917)
• Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook
• Pedagogical Anthropology