Free Montessori Video Lectures

Doing things the Montessori way isn't always cheap or easy.  When I find free resources I can't help but smile!  I haven't prowled all the way through these lectures yet, but there are a lot available.  Margaret Homfray was a colleague of Maria Montessori, and I find it fascinating to hear her speak and watch her hands.  I'm sure I'll be viewing a lot of these over the summer as I give myself a self-guided refresher course  :)

Listen to this!

Have you heard of Storynory? It is a collection of free downloadble stories! You know they must be good because the site is sponsored by CGMS (Center for Guided Montessori Studies).

I'm finding myself doing more and more reading aloud in the classroom.  I like reading a story early in the work cycle to help set the tone for the day and as a way to bring our current theme study to life (not to mention practicing listening and group-activity skills).  We have been reading chapter books in the afternoon and it seems to help transition the kids from high-action recesses to concentrated classroom work.  With Storynory they'll have a chance to use their imaginations even more as there are no pictures to go along.

Now, to figure out how to play them in my technology-free classroom.......

Sorting vertebrate and invertebrate cards

I have been loving the PDF files from Montessori Print Shop.  I just pick and choose the ones I want, purchase & quickly have a link to the files in order to print them.  There is a huge selection, both individual files as well as a few CD-ROM collections and freebies.  If I didn't need some of these materials immediately I would have opted for the CD's.  Oh well, I'll be better prepared for next year!

 This next week I'll be introducing animals, beginning with a discussion of invertebrates and vertebrates.  I inherited a few black-line animal nomenclature cards, but I didn't have anything truly exciting.  The school has a set of black line masters to use, but again not very exciting.  I love the real pictures in this set!  Also included is a black line page of animals.  I plan on using them as an extension for the kids.  Perhaps some accordion books illustrated with the cutout black line animals?

I printed these with my inkjet on white card stock.  I hate cutting, but fortunately my assistant LOVES to have cutting work to do in the evenings.  This particular set I will laminate at home with my little table-top laminator so that I can have it ready to use tomorrow.  If you don't have a laminator you can use a transparent contact paper method.

Other Montessori Print Shop materials I have in line to make this week:  Frog and Toad picture cards, Frog Life Cycle Cards, and the Frog Definition set.

Some other resources for Montessori classroom materials:

• abcteach:   Some free materials, but for a yearly fee you can have access to all the materials they have available, including Montessori extension materials.
• Enchanted Learning:  No Montessori resources, but there are lots of printables that can be used as extensions as well as some great craft ideas.  It is also a subscription-based website, although there are things you can access for free.
• Montessori For Everyone:  Another great source for PDF files you can print yourself.  They have a great selection as well, including a freebies page.  I've been ordering mostly from MPS because I got a discount after my first purchase:)

Now, all I need is to figure out some cheap-and-easy-yet-durable holders for all these fantastic card sets I am making.  Any suggestions?

Bonus Tip:  You can use the pictures for cutting work if you have ink issues while printing! Turtle has a lot of cutting work to keep her busy for some time  :-P