Montessori Teaching Guides
The Montessori Teaching Guides help you understand not just what to teach, but why each lesson matters.
Each guide walks you through your child's developmental journey with clear explanations, direct lesson sequences, and complete step by step presentation directions that help you teach with confidence.
Feel Confident Presenting Every Montessori Lesson
Want to know how to give the pink tower lesson? What to do with your golden beads? What to buy, DIY, or skip altogether? These are what you need.
You Don’t Need Montessori Training to Teach Montessori at Home
One of the biggest worries newly homeschooling parents have is getting something wrong while learning how to teach. Figuring out how to introduce lessons at the right time, in the right order, and in the right way can be so stressful!
But it doesn’t have to be. The right Montessori resources are the ones that don’t just tell you what to teach…they also help you understand why you’re teaching it.
You don't need years of Montessori training to guide your child well. You can learn the Montessori method one step at a time, while you’re giving the lessons.
When you relax, knowing that you’re well supported, you become a more confident teacher. The impostor syndrome fades.
Each level in the Child of the Redwoods curriculum includes its own beautifully organized Montessori Teaching Guide, making it easy to understand what your child is learning today and where they're headed next.
As your child grows, the guides grow with you.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything Montessori has to offer, you'll always know which lessons are most appropriate for your child's current stage of development.
The Montessori Teaching Guides are much more than lesson manuals.
They're comprehensive guides that explain how each lesson fits into your child's development, why it matters, and how to present it with confidence.
Each guide includes:
Every core subject area
The purpose behind every lesson
Materials needed
Complete step by step directions
All the Foundational Montessori Lessons.
Right Beside You.
Montessori Is About So Much More Than the Materials
The beautiful wooden materials often become the face of Montessori, but they aren't the whole story.
Guiding your child the Montessori way begins with observing your child, preparing a thoughtful environment, and offering purposeful work to match their stage of development.
Many lessons use classic Montessori materials. Many others use everyday objects, books, art supplies, and nature.
The Montessori Teaching Guides help you understand the purpose behind every lesson, whether you're pouring water at the kitchen sink or introducing the Pink Tower for the first time.
If you decide to invest in Montessori materials over time, you'll always know when to introduce them and exactly how to use them.
A pink tower, a classic Montessori material many of the Child of the Redwoods families choose to invest in.
If you do not own the material, you will also be able to adapt this lesson by understanding the purpose.
The direct objective of the pink tower lesson is to order the cubes from largest to smallest and experience them sensorially (with your senses). You can, alternatively, give this same lesson with a set of nesting blocks, measuring cups, or even a set of stones graduated in size from your backyard.
We support alternative and DIY materials, and the lessons are accessible to everyone. The choice is always yours. If you need ideas for alternatives, we have lots! Just ask us!
A Quality Montessori Education Does Not Depend on Printables
One question we hear often is, "Are printable materials included with every lesson?" Parents are understandably concerned that they won’t have what they need to teach Montessori.
The answer is no - not every lesson has a printable, and that's intentional.
The Montessori Teaching Guides are built around rich, hands on experiences, conversations, observations, illustrations, and classic Montessori presentations. Many lessons use objects you already have at home, nature, books, or traditional Montessori materials.
For example, a lesson about the parts of an amphibian (from our Level Three Guide) might begin by observing a real frog, pointing to each part on a toy or stuffed animal frog, drawing a frog, or by looking a photograph of a frog together.
The Teaching Guide walks you through exactly how to present the lesson, ask thoughtful questions, and introduce new vocabulary.
If you'd like printable three or four part cards or additional extensions, you'll often find those inside our monthly Theme Library.
In this case, the printable Parts of a Frog cards are included in our Jump theme, where they become part of a much larger interdisciplinary study of amphibians and their habitats.
The Teaching Guides help you understand what foundational lessons to teach and how to teach it.
The Theme Library provides optional printables, projects, and extensions that let you explore the topic even further, and you can search for these connections between the Foundational lessons and the thematic printable materials easily using the Lesson Explorer.
This gives you flexibility. You can teach a beautiful Montessori lesson with the materials you already have, then enrich it with printable resources whenever they fit your family's learning.
See the Big Picture. Then Dive Into the Details.
Every curriculum level includes dozens of carefully sequenced lessons across all ten Montessori subject areas.
If you want a beautiful bird's eye view of what's coming, the Lesson Tracker lets you see the Level’s complete listing of lessons at a glance. You'll see every lesson in the order it appears, making it easy to understand how your child's learning unfolds over time.
When you're ready to teach a specific lesson, simply open the Montessori Teaching Guide for complete presentations, developmental notes, and guidance.
Together, they give you both perspectives.
The Lesson Tracker shows you where you're going.
The Teaching Guides show you exactly how to get there.
More Than Step by Step Instructions
The Montessori Teaching Guides provide the full Montessori curriculum.
See the purpose behind every lesson.
When you understand why a lesson exists, teaching becomes more natural and meaningful.
Follow a thoughtful progression.
Every lesson builds on the one before it, creating a clear path through the curriculum.
Build your own Montessori knowledge.
Many parents tell us they enrolled for their children but ended up falling in love with Montessori themselves.
The Teaching Guides help you grow right alongside your child.
Feel prepared before you teach.
Read through a presentation ahead of time, gather your materials, and begin each lesson with confidence.
Come back whenever you need a refresher.
Forgot exactly how a presentation goes?
Need to double check one small detail?
Your Teaching Guides are always there when you need them.
Works Together With the Rest of Your Membership
Explore More Curriculum Features
Every part of the Child of the Redwoods curriculum is designed to work together. Explore the tools that make planning, teaching, and tracking your homeschool feel simpler every day.
Parents often tell us the foundational lessons in the Teaching Guides actually help Montessori make sense.
Instead of wondering whether they're doing enough, they understand the purpose behind each lesson.
Instead of feeling intimidated by Montessori terminology, they begin recognizing patterns and seeing how every subject connects.
Most of all, they gain confidence.
Why Families Love the Montessori Teaching Guides
“You get to learn all the main Montessori activities in order but also you learn to let go and follow your family and that was what made me think I can actually homeschool my kids. ”
Read more stories from Child of the Redwoods families.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not at all. The Teaching Guides were written specifically for homeschooling parents, including those who are completely new to Montessori.
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Yes. While not scripted like our Thematic lessons, each foundational lesson in the Teaching Guides includes clear guidance to help you introduce lessons with confidence step by step.
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You bet. Every lesson in the Teaching Guides can be quickly accessed through the Lesson Explorer, making it easy to move between the comfort of a physical book and the ease of a digital experience. Just type in the name of the lesson you’re looking for and it will pop up!
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They're available digitally inside your membership in PDF form, making them easy to access whenever you're planning or teaching.
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To keep the overall cost of the program low, we do not ship any items to you; however, many families have these books printed and bound at a print shop or they print and bind them at home themselves.
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No, we don’t sell our Guides separately. They are part of the complete curriculum we offer Montessori families. To read about everything that is included, see our Plans.
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No, most families simply read the lessons before they prepare to give them. As you work with your Teaching Guides, you’ll become more familiar with the curriculum over time. The Lesson Tracker will also help to give you an overview of what’s inside each level.
Teach Montessori With Confidence
You don't have to figure Montessori out on your own.
The Montessori Teaching Guides help you understand every lesson, every sequence, and every stage of your child's development, so you can focus less on wondering what to do and more on enjoying the learning journey together.
Not sure if Child of the Redwoods is the right fit for your family? Learn How It Works, or explore our Plans before starting your free trial.