Welcome to the Free Resource Library for early childhood and lower elementary teachers, parents, and educators! I am truly excited to present you with a thoughtfully curated selection of free printables. These resources have been created with immense care and dedication to support your teaching journey, providing engaging activities that foster learning and development in young children. Whether you are a seasoned educator or a parent looking to enhance your child’s learning experience, you will find valuable materials here to inspire and engage young minds. Thank you for being a part of our community, and I hope these resources bring joy and enrichment to your educational endeavors!
Please note that these printables are packaged in a zip file. Once you enter your details, you will automatically get on our newsletter list and receive a download link directly to your inbox. Inside that zip file, you will find the resource you requested.
Creating these printables requires a considerable amount of resources, effort and time, and I genuinely appreciate your understanding and respect for the hard work that goes into developing them. I encourage you to take the time to explore these materials and make the most of them in your teaching practice. I hope you find them both valuable and inspiring.
If you have any questions regarding printing or encounter any issues, you will find useful troubleshooting tips and detailed guidance on this page.
Montessori printables are an excellent resource for enhancing your students’ learning experiences, both in the classroom and at home. These materials align with the Montessori method of education, which emphasizes hands-on learning and self-directed exploration.
Parents and educators can find various resources that cover a wide range of subjects, including language arts, mathematics, science, and cultural studies. My aim is to fosters a genuine love for learning and also provides a cost-effective means to support your students’ educational journey. By utilizing these materials, children can explore various topics at their own pace, encouraging independence and critical thinking skills that are essential for lifelong learning. Whether you’re a teacher looking to enhance your classroom or a parent seeking to enrich your child’s home education, I hope these printables offer valuable tools for building a solid foundation in education.
After several years of hands-on experience working in Montessori classrooms in both Russia and Australia, alongside homeschooling my own children and managing a Montessori-inspired blog, I feel truly humbled to learn that my expertise translates into materials that children genuinely love to engage with. The printables I have created and presented here are designed to be clear, easy to implement, and highly engaging. My goal is always to develop resources that not only capture a childโs attention but also significantly enhance their ability to concentrate on meaningful and enjoyable tasks. It brings me great joy to know that these tools can foster a love of learning in young minds.
Important Update: My previously offered life cycle and diagram printables have undergone an exciting update! While in early stages, these resources were once available for free, they have now been updated and are part of a collection available in my shop and can be purchased for a small fee. I am always looking for ways to improve my resources, and these updates are aimed at helping me continue to create printables and maintain this website.
Why Subscribe? Subscribers receive exclusive notifications about new printables, along with great deals, practical advice, and unique offers twice a week. I value your privacy and will never share your email with anyone.
If you want to ensure that our newsletters reach your inbox, please add my email address, info@montessorinature.com, to your contact list. If you ever wish to stop receiving emails from me, simply click the “Unsubscribe” link located at the bottom of each email.
In the Resource Library, I have also included practical life food preparation PDFs to assist you in planning your activities and gathering useful tools. You will find a printable example of a daily rhythm for a Forest School to inspire you.
I wholeheartedly recommend checking out the free courses listed below: “Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Implementation” and “A Better Start to Reading.”
Paid Montessori Nature Resources Can be found here:
MONTESSORI NATURE ONLINE SHOP & MONTESSORI NATURE ON TPT
How to Download Free Printables
- Scroll down to choose the printables you wish to download (the search bar does not work with free printables ).
- Click ‘Download here’ (a new tab will open for each printable).
- Type your subscriber email where you would like us to send the printable.
- Check your email for a link to the printable you requested.
- You will be prompted to save the .zip folder on your device.
- Locate the file on your device.
- Uncompress the file and then print the components.
All Montessori Nature freebies come in ZIP folders. Once you’ve downloaded them, you’ll need to unzip the folder to access the goodies inside.
ZIP files must be extracted to access the files inside. Both Windows and Mac OSX can extract ZIP files without the need for extra software, while iPhones and iPads will need a separate app to unzip them. Learn how to extract ZIP files here.
Before you print, please make sure youโre using the up-to-date version of Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print PDF files and follow these steps:
- Open the PDF file with Adobe Acrobat Reader
- In the โPage Sizing & Handlingโ section, select โFit.โ
- In the โOrientationโ sections, select โAuto portrait/landscapeโ if needed
- Check โSave ink/tonerโ (optional)
- Click โAdvanced Print Setupโ, and select โPrint As Imageโ.
- Click โPrintโ
- Print the document
For more information, visit Printing Tips
Tips to Help You Access Freebies
- It is recommended that you enter your personal email instead of an email address provided by official organizations ending in .edu or .gov, as those organizations may have filters that prevent our emails from reaching your inbox.
- Please ensure that you have entered your email correctly.
- Occasionally, after requesting a free printable, readers may find that they cannot submit requests to download additional freebies. This issue can occur due to a firewall on your device. I recommend trying a different device in this case.
Please note that you also have the option to join our Basic or Premium Membership to access all the freebies directly from the Membership page. Members do not need to enter their email addresses for each printable.
Montessori Nature Paid Membership
To save time and enjoy a range of exclusive benefitsโsuch as 20% off our premium printables, browsing our ad-free Resource Library, type-to-search functionality, and the ability to download printables without needing to enter your email for each itemโyou are welcome to become a member.
Terms of Use
By downloading the resources below, you accept our Terms and Conditions. Free downloads are for personal and one-classroom use only. You may print as many copies as you wish for use in your home or classroom. You may also post online about a printable (for example, a photo of your child using it) while giving proper credit to Montessori Nature.
Please do not claim these files as your own, alter them in any way, sell them, print them for sale to others, or store or distribute these files on any other website or platform (such as Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook groups, etc.). You may not email the files to anyone or transmit them in any other way. If you know someone who would enjoy this resource, please invite them to visit the Montessori Nature Resource Library.
Sorting and matching printables are powerful learning tools that aid young children in their cognitive development. Through these activities, children engage in hands-on exploration and problem-solving, as they categorize and match objects based on various attributes. This process helps develop their critical thinking skills, enhances their ability to classify and organize information, and increases their attention to detail.
These printables promote fine motor skills as children manipulate and place objects in the correct categories. By integrating sorting and matching printables into their learning experiences, young children develop essential foundational skills while fostering a sense of independence and confidence in their abilities.
Learning about the natural world and animals offers numerous benefits for young children’s development. Firstly, it promotes a sense of wonder, curiosity, and connection with the world around them.
Exploring nature and animals encourages children to ask questions, make observations, and develop critical thinking skills. It fosters empathy and compassion as they learn about different species and their habitats. Additionally, studying the natural world introduces scientific concepts and vocabulary, improving their cognitive and language skills.
Seasonal printables offer several benefits for preschool children’s learning and development. Firstly, they provide opportunities for hands-on engagement, encouraging sensory exploration and fine motor skill development. They develop language skills as children discuss and describe the elements depicted in the printables, such as weather, holidays, or changes in nature.
These activities also promote cognitive development as children learn about the passage of time and the patterns and characteristics of each season. Additionally, seasonal printables can foster creativity and imaginative play, allowing children to express themselves and make connections to their own experiences.
Fine motor printables help strengthen and refine the small muscles in their hands, preparing them for tasks like writing and drawing. By engaging in coloring, cutting, and tracing activities, children improve their hand-eye coordination and develop fine motor skills.
These printables enhance cognitive skills such as problem-solving, shape recognition, and spatial awareness.
These printables also support language development as children discuss and describe their actions and learn new vocabulary.
Nature hunt and quest activities encourage children to observe and explore the natural world around them, fostering a sense of curiosity and wonder. They promote outdoor play and physical activity, allowing children to engage with their environment and develop gross motor skills. By searching for specific items or completing tasks in nature, children also enhance their problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities. Nature Hunt and quest printables stimulate language development as children communicate and articulate their observations and findings. Engaging with nature has been linked to improved mental health and well-being in children, promoting a sense of connection and appreciation for the natural world.
Tracing and coloring printables offer several benefits for young children’s learning and development. These activities help improve hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as children practice gripping and maneuvering coloring utensils.
Tracing lines and shapes helps children refine their pencil control and develop the necessary skills for later writing. Coloring encourages creativity and self-expression, allowing children to explore different colors and experiment with artistic techniques.
These printables support cognitive development, as children learn to differentiate between colors and make decisions about which colors to use. Tracing and coloring printables can also enhance cognitive skills such as pattern recognition and visual perception. These activities promote focus and concentration, helping children develop their attention skills.
Playdough activities enhance sensory exploration as children engage with the different textures, colors, and scents of the playdough. Manipulating and molding the playdough helps develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, which are essential for tasks like writing and drawing. Playdough play also encourages creativity and imagination as children can shape and create various objects and designs.
Parents and educators can utilize these reminders, planners and checklists as helpful tools in teaching young children.
These resources can help with organization and planning by providing a structured framework for incorporating nature-based activities into daily routines.
These math materials can provide a hands-on and visual approach to mathematical concepts, promoting concrete understanding and problem-solving skills.
By using math printables, children can explore numbers, quantities, and operations in a tangible and engaging way.
Montessori 3-part cards can help enhance vocabulary and language skills as children are exposed to new words and concepts through visual cues. Through matching the picture to the corresponding word, children develop reading and comprehension skills.
LEARN HOW TO USE 3-PART CARDS HERE
Additionally, the process of manipulating and organizing the cards fosters fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The 3-part cards also promote cognitive development by encouraging visual discrimination, concentration, and memory skills.
Sequencing printables can support the development of essential cognitive skills such as sequencing, order, and logical thinking. By engaging with sequencing printables, children learn to arrange and organize pictures or objects in a specific sequence, fostering their understanding of cause-and-effect relationships and developing their ability to predict outcomes. This activity also enhances visual discrimination skills as children observe and differentiate between different elements in a sequence. Sequencing printables promote language development as children describe and narrate the events depicted in the sequence.
LEARN HOW TO USE SEQUENCING CARDS HERE
Phonics letter printables can assist children in developing fundamental phonics skills, such as letter recognition, letter-sound correspondence, and the ability to blend and segment sounds.
By engaging with phonics letter printables, children can practice identifying and associating letters with their corresponding sounds, laying the groundwork for reading and spelling. These activities also enhance fine motor skills as children trace or write the letters, promoting hand-eye coordination and proper letter formation.
Phonics printables encourage language development by expanding vocabulary and building comprehension skills. The interactive nature of these activities keeps children engaged and motivated to learn, fostering concentration, focus, and attention to detail.
The printables provide a fun and effective way for young children to develop essential phonics skills, supporting their overall learning and literacy development journey.
Montessori digraph workmat phonics printables provide a hands-on and engaging way for young children to learn to read. Through this activity, children can visually and kinesthetically explore and manipulate different digraph combinations, such as “sh” or “ch.” This helps them grasp the concept that two letters together can create a single sound. By physically arranging and matching the digraphs, children build their phonemic awareness and develop their decoding skills, ultimately supporting their journey towards becoming proficient readers.
Montessori-inspired printable learning packs can provide a holistic approach to education by incorporating various subjects and skills, including language, math, science, and practical life activities.
These packs encourage independence and self-directed learning, allowing children to work at their own pace and make choices based on their interests. Montessori-inspired printable learning packs also foster language development, numeracy skills.
Geoboard task cards printables can enhance spatial reasoning skills as children manipulate rubber bands on the geoboard to create shapes, patterns, and designs.
By engaging in these activities, children develop their understanding of geometric concepts, such as symmetry, angles, and area. Geoboard task cards also promote fine motor skills as children manipulate the rubber bands and attach them to specific pegs on the board.
DIY puzzles, pictures, and coloring pages can foster creativity and self-expression as children engage with the artwork through coloring and putting puzzles together. They can also enhance visual perception and spatial awareness as children analyze the shapes and colors in the artwork to recreate them or solve puzzles.
Exposure to famous artwork can broaden children’s cultural and historical knowledge, nurturing their appreciation for different art forms and artists. Working with these printables can also promote fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as children manipulate coloring utensils or assemble puzzle pieces.
The Homer Method Essential Early Learning Screen Time You Can Feel Good About
Developed by experts, the research-based, four-step approach goes beyond rote memorization to build confidence, promote problem-solving, and foster a lifelong love of learning.
Just 15 minutes a day with HOMER can increase your child’s reading score by 74%. Get a FREE Trial Today!
Download the Four-Week Food Prep Plan and use it in your classroom or home. Each week has a different theme and contains five different types of food preparation activities planned for you including a shopping list and space for notes in PDF form. I also share my favorite resources, links, and inspiration to save you time preparing your next set of food prep activities.
DOWNLOAD YOUR PLANNER HERE
Download Carlyโs daily forest school rhythm detailed description.
Carly is the founding Director of Natureweavers, an award-winning forest school on the Sunshine Coast. Nestled into the sunrise side of Black Mountain, Carly mentors children, families, and adults and trains educators, teachers, and those who live, work, and play with children in practical and theoretical approaches to learning in, with, and from nature and has been doing so since 2010.
Carly is an accredited Nature Pedagogue with the International Association of Nature Pedagogy, and she delivers practical sessions to inspire and encourage adults to learn in, with, and from nature alongside children. Carly is an also environmental advocate with 14 years of experience in the non-government, community, and education sectors.
DOWNLOAD DAILY RHYTHM HERE
Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Implementation
About this course
How can we ensure that we donโt fail the next generation of children? What investments do we need to make an impact? What implementation decisions do we need to make for program success?
An estimated 250 million children in low- and middle-income countries risk not meeting their development potential in the first five years of lifeโleading to lifelong impacts on health, learning, behavior, and overall adult productivity. During this critical time, strategic interventions can ensure children have a strong foundation to lead healthy, productive lives as engaged citizens.
There is an urgent need to increase access to high-quality early childhood development intervention programs on national and global scales. While the science behind the importance of early development and funding for these programs has increased globally, policy development, research, and implementation best practices have not been widely adopted. As the COVID-19 virus disrupts health, nutrition, childcare, and education services, and stretches social and child protection systems to their limits, children and families least able to cope are being hit hardest with inequities in childhood development widening. Evidence-based policies that support families and young children are needed now more than ever. This course examines best practices in child and family policies, advocacy, financing, and pathways to scaleโshowing you how to generate an innovative, scalable intervention strategy that supports early childhood development.
The course begins with a review of basic early childhood development concepts and successful implementation programs around the world. You will learn why some programs succeed where others do less well and what strategies are key for enabling widespread adaptation of quality programming. For those working around the world in early childhood development programs, this course allows you to reflect and evaluate your own organization by reviewing real-world case successes, as well as a new global perspective from other learners. You will complete the course with new plans and ideas ready to implement within your program.
What you’ll learn
Gain knowledge about the state of the science on effective interventions for early childhood development.
Learn what makes programs successful around the world in supporting early childhood development and why some programs fail.
Reflect on changes for your program, become familiar with the steps to design successful interventions that support early childhood development, and understand what services you need to prioritize.
Explore strategies to enable widespread adaptation of quality programming and evaluate the effectiveness of your programming.
ENROL FOR FREE
A Better Start to Reading
About this course
Teaching children to read well results in a lifetime of benefits.
The research evidence is very clear about the importance of getting children off to a great start in their early literacy learning. Early reading success is the best predictor of later reading achievement, which in turn is closely linked to educational success and healthy wellbeing. How can you as educators, parents or family members, help support children to develop a strong foundation of skills that are critical for early reading success? How can you best support struggling readers to be successful?
Across languages, research has shown that childrenโs knowledge of the sound structure of their spoken language (phonological awareness) is critically important to early reading and spelling development. The ability to learn new words efficiently, or vocabulary growth, is also vitally important for children to understand what they are reading. Quality shared reading experiences in the early years are a great way to foster the development of these skills.
This course provides a research-to-practice learning experience for professionals and parents interested in the reading development of young children. This course will ensure that teachers and professionals alike are reading books in the most effective way to support childrenโs early reading skills. The course content will be relevant for all young children, specifically focusing on the key foundational skills of phonological awareness, print concepts, and vocabulary knowledge for children aged 4-6 years. The course will also include a focus on preventing reading problems, such as dyslexia, for children with familial risk, and children with other challenges to learning to read, such as speech and language difficulties. As part of completing the course, students will be given access to a large set of online children’s books, specially designed to foster phonological awareness and vocabulary development.
What you’ll learn
What the critical skills are for children to develop as successful readers.
What phonological awareness and vocabulary are, and why this is important for early reading development.
How to use childrenโs books to foster phonological awareness and vocabulary knowledge for young children.
How to prevent reading difficulties, such as dyslexia, for children with increased risk.
How to support children with speech and/or language difficulties to develop as readers.
How to support children from different languages and cultures to experience reading success.
ENROL FOR FREE
Other Free Courses You Might Like To Join
Introduction to Family Engagement in Education
Learn about successful collaborations between families and educators and why they lead to improved outcomes for students and schools.
Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything
Do you spend too much time learning, with disappointing results? Do you put off studying because itโs boring and youโre easily distracted? This course is for you! In Learn Like a Pro, beloved teacher of learning Dr. Barbara Oakley, and learning coach extraordinaire Olav Schewe lay out techniques that can help you master any material. Based on easy-to-understand but cutting-edge neuroscientific research, Learn Like a Pro is like no other course on learning.
Teaching Critical Thinking through Art with the National Gallery of Art
Learn how to integrate works of art using Artful Thinking routines, and effective strategies from Project Zero at Harvard University, in this interactive online course for teachers of all levels and subjects.
Strategies for Online Teaching and Learning
Learn strategies for effective and engaging teaching and learning in an online course environment.
What Works in Education: Evidence-Based Education Policies
Learn what works in education and how to identify, analyze and implement evidence-based education policies that improve learning through practical research and challenges observed in education systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Intercultural Competency in Education
Do you want to learn practical skills to become interculturally competent and aware as an educator? Take this course and learn to develop strategies to deal with identities in a fairer and more coherent way.
Coding for Your Classroom K – 3
A self-paced, asynchronous course aimed to build educatorsโ comfortability and confidence in digital literacy. Through hands-on learning activities and demos in a variety of web-based platforms, educators will have the resources and skills they need to introduce coding concepts to their students in the K-3 classroom.
The Hook, the Bait, and the Fish: Approaches to Teaching Thinking
This course introduces the enormously influential educational movement of teaching thinking in terms of three approaches: the skills approach; the dispositions approach; and the understanding approach. You will learn the key concepts of teaching thinking and how to implement them.
Engineering for Your Classroom K โ 3
A self-paced, asynchronous course aimed to help educators introduce Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology (STEM) concepts to K-3 students.
Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects
This course will give middle and high school history teachers new techniques to engage and motivate students with an inquiry-based approach to learning.