What Montessori materials do you need at home?

If you have been reading this blog for a while, or you follow me on Social Media, you may have noticed that I encourage you to focus more on the Montessori principles than on the materials.

Having said that, the Montessori materials are unique and are important if you want to educate the Montessori way.

Do you need the Montessori materials at home?

If your child goes to a Montessori school, I would advise you not to invest in the Montessori materials. This is to keep the interest toward the materials while your child is in the school. And they will be lucky to be introduced to the materials by a Montessori guide. Feel free to discuss with your child's teacher as they might encourage you to work on some areas. Some teachers sometimes share the Sandpaper letters or other materials to be used at home.

If your child is mainly with you in the early years or you are home educating, you may want to invest in some Montessori materials. 

For this article, I will focus on the 3 to 6 age group. 

Understand the purpose of each Montessori material

To start with, I want to encourage you to understand the purpose of each material.

The book "Basic Montessori" by David Gettman will give you the 3 to 6 curriculum and you will learn what is the purpose of each Montessori materials for that age group.

When you know the purpose of each material, you can decide if you can help your child to develop that skill with another toy, a DIY version, a hands-on experience in nature instead of the official Montessori material. If you still think the material itself would be great for your family, then go for it.

Can you DIY the Montessori materials?

A quick google search and you will find many options to DIY the Montessori materials. I personally didn't make many of them myself. For a home use, if you are happy to spend the time on DIY, they are totally worth it. 

My favourite Montessori materials for the home

The Montessori materials are classified in 5 categories: Practical life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Cultural studies (in the UK, we say "Understanding of the World"). Let's me share what I would recommend from each section.

Practical life:

The only specific materials here are the dressing frames. There are easy DIY version and it was not a huge success for my children at home. In the classroom, the favourite one was the zip frame. Every other practical life tool is a child size version of what you use in the home. Those tools are very important and you should aim at helping your child to participate in your everyday life as much as possible. 

Sensorial Materials:

The sensorial materials are surely the most "well-known" or "recognisable" Montessori materials. The iconic pink tower, the red rods, the blue Geometric solid. I would recommend them all to you if you have the budget! However, you can do without many of them.

Here what I recommend:

• if you buy the Pink tower, take also the Broad stairs as you can combine both and you will use them for a long time. 
• Similarly, if you buy the knobbed cylinders, take the knobbless cylinders as again you can combine both materials.
• Colour box 3 can be used for art exploration and there are many extensions to do with this box. Also, it's not the easiest to DIY. You don't have to buy the Colour box 1 and 2 that you can easily DIY.
• Constructive triangles: many do them in cardboard, there are free templates that you can find online. If you have the budget and want to save time, buy them.
• Blue geometric solids: I like that the Montessori ones have a good weight and are big. You can find some cheaper version so it's not a huge investment. Again there are many activities to do with the Blue geometric solids so your child will learn with them for a long time.

Language:

I totally recommend a set of tactile letters. It could be the sandpaper letters or any other sensory letters of your choice. There are so many options.

You may also want to invest in a set of letters to spell. The Large moveable alphabet is a great material but you can also find many alternatives that are cheaper. Alternatively, you can print some.

Mathematics:

If your child will attend mainstream school from the age of 4, you may not want to invest in the whole set of maths materials. I would recommend a set of tactile numbers and then you can add a set of counters of your choice. There are many number games and number puzzles on the market. That might be enough to approach the decimal system in a fun, hands on way. 

If you are planning to home educate, it might be an area in which you are going to invest. Good foundations in maths are important for further knowledge. The Montessori maths material is unique and, on the long term, it gives a sound knowledge to the child.

I think a set of bead stairs and the golden beads materials are the main ones to invest in. Many of the others materials are relatively easy to DIY. 

Cultural studies:

In this area, I like the Montessori globe, the World map and add a map of the child's continent and country.

Where to buy Montessori materials in the UK?

One of the main suppliers of Montessori materials in the UK is Absorbent Minds. They have 3 ranges of materials. 

You can find a huge range of Montessori materials on Amazon, sold directly from abroad companies. Just be aware that the quality (and how they are made) can vary greatly.

I have a list of my favourite shops for Montessori friendly toys and materials here.

I hope you have found this list useful! Let me know if you have invested in Montessori materials for your home.

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