Origin Story: Why I started Maitri Learning

I started Maitri Learning accidentally. I hadn't intended on running a business. But way way back in 2003, I took a break from teaching at Pioneer Valley Montessori School to adopt our son. While we were waiting, I started making all the materials I would need when I went back to my classroom. It's not that I had no budget, but no one made the things my Montessori teacher training course said I needed. I would have bought them if I could!

Me at my desk in 2005

You couldn't buy what you needed

When I went to Montessori teacher training in the 1990s (AMI in Montreal), we had to write our own albums. Albums are basically a huge binder filled with all the lesson plans that show you when, how, and why to use each Montessori material in your room. As a new teacher, you expected to start working in a classroom that was loaded with every material listed in your album. Ha! As most new teachers discover, that almost never happens.

Language materials were the biggest gap. You see, for language, you were supposed to make a lot of the materials yourself. You couldn't buy really nice ones anywhere at that time. Since most of us teachers didn't really have time to make our own materials, we would just inherit what was in the class from the last teacher and make a few cards here and there when we had a moment. We'd cut up National Geographic magazines or seed catalogs, paste them to construction paper, and laminate them with the school's ancient laminator.  

But, now that I was on a break, I had time to make everything the way I saw it made in my dreams. (Yes, Montessori teachers dream about making materials.) Before I came to Montessori, I had worked in publishing so I knew a bit about graphic design and print production. As a result, when I made my materials, I made them at a professional level. 

Montessori Services gave me my start

One day, a friend of mine saw what I was making and said, "These are beautiful. You should call Montessori Services and see if they want to sell these." I did some research, got my courage up, and called. I ended up speaking with the wonderful Jane Campbell, head of the company and now a dear friend of mine. We spoke for an hour and she asked me to send her what I had so she could look at it. 

The thing is, at that moment, I had only a couple of packets of 3-part phonetic reading cards made. Most of the products were still just ideas in my head! This was a time before stock photography was readily and affordably available. So, I grabbed my little digital camera (cell phones did not have good cameras in 2003) and I started calling all my friends in search of a nest, a bat, a net, etc. I drove around, dug through garages, took lots of photos, and hunkered down with photoshop to make them look decent. 

Me, my son, and my camera (hanging on my arm) in 2007

I printed everything on my little color inkjet printer (not fancy at all) and laminated them with a tiny laminator where you put papers inside folded sheets of laminate, put those inside a paper folder, and ran them through this little desktop lamination machine. I cut the cards out with my old-fashioned guillotine paper cutter. Then, I manually rounded all the corners with this little craft-size corner rounder. By the time I was done my hands were killing me—but every rounded corner was perfect.

I had no idea how to sell wholesale or how to price things. Luckily, my step-father had managed a K-mart for decades. He clued me in and I was able to structure my pricing so it was sustainable.

I worked around the clock for about a week to get a package ready and off in the mail to Jane. When Jane received it, she called me and said she loved it and wanted to buy everything! Jane's belief in my work and her enthusiasm was transformative. At that moment, thanks to the faith Jane showed in me, Maitri Learning was truly born. I wasn't just making materials for my own classroom anymore, I was creating something that could help teachers everywhere. I tried to sound nonchalant and business-like but inside I was just hopping up and down.

Ethical companies were uncommon

While I was making everything for Jane, I was thinking about what it would be like to have my own business. What would I want my company to be? I decided on a few things that have shaped the company and its mission ever since.

The materials had to be truly useful and include clear directions on how to use them. Every material had to pass the test: Would Maria Montessori herself put this in her classroom? Does it actually help students and teachers? There was no point in creating something beautiful if it didn't really help children.

The company had to make things to the highest quality standard, just as I was taught in my AMI training. This meant I'd rather spend hours perfecting one set of materials than rushing through ten mediocre ones. Small children notice all the tiny details. If there is a spot on a card, they're talking about the spot instead of about the frog or whatever you want them to focus on! So, in Montessori, quality isn't just about appearance—it's about honoring the method itself.

The company had to be environmentally conscious. Right from the start I was thinking about sustainability—sourcing raw materials from other like-minded companies, choosing materials that would last, reducing waste wherever possible, and considering the manufacturing process' impact on the planet.

The company had to be financially sustainable—a livelihood, not a hobby. I wanted to serve teachers/students well while also running a sustainable business. These couldn't be competing goals—they were the same goal.

This is why I named the company "Maitri" Learning. Maitri is a buddhist word that means having a kind/compassionate heart towards one's self and others. I figured that if I was going to run a company, I wanted it to be a good company. I did not want to become some cold, money-focused business. I thought that making Maitri the business name would help keep me focused—and it has.

We grew organically

Aside from Montessori Services, my first sales were to friends and parents from my school. It wasn't until I got the website up and running, that I started getting sales from people I didn't know. That was exciting!

In 2004, I also started going to Montessori conferences. Before long, I was presenting at those conferences and making connections. Mentors like Susan Stephenson, Annette Haines, and Shannon Helfrich guided me on what materials were most needed and how they should be designed. We started offering more and more items for the language program.

All the while, people started to know that Maitri Learning existed and that the advice/guidance Maitri offered (straight out of my trainers' mouths) was quite helpful. Teachers used to call me and ask for help with what was happening in their classrooms. This naturally flowed into formally consulting in schools and becoming a teacher mentor at Zanetti Public Montessori school.

When that happened, it became really clear to me what teachers needed. The more classrooms I saw, the more I understood where the common challenges were. What started as filling the gaps in materials in my own classroom morphed into helping teachers everywhere. 

Our "exhibit" at the Montessori Schools of Massachusetts Conference in January of 2006

The Neuroscience part

My family life had a huge impact on Maitri's growth. My daughter, Maitri's self-appointed Odds and Ends Executive (OEE), was particularly supportive. She loved testing all the materials and editing the catalog. She also became like a second mother to my son when I was busy. But it was my son who drove me to become a researcher.

I brought my son home from Kazakhstan in August of 2006. Like most children who lived in an orphanage for any length of time, he faced challenges. I wasn't confident that what I had learned in Montessori covered everything I needed to know in order to help him. And, I needed to get my master's degree to keep teaching at Zanetti. So, I went to graduate school. I chose Harvard Extension School so I could study Mind, Brain, Education and cognitive neuroscience. 

Me at Harvard Commencement with my medal; my thesis won the Dean's Prize for Outstanding Research

My studies at Harvard taught me that my Montessori teacher training HAD prepared me to give my son what he needed. All I had been missing was a research background (to connect the dots between science and my training) and confidence.

The Montessori method is at its core the scientific method. Everyone who truly practices it goes through a transformation, both spiritual and intellectual. We come to realize that adult's with the best of intentions often get in the way of healthy child development. We see how we can design an environment that truly supports human growth. We learn to observe without judgment and respond skillfully to what we see. At its heart, that's what Maitri Learning does—we translate the science of human development into materials that work: play-based, awe-inspiring, and effective teaching and learning materials. 

Maitri Learning has grown organically (mostly via word-of-mouth) from the spare room in our home in 2003 (with myself and my 9-year-old daughter to help) to today where we have our own building and a team that ranges from two to ten makers. This human-paced growth is why we're still around more than two decades later. We just kept doing the next right thing to help get everyone the materials and classroom support they needed. 

Our Green Straw Bale building in 2025

I can't tell you how grateful I am for the encouragement and support I've received along the way. There are so many people to thank/acknowledge that I made a whole webpage devoted to that. I couldn't have done it alone. What started accidentally has become my life's work thanks to all of you.

What do you think?

If you're a teacher, entrepreneur, or someone with an idea that could help others, I hope our story encourages you to take the first step. Just go ahead and try. Maybe your idea is exactly what someone needs right now.

If you remember the early days of Maitri Learning, please post a comment below. We'd love to walk down memory lane with you and inspire others to take a chance and just try.