Founded by Sharon Duncan and located in Athens, Georgia, Waseca Biomes has been making Montessori materials for the past twenty years. Using natural materials like cloth, paper, and wood, their materials are the gold standard for the study of geography through biomes, as well as integrated language and cultural studies. Another Waseca flagship is the well-known rainbow reading program and rainbow biome, readers. Capturing the child’s interest, the materials are intentionally charming, and the children are naturally attracted to them. The beauty of the Waseca materials and their thoughtful lesson plans and extensions make them a must-have for the Montessori classroom.
While I was a classroom teacher in the 9-12 classroom, we used the biome materials extensively to supplement our geography and cultural studies. They were a consistent go-to material for our students to conduct independent research. When I moved to the gym setting, I began checking in with every class to integrate their classroom concepts with my lessons. One of the lower elementary teachers mentioned that she just taught her students about the Cosmic Tower (Cosmic Nesting Boxes).
I had not heard of this material before, but it sounded interesting. When I saw the material, my first impression was it was impressive in its clarity and elegance. The concept was simple but so well executed that the students clearly understood its concepts. After another lower elementary classroom teacher said they would be doing the Cosmic Nesting Boxes lesson later in the week, I knew this needed to be integrated into the PE classroom. So, I worked on creating a lesson that would encapsulate the experience of going from big (the universe) to small (the person). You can find the Cosmic Nesting Boxes lesson combined with their official narrative for the material presentation in Volume Three, or the individual lesson here. I also encourage you to go to Wasecabiomes.org and see this material for yourself and all their other beautiful products. I am proud of our collaboration with Waseca, and I will continue making lessons for their exceptional materials.
The Montessori Library is a subscription service that offers comprehensive lesson plans and videos in all areas of the Montessori curriculum. The instructors have a wealth of knowledge and experience and include notable presenters like Paul Epstein, PhD., Val Wise, Tim Selden, Kitty Bravo, Jonathan Wolf, and more. Subscriptions are priced very reasonably. In addition, this resource supplements established Montessori curriculums and new and novel curriculums not offered in regular Montessori certification training.
The Montessori Library’s goal is to provide valuable information to as many Montessori instructors as possible at a fair price. We also believe in this mission, which is why we are pleased to announce this partnership with the Montessori Library.
Click here for a direct link to our Montessori PE lessons in The Montessori Library.
Located in Slovenia, The Montessori inštitut is a brand new, world-class Montessori school just minutes from downtown Ljubljana. The director and co-founder of the Montessori inštitut are Melita Kordeš Demšar, who has a bachelor's degree in social pedagogy and a master’s degree in anthropology, as well her AMI 0-3 diploma and AMS certificate for infant/toddler, early childhood, and elementary (6-12). Melita Kordeš Demšar participated in establishing the first international training course in Slovenia for Montessori pedagogy at the early childhood (3-6) age level, as well as organized and directed training courses for Montessori teachers for the infant/toddler stage (0-3 years). In addition, having worked with Seton Montessori in Chicago, she recently launched a training program for Montessori teachers for the elementary (ages 6-12), which started in 2013 for the first time in Slovenia.
In the summer of 2019, I traveled to Slovenia to teach the Montessori Physical Education curriculum to Melita and the teachers of the Montessori inštitut. They share the same vision of the importance of physical education but recognize the benefits of integration with the Montessori classroom to produce a truly authentic Montessori PE program. The staff is very excited to unveil these new lessons to their students after having so much fun playing the games themselves. We will continue to foster our partnership through collaboration as they pilot new lessons and share their feedback. One day I hope to revisit their beautiful school and see my friends at the Montessori inštitut.
For more information about their great school, please visit their Facebook Page or website.
Nestled within the Tulsa Public Schools system, the Emerson and Grissom Campus’ are the only public Montessori schools in Oklahoma. They are leading the way in providing accessible Montessori Education to all children. Following the Montessori method, the students work in uninterrupted blocks of time with specially designed materials and learn in multiage classrooms with guided work choices and lessons. This child-centered environment focuses on creating lifelong learners and self-motivated adults.
Montessori Program Specialist Diane Beckham contacted me because her goal is to provide the students with the most authentic Montessori education experience. She saw that Montessori Physical Education does just that by integrating with the Montessori classroom curriculum. Diane began her career by helping establish a Montessori magnet school with the Oklahoma City Public School System, then later a Montessori School in Sacramento. While working as an administrator for Montessori schools in Kansas City, she couldn’t pass us the opportunity to go back to Oklahoma via Tulsa to create a public Montessori school accessible to everyone. PE instructor Lorrie Haworth, who has lots of experience with traditional physical education instruction, but was not familiar with Montessori, implements the actual program. By combining her expertise as a PE instructor with the lessons from Montessori Physical Education, she better understands the Montessori curriculum and connects with her students in a new way.
To learn more about their school, you can visit their website here.
Desert Sky Montessori is a non-profit (501c3), a public charter school in the Bend–La Pine School District, Oregon, and the ONLY tuition-free Montessori elementary school in Central Oregon. They are thrilled to be entering their sixth year at a brand new campus with class offerings that include Kindergarten through 6th grade (with plans to expand to middle school as soon as possible). Desert Sky Montessori was founded with love, perseverance, and a passion for Montessori education (with a couple of epic donut sales). Early in 2014, many parents discussed an alternative to traditional elementary education in Bend for their Montessori preschoolers. For the following two and a half years, the founding board grew from three to more than twelve members. The board worked tirelessly to spread the word about the opportunity for a tuition-free Montessori school in Central Oregon.
In the Fall of 2016, after three rounds of applications, the Bend-La Pine School District voted unanimously for approval, granting the charter. Thus, the first and only tuition-free Montessori elementary school in Central Oregon was created. After receiving the Anjulicia Grant, two grants from the Oregon Department of Education, and many successful fundraisers, Desert Sky could purchase complete classroom sets of Nienhuis Montessori materials and secure its original location in the Bend-River Mall. Desert Sky opened on September 6th, 2017, with four classrooms ranging from Kindergarten to 3rd grade. In 2018, Desert Sky Montessori grew to include the second location at One World Center, thus making space for our brand new Upper Elementary classroom and a preschool. Next year (2022) is a giant leap forward for Desert Sky Montessori as they move to their new location on O.B. Reilly Road, which will reunite all staff and students under one school. The new location has a gorgeous outdoor space that will provide lots of space and opportunities for playing Montessori Physical Education games.
Crystal Lake Montessori is beautiful inside and out in a serene outdoor forest space in Woodstock, Illinois. One can’t help but notice the beautiful outdoor areas like the garden and trail paths. Once inside, the classrooms are spacious and well-equipped, especially the middle school. However, lovely settings and buildings can only take you so far. The people matter most, and they have an excellent staff of teachers from toddlers to middle school. Led by Gwen Harris, I immediately felt welcome during our large group game to get their school year started in a fun way. Gwen has been involved with Montessori education for over three decades with experience teaching in toddler, elementary, and middle. Professionally, she has a degree in education from Northern Illinois University, a Master’s from St. Catherine’s University (one of my alma maters), and a Master’s from Concordia University. Gwen also has AMS certificates for elementary 6-12, Early Childhood, and Secondary I. All this, and she was an instructor at MMTTC!
In the summer of 2022, I traveled to their school to teach the Montessori Physical Education curriculum to Gwen and the elementary and middle school teachers of Crystal Lake Montessori. They are enthusiastic about using these lessons in PE and the classroom, which will help them fully utilize their beautiful campus. In addition, because the PE lessons integrate with the classroom curriculum, PE and classroom teachers alike can feel inspired and motivated to use these lessons at their discretion. We played the games for hours, and they were still energetic and excited to showcase these games to their students. We will continue to foster our partnership through collaboration as they pilot new lessons and share their feedback. I hope to revisit their beautiful school and see my friends at Crystal Lake Montessori again.
For more information about their great school, please visit their Facebook Page or website.
I can safely say that the Montessori School of Lemont has one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces I have ever seen in a Montessori School. With a sprawling seven-and-a-half acres of manicured lawn, wildlife habitats, and natural play structures, this school has it all if your children love nature. Starting in 1972 with a small group of teachers in a modest setting, this school has undoubtedly grown over its fifty-year history. MSOL is an accredited member of AMS and is also a recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education, is a member of the Association of Independent Montessori Schools (AIMS), is part of the National Council of Private School Accreditation, and is a certified wildlife habitat. It has been a family affair for the head of school, Therese Colby, because her mother was the founder of the school.
I had the good fortune of having beautiful weather to lead their staff through many games in their beautiful outdoor space. While my personal PE environment is a gym, I always keep in consideration schools that use nature as their PE environment. I was impressed to see the commitment of the elementary teachers and their PE teacher to use these new lessons because they recognize the power of integrating movement with learning. We put a plan in place for the remainder of the year by aligning the PE curriculum to their classroom curriculum by finding games that matched the themes. We played the games for hours, and the teachers left feeling tired but also energized to unveil the new lessons to their students. We will continue to foster our partnership through collaboration as they pilot new lessons and share their feedback. It is always a pleasure visiting my friends at Montessori School of Lemont.
If you're interested in learning more about the Montessori School of Lemont and its exceptional outdoor space, I encourage you to visit their Facebook Page or website. There, you'll find a wealth of information about the school's history, educational approach, and the unique opportunities it offers to its students.
Become a Partner
If you are an organization that makes Montessori materials, we may be able to collaborate with a Montessori Physical Education lesson that features one of your materials. For example, with Waseca, their beautiful Cosmic Nesting Boxes inspired the lesson for the Cosmic Tower.
If you are a school, partnership collaboration means meeting with your classroom or PE teachers to workshop the implementation of the Montessori Physical Education lessons. Whether via Zoom or in person, we work together to customize recommendations and suggestions for playing MPE games that your students will love. Plus, if you have me conduct a workshop with your school, you will have lifetime access to the Members Area!
If you would like to become a partner or have a suggestion for collaboration, please fill out the form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.