To tell you the truth, you can organize your homeschool classroom however you want. That’s the beauty of homeschooling. No one is going to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. As long as you follow a short list of Montessori basics and find a set up that works for you, that’s all you need. I’m not a trained Montessori directress (teacher), just a Montessori Mom so if you’re trained and have input to share…please do. That being said, this is what works for us…
^First and most important area: You need open shelving that is easy for the children to access independently. This is an old Ikea storage unit with the doors removed. I love this unit because it has the taller area in the middle for the pink tower. This layout is set up for Asher’s preschool group, which is 3 and 4 year-olds.
If you have children of multiple ages, you can either put their materials on different shelves, completely different units or simply tell them which ones they are able to work on. I personally don’t like limiting the boys’ work to what is “age appropriate”, but I do tell them they need me to present new materials before they work on them for the first time. This lets me know they understand the purpose of the work and allows me to observe since Montessori doesn’t test the students. The only evaluation is done through observation.
Some people organize the materials by theme. For instance, one shelf will be all of the practical life materials. Another will be all of the language materials. I don’t do this. I place them on the shelves as they fit and are visually appealing. I like to think they will be more well-rounded with their choices this way or will pick something they are less likely to pick because it’s near something they love. It seems to be that way with my boys, but I have no idea if anyone else sees the same thing happen in their home. Thoughts?
I also recently bought rugs for our school room since it will be used by more children now. Well…kind of. I actually bought placemats which were on sale for $1.39 at Target. Those will have to work for us for now. You can see them stored in the basket to the side. Show the children how to roll and unroll the rugs before they use them.
^The second area is used for storage. I use the top shelf to hold materials appropriate for only my 6 year-old. The bottom green bins are used to store materials we aren’t currently using. There are up to 3 sets of work stored in each bin. This helps keep the mess out of sight, which I love. I don’t have a lot of closet space in my home so I’m always looking for ways to store items. These units are also from Ikea. If you don’t need this much storage, you can also slide wood shelves into the grooves to make some of it storage and some of it open shelving. This style of storage is really flexible.
^The third area is a writing station. The Ikea box (do you see a trend?) holds our art supplies and coloring books. It usually looks a little messy like this because we are always digging in it, but it works for us. You could also use a plastic unit with drawers if you want it even more organized. If you are making a writing center, make sure a trash basket is nearby and the movable alphabet is easily accessible.
^I store our movable alphabet permanently next to our writing station, but you can also store it on a shelf for the child to bring over when he wants to work on spelling and writing. If you can’t or don’t want to purchase a movable alphabet, Montessori Print Shop has an economical printable option you can find here.
^The fourth area is dedicated to Circle Time. We only set up this area for Asher’s preschool. When it’s just JR, Asher and I it seems silly and non-productive for us to do circle time. The mats are felt sheets with their names painted on them. The board is something that came with the preschool curriculum our group purchased. When circle time is over, we remove the mats and roll out our rugs for our Montessori work cycle.
^I update our shelves approximately once a month, exchanging items for things out of our storage or new items. I usually like to keep our shelves pretty well-rounded. You can see math, sensorial, practical life and science on these shelves. We went over language in circle time, but that should be included too. We worked on a jungle theme so I updated a few trays to match that theme.
^Triangle Box, Lacing Tray, Shape Patterns, Land, Air & Water Tray
^Broad Stairs (Brown Stairs), Pink Tower, Geometric Solids Box
^Place Setting Tray, Color Tablets, Spelling Puzzle, Zoo Animals & Where They Live
There you have it. All of my organizational secrets. It’s really nothing special, but I hope it helped someone, because it sure did take a long time to write. If you use a lot of 3-part cards, you should check out the tutorials shared by Montessori Print Shop on how to store and organize those materials.
Great room!
Thanks Wendy.
Very Nice! I love th idea of keeping all the materials together instead of by subject! Hmmm….I have been thinking of some new ideas for my classroom and that is a really interesting thought. I may have to try it to see what I get. Pup seems to ignore some areas (the sensorial area) and I think that maybe moving things around would change it up! Thanks for the idea! I love you classroom! As always it is amazing! Happy Schooling!
I love mixing it up. I hope you will too. It’s worth a try. I love your school room too, but it’s always nice to get a little change. It’s refreshing. You’ll have to let me know how it goes.
Great setup! My oldest is only 20 months so we don’t have a lot of materials yet. However, I do like to have separate bins for different groups of toys or puzzles. Right now everything fits under the open coffee table so it’s nice to clean up and have an adult space in the evening.
That sound like the perfect organization for a 20 month old. Thanks for sharing your solution with us.
I love the way your set up your classroom so, so much! It’s organized perfectly and you put so much thought into it. Really great idea on the preschool mats. You are such a great mom and directress.
Thanks lil sis. :)
Thanks for sharing this, Lori! So much inspiration. I’d love to hear more about Asher’s preschool group, too.
Michele, I’m glad you liked it. What would like like to hear more about? Curriculum, routine, overall organization of our group and how we take turns teaching? Or something else? Give me a little to go on and I’ll try my best to write a blog post about it.
Thanks for sharing Lori..Your room is beautiful..I love the Montessori style and I am curious as to how I can incorporate it into a Homeschool that is not solely Montessori..Looking atsome of your materials,I noticed I have a few of them..Where do you purchase your materials..?
Some of them I made myself, others are Adena Montessori materials which I DON’T recommend purchasing them from. I actually wrote a review warning everyone from purchasing from them. They are an unethical company. Some are Melissa and Doug gifts from my mom. Which ones do you have? And do your kids (and you) like them?
Lori, I pretty much have all the Melissa and Doug items but none of the items that I have seen that are “Montessori”..like the pink tower etc..Are there any specific Montessori items you could recommend for me ..I have a 4yr old and a 16 month old..Both Boys..
It is so well organized and I like the mats with the name on each of them. Thank you!
So happy to hear. What a wonderful compliment. You are so welcome, Amanda.
The letter collage above the green storage is so fun and well composed!
Thank you Autumn. That’s so sweet of you to say!
Your homeschool classroom is so bright and attractive, Lori! I love that you put so much thought into making it an environment that works well for your family! I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page and pinned it to my Montessori Homeschool Classrooms board at http://pinterest.com/debchitwood/montessori-homeschool-classrooms/
Wow, I love your classroom! I hope I can slowly buy some of those wonderful Montessori items :) We have been working on Tot Trays, which I change weekly and I’ve also begun setting out different toys on my son’s low shelves in the mornings. It’s amazing a neat space will change the play time :) Thanks for some great suggestions!
It sounds like you are well on your way. I hope you’ll come back often and let me know how everything is going. It’s always fun to “see” a new face around here.