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Montessori Minute ~ Toys vs. Learning Materials

Montessori Minute Toys

imageThe media – toymaker industrial complex, borrowing a sixties phrase, depends on quickly turning our children into rabid consumers. Really, our way of life in developed countries depends on it; but that’s a story for a different blog.

You take your child to the hot new movie and she just has to have the toys marketed along with it. Hey, Jackie has them next door! You don’t want to be Scrooge, and soon your house resembles a recycling depository for colorful plastics. Your child is already bugging you for the Next Big Thing.

Most disposable plastic toys are like sugary treats for your child’s brain. They provide a rush of excitement and interest, followed by a crash once the fever subsides. Then comes the next must-have toy and the cycle continues.

Dr. Maria Montessori said a few things about toys around 1940:
“The toy has become so important that people think it is a help to the intelligence. It is certainly better than nothing, but if we watch the child, we see he always wants new ones, he breaks them, he develops nervous and moral complaints. People who study the child superficially say that as he breaks the toy, he seems to find delight in taking everything apart and destroying everything. This is an artificially developed characteristic due to the circumstances which deprive the child of the right things.

He is not quiet with his toys…. for more than a few minutes. The real trouble is that children have no real interest in these things, because there is no reality in them. It is the misunderstanding on the part of the adult that has led to this life of lack of attention on the part of children; this useless life, a mockery of life instead of real life. The child cannot exercise the energies that nature has given him to perfect his individuality, they are wasted and worse than wasted.

The result is that the child cannot develop normally; and the longer he lives in this environment full of toys, the less capable he becomes of adapting himself to the real environment, and gradually his personality is completely deformed.

Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind

So, everyone who plays with toys is deformed? That’s a bit much, but consider Montessori’s passion for helping young children. The point she makes is true: young children want to take their place in the real world. Movie and toy fantasies will not keep them satisfied for long.

imageIn environments lacking any toys, children in Montessori schools are completely absorbed with dressing frames, juice squeezing, banana cutting, using tools, color tablets, sandpaper letters and numbers, geometric shapes, and materials like the Pink Tower. They all want to get their hands on these materials. This has been happening for over one hundred years. What’s going on?

These materials provide real food for their brains instead of a sugary rush of excitement. They help children in their work of creating independent, functional people, with strong brains and a positive sense of self. The good news for parents who cannot afford a Montessori or other good preschool: you can provide these materials and experiences right at home.

You can easily make almost an entire preschool full of learning materials for your child for about $300. If you supplement those with some original Montessori materials and other good commercial learning materials, displayed on low shelves rather than thrown in the toy box, your child can have many of the same experiences he would get in a Montessori school.

There is so much information out there now that any parent can begin doing early learning at home. Start with these blogs:

  • 1+1+1=1
  • Living Montessori Now
  • Counting Coconuts
  • Chasing Cheerios
  • The Education of Ours
  • Montessori Print Shop
  • The Activity Mom
  • Tot School
  • Peaceful Parenting
  • Discovery Days and Montessori Moments

Search these sites and their blog rolls for more excellent blogs and find your own favorites. Search Pinterest for Montessori, early learning, and preschool activities. My eBook, Montessori At Home! presents what you need to know in one place to save you hours of research; and gets you started quickly with a good understanding of where you’re going.

Montessori materials for home use
Before you say, “Too expensive“, total up what you will spend over three years on birthdays and holidays on disposable plastic toys. Be honest! I’ll wager that if you divert half or less of that to buying early learning materials, your budget won’t even notice it. The cost of Montessori materials has come down, and they last for years in schools, so you will be able to recover up to half their purchase price selling them later.

Montessori materials are not difficult to use. Most of them teach just by being handled. You can find videos and explanations by searching any material online. There are specifics to know about what materials will interest different ages of children and how to make and display materials in a Montessori way. All this information is available for the searching. You may find my and other books helpful here.

These materials are not toys and should be presented and treated differently than disposable toys that your child handles carelessly. How you present, display, and organize materials for your child’s use is important. It takes a different mindset than throwing toys in a toy box. Here are Montessori materials that I recommend in Montessori At Home! for home use:image

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Some good online Montessori suppliers:

  • Montessori Outlet
  • Kid Advance Montessori
  • A Plus Montessori
  • Adena Montessori

An online search will find many more. There are many other Montessori materials that your child may find fascinating, take a look. A future post will offer a selection of other good commercial early learning materials – and there are many. We’ll also take a look at some of these Montessori materials in greater detail to try and find out what makes them so darn interesting.

Before you buy materials, check out the Montessori materials DIY and the free materials information at Living Montessori Now. Carisa offers loads of wonderful free materials right here on 1+1+1=1. Visit Montessori Print Shop for excellent free printables; and many more that are very inexpensive. This doesn’t have to be hard, it can be a whole lot of fun. The rewards of seeing your child engrossed in using a material you made are worth every minute.

Consider taking disposable plastic toys from center stage during your child’s formative early years. Substitute real world activities and good early learning materials that help your child learn real skills and build strong brain architecture. The benefits and rewards will be enormous.

John Bowman’s eBook, Montessori At Home!, has been downloaded by over 2000 parents, and many teachers, all over the world.

© 2012 John Bowman


My thanks to John for writing this extensive article for us here at 1+1+1=1! I invite you to ask him any questions you may have in the comments below and he can hopefully answer them for you. If you have an article you hope he will write for us in the future, please let us know in the comments also! Be sure to let him know if this article was helpful-we all love encouragement, right?


Did you miss earlier Montessori Minute Posts?

  • Introducing Montessori Minute
  • Where Do I Start?
  • Sensory Activities
  • Understanding Dr. Maria Montessori
  • A Preschoolers Guide to Home Improvement
  • The Three Part Lesson
  • What is Montessori?
  • Developing a Positive Self Image
  • Concentration & Normalization
  • Q & A with John Bowman {answers to questions left on the Sensory Activities post}

    Check out our feature on Totally Tots, where Jodi is blogging her experiences while using Montessori At Home! with her young tots!

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Carisa Hinson
My Fern is so beautiful. Still my favorite cat eve My Fern is so beautiful. Still my favorite cat ever. And that’s saying a lot!

I’m not very active on this account anymore mostly because my older kids don’t like to be photographed. I am passionate about fostering kittens and my foster kitten account @crazy_foster_kitten_lady is where I spend most of my Instagram time now.

I’ll share here every now and then, but I’m on the kitten account daily!
Have you ever seen Ivy Kids Kits? There are SO man Have you ever seen Ivy Kids Kits? There are SO many monthly kits for kids on the market now, but this one remains my favorite! We have partnered with @ivykidskits for many years and although my kids are now too old for them, I still spread the word!

This video shows a peek inside of a recent kit they sent us, Kermit the Hermit. You can buy individual kits or buy a monthly subscription!

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures
It was an awesome day of gymnastics! We are in Tex It was an awesome day of gymnastics! We are in Texas for a big meet. We have been here many times but this is the first time he won! 1st All Around, and 1st on floor, pommel, and high bar! He was a part of the NC Elite Team, they won 1st place team also. He hit all time high scores for all around and floor! We head to state championships in a few weeks for his next meet!

#krashthegymnast #region8mensgymnastics #ncmensgymnastics
Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabul Homeschool writing class with Fern. Always a fabulous teacher. Not distracting at all. 

#homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoolingmama #homeschoolmom #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschoolfun #homeschoolkids #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #iew
Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel ev Yes, we still walk our cat in a stroller. Mabel even posed for the picture. Our other cats go in the stroller sometimes too, Mabel is the frequent stroller-er.

#calicocats #fluffycalico #catsinstrollers
Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of m Swipe to see the books I read this year! Lots of middle grade books last summer (many reviews are on my blog, I linked them in the “2022 Books” highlight above). Did you read any of these? See my ratings on my goodreads profile! I will link in my stories, I am Carisa Hinson on goodreads.

#middlegradebooks #middleschoolbooks #mglit #middlegradebooksuggestions #readinginthemiddlegrades #2022goodreadschallenge #2022yearinbooks
It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, It was a Christmas filled with many emotions. Joy, happiness, excitement, surprise, sadness, longing, and a bit of emptiness. 

We celebrated with my parents on the 24th, and that was a very joyous celebration. We enjoyed church, gifts, food, and mostly one another. 

On the 25th we celebrated with my husband’s family and sadly we are missing our beloved Nana who went to be with Jesus a few weeks ago. We all did our best to honor her love for fun last night. We played games, we laughed, we ate well, but it was all mixed with a longing sadness, wishing we had her with us. 

The next to last photo is it Kyler and my father in law, who lost his very best friend. We just love him so much and pray for his continued healing as he grieves this horrible loss and emptiness. 

The final photo is of Nana’s grandkids each holding their collage of photos of them and their Nana. This gift brought some tears, but we can tell will be treasured by each of them. She was one of a kind, and so special to all six of them.
Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see Paxton won the gift award this year. Swipe to see what he bought his little sis! She was SO surprised! He loves giving gifts and having a job the enables him to do surprises like this is a gift to him. Sweet moments. ❤️
Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself i Not posed. Our foster kitten Jolly posed herself in the perfect spot! See more of her and her sister Holly here: @crazy_foster_kitten_lady Merry Christmas Eve! 

#hollyandjolly2022fosterkittens #orphankittens
#kittenseason2022 #fosterkittens #fosterkittens4thehinsons #fosterkittensofinstagram #fosterkittenlove #kittenfostering #kittenfostermom #kittenfoster #fosterkittenlove #kittenseason #tinybutmighty #fostercatsandkittens
Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids. Tree decorating night! Goodness I love my kids.
I know many of you don’t know many of the people I know many of you don’t know many of the people in this photo, but I know many of you pray. The beautiful woman on the far left of the couch is my bonus-momma, my husband’s mom. She has stopped all treatment for her cancer and is going home to be with Jesus soon. We prayed for her to feel well enough to be with us at Thanksgiving, and though she felt pretty crappy, she was there. 

If you know her, you know what I mean when I say this is one of the kindest, most joyful, selfless people I have ever known. The world won’t be the same without her. We are devastated and hurting. We pray for her peace, her comfort, her pain, and for God to relieve her of the suffering. 

Last night was a huge mixture of pure joy and devastating sadness. We celebrated and hugged, and laughed, and we cried. It’s just so hard. Thanks for praying for our family. ❤️
We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year We decided to decorate with a polar bear this year. ❤️ 

#🐶baxter❤️ #pitmix #pitmixes #sleepydogs #marshmellie🐶 #greatpyrenees  #greatpyreneesofinstagram  #greatpyr  #greatpyreneeslovers #greatpyreneesfamily #doggo #rescuedog #adoptdontshop #doglife #pyreneesofinstagram #dogsofinsta #doglover #instadog #gentlegiant
Webby and the lizard. Swipe for the video version Webby and the lizard. Swipe for  the video version. 🐱 🦎
I love my Christmas birds. We love having the deco I love my Christmas birds. We love having the decorations complete before Thanksgiving so we can relax and enjoy our home with our favorite decor of the year! I got started today, not close to done, but enjoying my adorable birds. A lot. Do you decorate early?
Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining c Mabel has turned out to be the most entertaining cat we have ever had. She is sweet and sassy, mischievous and marvelous. Equal parts of each. She annoys all of our other animals just like a little sister should and keeps the humans on our toes too. She LOVES Lili, and is still BFF with Pebbles (Lili’s cat). So glad we decided to add this rambunctious ball of fluff to our crew!
Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and tr Fun night celebrating my momma’s birthday and trick or treating in her neighborhood with Lili and her friends! The gum ball machine costume made it back for another year!
My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is f My amazing bonus-momma, my husband’s momma, is feeling good today so we met for lunch. She hasn’t had many good days lately so we take the moments when they come!

She has cancer and chemo is making her sick, it’s been a long hard road as any of you who have dealt with there horrible C word know. We don’t know what the future holds, so we cling to today! I loved sitting by her and laughing together. I am so blessed to have her as my mother in law! ❤️

Sadly since it was last minute, my boys couldn’t make it to lunch.
Every year they drive up to the mountains for the Every year they drive up to the mountains for the day and just spend time together. It’s their thing and I love it. Today they hiked, that’s Lili laying on the rock! She’s not much of a hiker but she loves the mountains, the leaves and her Daddy!
Goodness they are cute. Love them so much! 🧡🧡🧡
Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that b Totally thought I would hate it. It’s not that bad. Reading it for chemistry this year, and I have to admit I am learning a LOT, and it is interesting! 

We are using @guesthollow Chemistry in the Kitchen, this is one of the many books we are reading and will read.

#homeschoolchemistry #napoleonsbuttons #guesthollowchemistry #homeschool #homeschoolers #homeschoolingrocks #homeschoollife  #homeschoolfamily #homeschooliscool  #homeschooldays #homeschoolblogger 
#homeschoolteacher #homeschoollookslikethis #homeeducation #homeeducator #howwehomeschool #homeed #homeschoollifestyle #thisishomeschool
#homeschoolcommunity #homeschoolcurriculum #homeschoolersofinstagram #homeschooled #homeschoolcollective #homeschoolideas #homeschoolinspiration #homeschooladventures #homeschoolhighschool
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