Montessori Web Site Links:

Montessori On-Line - The international Montessori On-Line website.

American Montessori Society, 281 Park Av. S. 6th Floor, New York, NY 10011
212-358-1250

AMI Elementary Alumni Association, 1672 Monroe St., Denver, CO 80206

Association Montessori Internationale-USA AMI/USA 410 Alexander St., Rochester, NY 14607-1028, 716-461-5920

International Montessori Society, 912 Thayer Av. #207, Silver Spring, MD 20910
301-589-1127

Montessori Resource Center 320 Pioneer Way, Mountain View, CA 94041
650-335-1563

National Center For Montessori Education PO Box 1543, Roswell, GA 30077
770-613-0055

Public School Montessorian Newspaper 2933 N. 2nd St., Minneapolis, MN 55411
612-529-5001

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Pediatrics - Child Health & Safety Information
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Child Care Action Campaign
Child Welfare League of America
Children's Health Environmental Coalition
Educating Children for Parenting
Education Commission of the States 
Erikson Institute
Families and Work Institute
Family Support America
Familyplanet International Family Planning
Freddie Mac Foundation
Healthy Steps for Young Children Program
Helping Children Understand the Terrorist Attacks, by Sec of Ed
I Am Your Child Foundation
International Childbirth Education Association
National Association for the Education of Young Children
National Black Child Development Institute
National Head Start Association Website
NetAid Home
Pew Environmental Health Commission
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Rheedlen Center for Children
Save the Children
Society for Research in Child Development
The Brazelton Foundation, Inc.
The Children's Defense Fund
The Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders
The March of Dimes
The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
The National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health Child Health
The Robin Hood Foundation
Touchpoints Project
UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre
United Nations Children's Fund
World Association for Infant Mental Health
Zero to Three

Recommended Reading Lists:  (Especially for parents who are considering enrolling their children)

Montessori: A modern Approach by Paula Polk Lillard - Lillard's book is great first book for parents to read to learn the basic theories. It is very much a summary of Montessori methods and an answer to many of the criticism's of Montessori up to the 1970's. Lillard quotes Dr. Montessori extensively, so much so that it seems that the reader is getting the best pieces of Montessori's own writings in a nutshell. 

Maria Montessori : Her Life and Work by E. M. Standing, Lee Havis (Introduction) - Maria Montessori is important background reading for parents considering Montessori education for their children, as well as for those training to become Montessori teachers. The first woman to win a degree as a Doctor of Medicine in Italy in 1896, Maria Montessori's mission to improve children's education began in the slums of Rome in 1907, and continued throughout her lifetime. Her insights into the minds of children led her to develop prepared environments and other tools and devices that have come to characterize Montessori education today. Her influence in other countries has been profound and many of her teaching methods have been adopted by educators generally. Part biography and part exposition of her ideas, this engaging book reveals through her letters and personal diaries Maria Montessori's humility and delight in the success of her educational experiments and is an ideal introduction to the principals and practices of the greatest educational pioneer of the 20th century.

Montessori Today : A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood by Paula Polk Lillard  - Paula Lillard, director of a Montessori school ranging in age from 18 months to fifteen years, provides a clear and cogent introduction to the Montessori program for the elementary and later years. In detailed accounts, Lillard shows how children acquire the skills to answer their own questions, learn to manage freedom with responsibility, and maintain a high level of intellectual stimulation by using the Montessori method. This is an essential handbook for parents and teachers who have chosen the Montessori alternative for the older child.

The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori, J. McV Hunt(Contributor) - This book is Montessori's own exposition of the theory behind her innovative educational techniques. She shows parents, teachers and administrators how to "free a child to learn through his own efforts".

Reading On Other Educational Topics:

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto - John Taylor Gatto was an award-winning public school teacher when he wrote much of the text for this book. He reveals the curriculum of public schools nationwide under the headings: Confusion, Class Position, Indifference, Emotional Dependency, Intellectual Dependency, Provisional Self-Esteem, and One Can't Hide. He asserts that the true goal of childhood learning should be to discover some meaning in life...a passion or an enthusiasm that will drive subsequent learning pursuits. Instead, schools cram irrelevant facts into young minds, substituting book-knowledge for self-knowledge. This book explains a lot for anyone who got good grades, went to college, and then didn't have any idea what to do with his life. It's also a wake-up call to parents with school-age children. Do we really want our children to grow up to be good factory workers and do as they're told? Do we really want them to buy into the "Good grades=good jobs" myth? Do we want them to believe that the goal in life is to acquire more and more stuff to fuel consumerism? Or should we give them more reflective, unstructured time in childhood to find out who they are, what they like, and how they can contribute to their communities?