The Montessori materials help children understand abstract concepts in a hands-on way. While you can use them as teaching tools, their ultimate purpose is to help children develop higher abilities, such as concentration, critical thinking, and resilience. With just a few materials, you can present hundreds of elementary-level concepts. The materials listed below are, in my experience, the essentials. Your child might need a few more materials in the upper elementary years, but those can be printed or handmade. Below the materials, you’ll find my suggestions for albums.
MATH AND GEOMETRY
If you get one material, let it be this one. The Golden Beads teach place value, powers, the four operations, speed/time/distance, and even algebra.
This brilliant material helps your child master the four operations, including long division.
Cut-Out Labeled Fraction Circles (whole – tenths)
One box will help your child master all the fractions concepts (equivalences and operations), as well as angle measurement and percentages.
The colored beads can be used to introduce numbers, memorize math facts, understand squaring/cubing/square roots, and even for algebra!
Checkerboard
This material for long multiplication comes in a fabric version for compact storage.
These unassuming sticks can be used to explore hundreds of geometry concepts.
LANGUAGE
Ideal for exploring the parts of speech in a hands-on way during the first three years of elementary.
Helps your child understand how sentences are structured, so they can become a better reader and writer.
OTHER
This one comes with everything you need to start exploring the microscopic world around you.
Put this giant map on the wall and watch your child’s curiosity and understanding flourish. A good atlas is a great resource to find answers together.
Mainly Montessori 