Top 4 Montessori Homeschool Resources for the New Homeschooler

When you’re taking on a new homeschooling year there are a lot of 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’m definitely feeling 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!

Find a Mentor-They are the Best Resources

Some of my greatest resources, that ultimately lead me to the other resources, are my mentors. There are many people that I find guidance from, but two who help me the most. My top 2 go-to ladies are Sharlie from @Montessorifortheworld on Instagram & Bree from @KindlingKids_Homeschool 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!

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

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. 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. I haven’t started planning my lessons in detail quite yet but when I do this timeline with interactive links to lessons and materials will be so helpful. Pilar also offers a monthly membership if you need additional assistance. This would be perfect for new Montessori teachers or parents or anyone who feels like extra support is necessary.

The Good and The Beautiful

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. They 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 a few of the science units, including solar system, arthropods, & botany. 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 plan to work these into our culture studies this year.

Free Math & Language Workbooks

The Good and the Beautiful also has free versions of some of their Math and Language curriculum. 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 will 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 aren’t something that serve her, we’ll find something else to use. If workbooks aren’t your child’s thing, there are other things you can try.

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 15+ 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!

Be sure to check out these posts for some SPACE activities and lessons to follow up after the First Great Lesson:

• Moon Activities
• Planet Activities