Welcome to the new Montessori blog series on abcteach. Throughout the year, you’ll find helpful tips and fun examples on how you can use abcteach materials in the Montessori classroom. Our guest contributor, Andrea Coventry, grew up in Montessori schools and is a current educator and internet writer on teaching Montessori.
Montessori Writer: My 10+ Year Affair with abcteach
In the year 2000, I started teaching my own Montessori 3-6 classroom. The program I joined was relatively small. We had a lot of manipulative materials, but supplementals were definitely needed. It was then that I started searching online and came across this nifty site known as abcteach. Materials were printable and free. Though technically they were almost too “cute” for traditional Montessori, I used them anyway and spent hours, ink, and paper printing off new activities and laminating them for my class.
Years went by and the abcteach site grew. When the membership side opened, I gladly paid the extra cash because abcteach’s materials continued to inspire me. Colleagues commented on how much they loved the activities I had. As I put new work up in the staff room, they begged to know how they could get their own.
My part-time job is content writing for various platforms across the Internet. My focus is education and parenting and I have often referred to abcteach in my articles, linking back to the site via Facebook and Twitter. Somehow through all of this, Sandy, abcteach’s founder, and I started talking about how to further adapt activities to fit Montessori classrooms. I shared my thoughts, collected ideas from colleagues, and encouraged others to do the same. The Montessori section was soon opened.
abcteach’s staff is very accommodating to the outpouring of ideas. They work hard to adapt their materials to fit the needs of different schools of thought. They also ask questions to ensure they’re getting it right. Here are a couple of ideas for you to try:
- • How to Teach the Parts of an Apple
- • Apple Nomenclature Cards
- • Teaching Vocabulary: Use Three-Part Matching Cards
To this day, I continue to spend hours making new activities based on what I find on abcteach. Their materials continue to inspire me and I love sharing them.
Here’s to another great school year!
Andrea Coventry is a Montessori child, now Montessori educator who has been working with children for over 20 years. Her work can be read across the web, including her Montessori Writer website. Learn more about Montessori education at the Montessori Writer Facebook page.