START READING:
BOOKS ABOUT MONTESSORI EDUCATION
If you are NEW to Montessori education. . . I recommend reading the books by the following
authors to get a "taste" of the authentic Montessori methods, materials, and environment - both from the perspective
of the child and the parent/teacher:
Aline D. Wolf / Tim Sedlin / Paula Polk Lillard
Our Peaceful Classroom - a child's view of Montessori education, illustrated by Montessori students
Parent's Guide to the Montessori Classroom
- originally a series of pamphlets on the basics of Montessori education.
How
to Raise an Amazing Child the Montessori Way - a modern day approach to Montessori education.
Montessori in the Classroom: A Teacher's Account of How Children Really Learn
- a day by day classroom chronicle with the observations of a Montessori directresss. This book was previously published
under the title "Children Learning: A Teacher's Classroom Diary."
If you have young children and want to
explore the thought of adding a FEW Montessori activities to your home and learning environment. . . I recommend the
following authors to add a "touch" of Montessori to an already established preschool routine:
Lois McCue / Maja Pitamic / Lesley Britton / Lynn Lawrence
Learning Language Through All Five Senses: A Language Development Activity Book - an EXCELLENT book
with practical life activities for each letter of the alphabet. There are several activities for each of the letters of the
alphabet. There are several detailed illustrations of activities and tray set-ups.
Teach Me to Do it All by Myself - a simple summary of Montessori-friendly preschool works.
Montessori Play and Learn: A Parents Guide to Purposeful Play from Two to Six
Montessori Read and Write: A Parent's Guide to Literacy for Children
Of the following books, two are my
all time personal favorites . . . E. M. Standing's book is very deep for a beginner - it's not an easy book
to read from cover to cover - so the first time through pick and choose the topics that interest you. By the time I read the
book the third time I understood MUCH more than I did a year earlier. The Discovery of the Child is the book that explores
the fullest potential of the Montessori Method. It is a great mixture of Montessori history, method an materials. This is
the book that finally put it together for me.
Maria Montessori / E.M. Standing / Gianna Gobbi
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work - edited by E. M. Standing, this
is a primary resource, written by a man who knew Maria Montessori personally. A note of interest, E. M. Standing converted
to the Catholic faith due in part to his friendship with Maria Montessori. Introduces Maria Montessori's application of
the Montessori Method to teaching the faith.
Discovery of the Child - This book
is Maria's most enjoyable description of the Montessori Method and materials for ages 3-6. Written to be a forerunner
to it's companion book, From Childhood to Adolescence.
From Childhood to Adolescence:
Including the Erdkinder and the Functions of the University - written as a sequel to Discovery of the Child, this
book touches on what Maria had envisioned for ages 7 through college. Includes lessons and diagrams for studies on the subjects
of water, carbon, chemistry experiments, and inorganic chemistry.
Listening to God with
Children - written by Gianna Gobbi, a directress with first hand experience working with Maria Montessori explains
the Montessori Method with elegant simplicity - this book is another of my favorites.
If you want to learn more about the Montessori APPROACH
. . . I recommend the following author to get a feel for the Montessori course of study:
Heidi Ann Spietz
Montessori at Home: A Complete Guide to Teaching Your Preschooler at Home Using the Montessori Method - provides a simple approach
to Montessori with samplings of presentations and materials for ages 3-6.
Modern Montessori at Home: A Creative Teaching Guide for Parents of Children 6-9 Years of Age - Includes sample phonics, grammar, biology,
geography, history, and science presentations.
Modern Montessori at Home II: A
Creative Teaching Guide for Parents of Children 10-12 Years of Age - Uses a unit study approach of lesson planning
with the topics of science, health, social studies, humanities, English, composition and grammar.
If you are serious about Montessori
education and want to learn more about the Montessori MATERIALS . . . I recommend the following authors and books to become
familiar with with authentic Montessori presentations:
Maria Montessori / Elizabeth Hainstock / David Gettman
Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook - written by Montessori herself,
a condensed summary version of her method and an introduction to some of the Montessori materials for ages 3-6.
Basic Montessori: Learning Activities for Under Fives - a very usable book for the Montessori Method
with materials and presentations for preschoolers.
Teaching
Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years - an easy to understand collection of Montessori presentations and directions
for materials making for ages 3-6, featuring Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Math and Culture activities.
Teaching Montessori in the Home: The School Years - Math and Language presentation
and materials plans for ages 6-9.
Of the following books, three are
my all time personal favorites . . . E. M. Standing's book is very deep for a beginner - it's not an easy book
to read from cover to cover - so the first time through pick and choose the topics that interest you. By the time I read the
book the third time I understood MUCH more than I did a year earlier. The Discovery of the Child is the book that explores
the fullest potential of the Montessori Method. It is a great mixture of Montessori history, method an materials. This is
the book that finally put it together for me.
Maria Montessori / E.M. Standing / Gianna Gobbi
Maria Montessori: Her Life and Work - edited by E. M. Standing, this is a primary resource, written
by a man who knew Maria Montessori personally. A note of interest, E. M. Standing converted to the Catholic faith due in part
to his friendship with Maria Montessori.
Discovery of the Child - This book is
Maria's most enjoyable description of the Montessori Method and materials for ages 3-6. Written to be a forerunner to
it's companion book, From Childhood to Adolescence.
From Childhood to Adolescence:
Including the Erdkinder and the Functions of the University - written as a sequel to Discovery of the Child, this
book touches on what Maria had envisioned for ages 7 through college. Includes lessons and diagrams for studies on the subjects
of water, carbon, chemistry experiments, and inorganic chemistry.
The "meat" of the Montessori
Method is in the following three books - written to be a 3-part series, all three books were authored by Maria Montessori.
Spontaneous Activity in Education was originally published as The Advanced Montessori Method, Vol I and
The Montessori Elementary Material was originally published as the Advanced Montessori Method, Vol II:
Montessori
Method - for ages 3-6
Spontaneous Activity in Education - for
age 7-11 (philosophy and method)
Montessori Elementary Material - for age 7-11
(about the materials)
The HEART of the Montessori Method
. . . the following Montessori books are recommended for those who want to dig deeper into understanding the philosophy of
the method and the development of the child.
Maria Montessori
The
Absorbent Mind - very deep and often hard to understand, but a very rich and valuable resource.
Secret of Childhood - using a more understandable language, Maria unfolds the mystery for the child.
The cost of the following books may
not justify personally owning a copy but you can take the information to your local librarian and put in a request to purchase
new materials for public use. That way your library gains a great resource and you get to read the book for free.
Angela Lillard / John Chattin-McNichols / Cameron Camp, Ph.D.
Montessori, the Science Behind the Genius - this book addresses the
constant crisis in traditional American schooling which is based on two poor models of learning: the school as a factory and
the child as a blank slate. One hundred years ago, Maria Montessori, the first female physician in Italy, based her method
of educating children on real live observations of how children naturally learn.
The Montessori
Controversy - includes reports on research and trends in modern Montessori education with chapters on Montessori
philosophy and theory and explains the four major areas of study: Practical Life, Sensorial, Math and Language.
Montessori-Based Activities for Persons with Demenita - available in Volumes I &
II - written by a noted psychologist whose intervention research for persons with dementia has bee funded by the Alzheimer's
Association, N.I.M.H, and the National Institute on Aging. Using Montessori Methods to provide cognitive stimulation gives
those afflicted with dementia opportunities to maintain some sense of order and accomplishment.
