About Us

Welcome to Maitri Learning!

Fair-wage, Eco-happy, Right-livelihood, Woman-owned

Our Roots

We were founded somewhat accidentally by a teacher who was trying to buy the perfect materials for her classroom and couldn't find them anywhere. Now, the materials she created (based specifically on the precise directions received in her AMI training and the teachings of neuroscience) are used by teachers, parents, and teacher educators around the world. We named ourselves after the Buddhist word maitri which means having a compassionate, kind heart. 

Our Mission

Our mission is to help children (and the adults who care for them) reach their full potential. We make teaching and learning materials for literacy, math, art, and science including cards, books, aprons/mats, and the perfect little cloth pouches to hold everything. Our blog, videos, and teacher manuals are a trusted resource for teachers and parents. And, we are a woman-owned, fair wage, eco-happy small business.

Eco-Happy

Maitri is a green, eco-friendly, fair-wage, right-livelihood, woman-owned business. All of our products are CPSIA compliant. Read our Sustainability page for lots of fun green details.

Fair Wage

We pay all of our employees a living wage. Our prices reflect these fair labor costs along with the costs of environmentally-sound fabric and paper, toxin-free laminate, and inks made without ozone-depleting substances. 

Our Founder

Julia Volkman, Maitri Learning’s Founder and President, has been teaching children and mentoring teachers in private and public schools since 1997. She is a Faculty member of the Brain Health Initiative, a guest lecturer for Harvard University's Neuroscience of Learning/Mind, Brain, Health, and Education course (Extension School) and a Montessori Mentor consulting with public and private schools across the nation. Previously, she was a consultant for the National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector (NCMPS), a member of the Advisory Panel for the Montessori Training Center of the Northeast's Boston AMI Training initiative, a columnist for the Public School Montessorian, and an intern supervisor for the Northeast Montessori Institute (AMS).

Ms. Volkman earned her AMI 3 to 6+ diploma from the Montreal Montessori Training Centre, a bilingual program. She earned her master's degree from Harvard University where she researched the movable alphabet and studied cognitive neuroscience/neuroeducation (a transdisciplinary approach to education that considers the child’s genetics, environment, capacities, and interests). Through her work at Harvard, she was asked to be the teacher’s representative on the Advisory Panel for the Annenberg Foundation's course Neuroscience & the Classroom (developed in conjunction with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics). That course features two public Montessori school classrooms (Zanetti Montessori in Springfield, MA) and Ms. Volkman mentoring in those rooms. 

Ms. Volkman regularly speaks at Montessori conferences and schools around the world including the Spanish AMI Centennary, AMI Scientific Pedagogy Group, AMS annual conferences, the Montessori Foundation, the Maine Montessori Association (keynote), the South Carolina Montessori Alliance (keynote), and the Wisconsin Montessori Association (keynote), among others. If you would like information on inviting Ms. Volkman to speak at your event, contact us.

Before coming to Montessori, Ms. Volkman worked as an instructional designer, writer, and educational consultant (developing educational programs for physicians and business professionals). 

Laminate Information & Research

Our lamination method is supported by data from a clinical study of lamination formats. We print our cards on heavy weight, environmentally sound papers (not card stock which can peel away from the laminate). We use a 5 mil laminate that extends just to the edge of the cards (not beyond) and we round the corners (to eliminate the tactile distraction of "pokey" corners and to add to their longevity).