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Writing on Montessori practice.

Literacy, materials, observation, and the research that actually matters for real classrooms and schools.

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Literacy · June 2025

What the Science of Reading Actually Means for Montessori Classrooms

The research on reading instruction has shifted. Here is what that means for guides who trained before the shift and schools navigating the transition.

9 min read

Materials · May 2025

Why Decodable Books Are Not All the Same

Bead color alignment, representation, sequence integrity. The criteria that separate a genuine instructional tool from a book that just says decodable on the cover.

7 min read

Pedagogy · April 2025

Observation Is Assessment. Act Like It.

Montessori has always known this. The Art of Observation course exists because knowing it and doing it systematically are two different things.

8 min read

Literacy · March 2025

Phonemic Awareness Is Not Phonics

Guides often use the terms interchangeably. They are not the same thing, they develop differently, and confusing them leads to real gaps in children who need both.

7 min read

Materials · February 2025

The Moveable Alphabet Is Not Optional

It is the most frequently skipped material in the Montessori literacy sequence and the most important. What it actually does for the developing reader and writer, and why removing it creates gaps that nothing else fills.

6 min read

Literacy · January 2025

Reading Fluency Is Not Speed. It Is the Goal.

Montessori classrooms produce children who can decode. They do not always produce children who read fluently. The difference matters more than most schools realize, and the fix is not complicated.

7 min read

Pedagogy · December 2024

Grace and Courtesy Lessons Are Cognitive Work, Not Social Politeness

Most guides present grace and courtesy because it makes the classroom run more smoothly. That is a real benefit. It is also the smallest benefit. What these lessons are actually building is something the child will use for the rest of their life.

6 min read

Materials · November 2024

Maps and Timelines Are Primary Instructional Materials

In many classrooms they hang on the wall or sit on a shelf and look beautiful. That is not what they are for. Used as Montessori intended, they are among the most cognitively demanding materials in the elementary environment.

7 min read

School Leadership · October 2024

Professional Development That Changes What Happens on Monday

Most Montessori professional development is well-intentioned and forgettable. The research on what makes learning transfer to practice is clear, and most PD programs ignore most of it.

8 min read

The Practitioner

A monthly publication for Montessori practitioners.

For educators who believe the quality of the prepared environment is inseparable from the equity of its reach. Free.

--Classroom practice grounded in current research

--New materials and releases, subscribers first

--Reading, math, and observation in Montessori classrooms