Setting up your Montessori Elementary School classroom

Setting up a Montessori classroom for a new school year can feel exciting and slightly overwhelming—especially when you are trying to balance a beautiful prepared environment with the practical reality of real children, limited space and a very busy first few days! These are some of the practical lessons I learned from setting up and teaching in a Public School Montessori classroom.

1) Think practical!

In my very first classroom, I decided it would be wise to have my water glasses on one side of the room on a small filing cabinet and the water three metres away on a bench! This was totally impractical, and while it looked nice, it led to congestion issues in my tiny classroom kitchen!

Lesson learned: make sure things are practical for small people!

2) Allow spaces for group and individual time

As an introvert, I am really a fan of this. In many mainstream classrooms here in NZ, children's desks are arranged in groups, so the children are constantly facing each other.

Having small desks for one or two children and quiet areas honours the child who does not like to be inundated by people and noise. Having spaces for children who like to work with others is important too. However, I have found that when tables can hold four or more children, noise starts to become an issue and those tables become "party tables"!

3) See it through the child's eyes

I spent a lot of time setting up my classroom. One thing I liked to do when I was trying out an idea for where shelves or tables should go was to sit on the floor, or sit in the seat in a certain area, to see what it was actually like.

What could I see from that position? What couldn't I see? Was my seat near a main "transport route"? Did it make sense? 

Think about how children will move through the room and congregate towards. For example if you have a collective pens and pencils and notebook area where is a good place for children to access this so they don't fall over the top of each other or interrupt a child who is concentrating or keep knocking into a shelf.

Often, after doing this, I tweaked things!

4) Don't put everything out on the shelves

When I first did my training through NAMC, this was one of the tips I learned, and it is a mental-health-saving one!

On the first day of class, I only put out things that I know the majority of children already know how to use, so that if a new child wants to try something, an older child can possibly show them, or materials that are very, very simple to introduce.

Having lots and lots of books available is also really important!

The first day of school is intense enough without having children constantly coming up to you asking for lessons that you are unable to give because you are busy trying to settle in six new children—which is very common in Public School Montessori!

5) Name tags

I was first introduced to the idea of name tags through the wonderful Montessori for Everyone website. I wrote the children's names on them and laminated them. The children then used the name tags to show where they were working.

My children used to come into class at the beginning of each day and set up their workspace by grabbing their name tag and work diary. That is how much of a habit it became!

This is incredibly helpful throughout the year because it makes it very quick for you to see who is working where. For example, if a table is empty but there is work sitting on it, the name tag shows you whose work it is.

Additionally, if children want your assistance, they can place their name tag beside you, and you can come to them when you are ready.

6) Think carefully about what you have out on the shelves

This links to number four!

In my first Montessori classroom, I was not trained—shock horror—so I just left out ALL.THE.THINGS that had been left in my classroom by the previous teacher.

Hilarious, really, on reflection.

Many of them I had no idea what to do with! I quickly learned my lesson and got rid of the things I didn't understand while rapidly starting and completing my training.

Another version of this is putting materials out on the shelves that no one will actually be working with—for example, having sandpaper letters out when all the children are well past them in a 6–9 classroom.

The things we have on our shelves should be:

a) Montessori-style, and
b) things that we will actually be using regularly with the children!

7) Have a plan!

What things do you really want to emphasise on the first day? Set up the classroom so that this can happen, and write your plan down because things get really busy on that first day!

Part of my plan involved having chocolate and painkillers for the headache. :)

8) Give yourself permission to observe first

You don't have to have the perfect classroom completely figured out before the children arrive. Some of the best classroom changes happen after you have had time to observe how the children actually use the environment. Where do bottlenecks happen? Which areas are too noisy? Which materials are ignored? Where do children naturally gather? The prepared environment should respond to the children who are actually in front of you, not just look beautiful before they arrive.

9) Ask yourself: what can the children do without me?

Can they access pencils, paper, cleaning cloths and everyday supplies independently? Can they return materials easily? Can they see where things belong? Every small thing children can manage for themselves reduces unnecessary interruptions and supports independence

Most of all, remember that your classroom does not have to be perfect on the first day. A prepared environment is something that grows and changes as you observe the children, learn what they need and discover how they actually use the space. Some of my best classroom decisions came from things that didn't work the first time.

If you are looking for more quick tips and helpful teacher organisation tips check out this resource which I put together for you. 

The beginning of the year in a Montessori elementary classroom can feel like a lot. You are thinking about the prepared environment, routines, expectations, class culture, work cycles, behaviour, independence, and how to help children settle into a purposeful learning community.

This Back to School Pack was created to help Montessori 6–12 teachers feel more organised before the children even walk through the door.

If you want to see more Montessori classrooms come and have a look here

Bree's classroom

Elizabeth's homeschool

Kaleigh's Upper Elementary Class

Jen's Lower Elementary Class