Top 4 Montessori Homeschool Resources for a Successful Year

When you’re taking on a new homeschooling year there are many things to consider. It can feel overwhelming and nerve-wracking to think about everything all at once. This will be my 4th year teaching Montessori but my first year homeschooling, so I feel a bit lost. Here are my top 4 Homeschool Resources that have been the most helpful to me. These resources have helped ease my anxiety about doing everything right with my daughter this school year. I hope they help you too!

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1. Find a Mentor- They are the Best Homeschool Resources

Some of my greatest homeschool resources, that ultimately lead me to the other resources, are my mentors. There are many people that I find guidance from, but there are three who have helped me the most. My top 3 go-to ladies are:

Sharlie from @Montessorifortheworld on Instagram
Bree from @KindlingKids_Homeschool on Instagram
Pilar from @MainlyMontessori on Instagram

Montessori For The World

You can find Sharlie on Patreon as well where she goes deeper into lessons and philosophy. She gives specific talks on philosophy topics and gives video examples of lessons. My favorite resources from Sharlie are all of her Great Lesson stories. It is so helpful to see her tell the stories and to build my stories. I’ve been telling the Great Lessons for a few years now and each year I get a little more confident. This year, during my first year as a homeschooling mom, I’ll get to cater the stories to my daughter! Included in her Patreon membership are office hours where you can jump on and ask her anything as well as journal entries specifically to help with our own spiritual preparation!

Sharlie also offers one-on-one mentorship sessions, which I am in LOVE with. She dives deep with her mentees on the topics most important to them. While I was teaching in the classroom, Sharlie helped me navigate all the challenges I had and answered specific questions. Now that I’m transitioning to homeschooling, we have talked about planning and expectations! I’m excited to continue digging philosophy and prepare as an adult to homeschool.

Kindling Kids Homeschool

Bree, from @KindlingKids_Homeschool, is a homeschooling momma of 3 who is a great resource for any homeschooling parent. She has a blog if you’re searching for specific information. I found this post: How One-on-One Meetings Revived our Homeschool Days particularly helpful. She discusses the 3 “materials” needed to guide a second-plane child successfully! Sometimes less is more and connection is key.

Bree often shares her family’s homeschooling life just the way it is. Homeschooling isn’t always a perfect picture and I appreciate that she shares the difficult moments. It helps me know our journey is normal and everyone goes through tough moments. Bree has an awesome Homeschooling Planner available in her teachers pay teachers store which I have started using to help plan our school year. I can’t wait to keep exploring the other planning resources in it.

homeschool resources — Find this calendar + other planning resources at Kindling Kids Montessori Teachers Pay Teachers

Mainly Montessori

Pilar at Mainly Montessori is a homeschooling mom of 2 who previously taught in a classroom. She is the mastermind behind the Montessori Lesson Sequence Timeline, geared toward second-plane kids ages 6-12. More on that later! She has many resources on her website, including a free community, a paid monthly membership, and more.

Pilar really has a way of bringing you back down to earth. When I see her posts I feel calm and confident that I am doing the right thing for my child and that if I need help, I know exactly where to find it. I participated in Pilar’s Homeschool Pod course which taught homeschoolers how to start a homeschooling pod and different ways to run it. Maybe something I will consider doing in the future!

2. Montessori Lesson Sequence Timeline

The second resource that I’m excited to use this year (and for many years to come) is the Montessori Lesson Sequence Timeline. As mentioned above, this timeline was created by Pilar from @Mainly.Montessori. It was an investment but as a Montessori-trained teacher, I can see the benefit of this incredible homeschool resource. Even with all of my elementary Montessori albums, there are gaps that I believe this timeline fills. It is a complete 7-year scope and sequence from K through 6th grade. This timeline with interactive links to lessons and materials is so helpful. It takes the guesswork out of planning and provides so much confidence for us homeschooling mommas. Pilar also offers a monthly membership if you need additional assistance. This would be perfect for new Montessori teachers, parents, or anyone who feels like extra support is necessary.

montessori homeschool resources — Photo credit to Mainly Montessori – This is her beautiful Timeline with links and more information than you could ever read!

3. The Good and The Beautiful Curriculum

I have a lot of friends who homeschool and one of the beautiful things about it is we can all homeschool in different ways and be successful. As far as homeschool resources, The Good and The Beautiful is a must-have for many homeschoolers. However, I will say that if you are diving into the Montessori Timeline that I previously mentioned, you don’t need any other curriculum!

The Good and The Beautiful have a curriculum that is very thorough in academics and very hands-on for the learners. Many of my homeschooling friends use and love this curriculum. I have used many of the science units, including solar system, arthropods, botany, water and our world, and more. I’ve been impressed with how much of the lessons have a Montessori feel to them. A lot of the lessons can be presented as you would present a Montessori culture lesson with suggested follow-ups. I sometimes work these lessons into our culture studies.

I’ve also used the math and language courses! It is a spiral curriculum so there is a new lesson each day and then it spirals around and hits previously learned subjects. I will say I do not love how this curriculum teaches reading, although I know other families who do! I would much prefer the Montessori method of teaching reading so that’s what I will go back to when my little one is ready for it.

Free Math & Language Workbooks

The Good and the Beautiful has free versions of some of their Math and Language curricula. These make for perfect supplementary work for homeschoolers. I plan to use these workbooks as an optional lesson or follow-up work. I’m not going to be requiring a certain number of pages or a number of lessons with these workbooks. I can imagine my daughter would like to do a page or two from one of the workbooks as practice, review, or just to do something different. It will give her some variety and allow me to assess some of the knowledge she has that I might not otherwise realize. Some of the pages might be a review, some might challenge her, and some might prompt some new questions or lessons.

Since I haven’t started homeschooling yet I don’t know if Olivia will enjoy using the Good and the Beautiful workbooks as part of her day. If she does, great! If she doesn’t, great! Either way, my goal is to find the lessons and follow-up work that sparks something in her and if these books don’t serve her, we’ll find something else to use. If workbooks aren’t your child’s thing, there are so many other great resources out there.

4. Homeschool Resources by Montessorians on Teachers Pay Teachers

My top 2 favorite material creators are MontessoriKiwi & The Modern Montessori Guide, both found on teachers pay teachers. These two ladies make BEAUTIFUL printables that are inexpensive for you to prepare at home. I’m transitioning from a school setting that has every material that all my 6-9-year-old kids might need. It is undesired and unrealistic for me to recreate my classroom with all of the expensive materials neatly placed in towers and drawers so that 20+ students all have access to the materials they need at all times. Instead, I’ve chosen more specific materials catered to my daughter. We can print and prepare them as we see fit.

I’m skipping most of the 3 part cards that I previously had in my classroom. In my observations, my daughter is uninterested in them so they don’t serve a purpose. Instead, I’ll fill her shelves with books and artifacts that interest her and spark further work. Make sure you are filling your shelves with things that will draw your child in, not things that you think are supposed to go there, or that look extra pretty. I’ve learned this the hard way when my beautiful shelves collect dust because I made them the way I wanted them and not the way my children did.

Did I Miss Any of Your Favorite Homeschool Resources?

There are so many homeschool resources out there, I’m sure I missed something great! What are your favorite resources that have helped you with your homeschooling journey? Please share them with us!

Check out these posts for some SPACE & GEOLOGY activities to do after the First Great Lesson or just for fun!

Top 4 Montessori Homeschool Resources for the New Homeschooler