The Montessori scope and sequence, free
Here is the Montessori sequence from 15 months to 9 years, area by area, in the order a child meets it. Every lesson links to its own page. 60 lessons are published so far, at least 12 in each of the five areas, and it's all free to read and print.
Start where your child is. Montessori's first exercises for a new child were practical life work and the cylinders. On a home shelf that means hand washing or pouring between two pitchers. If you aren't sure where your child fits, two minutes of questions give you a first shelf of six works.
How to read this sequence
- Each area runs top to bottom in the order a child meets it, youngest starting age first.
- The age is the usual range for the work. A child may keep using the material past the top of it.
- "Before this" names the lesson that should be solid first. A lesson with nothing listed can start the area.
- The five areas run side by side. Montessori's Children's Houses started children on very different exercises at the same time, so a home shelf can hold work from several areas in one week.
- Lines on the map that cross between areas matter most. The brown stair comes before the number rods, and pouring comes before the land and water forms.
The prerequisite map, all five areas
Practical Life, 12 lessons from 15 months
| # | Lesson | Age | Before this |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hand WashingHand-Washing Station | 15 months to 3.5 years | Can come first |
| 2 | Dry Pouring Between Two PitchersSmall Pouring Pitchers, Work Tray | 18 months to 3.5 years | Can come first |
| 3 | Spooning: Transferring with a SpoonSpooning Set | 18 months to 3.5 years | Can come first |
| 4 | Wet Pouring Between Two PitchersSmall Pouring Pitchers, Work Tray | 2 to 4 years | Dry Pouring Between Two Pitchers |
| 5 | Grace and Courtesy Lessons | 2 to 6 years | Can come first |
| 6 | Button Dressing FrameButton Dressing Frame | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Dry Pouring Between Two Pitchers |
| 7 | Sweeping with a Brush and DustpanChild-Sized Sweeping Set | 2.5 to 5 years | Dry Pouring Between Two Pitchers |
| 8 | Folding ClothsFolding Cloths | 2.5 to 5 years | Can come first |
| 9 | Banana Slicing (First Food Preparation)Child's Food Preparation Tools | 2.5 to 5 years | Hand Washing |
| 10 | Table ScrubbingTable Scrubbing Set | 3 to 5.5 years | Wet Pouring Between Two Pitchers, Hand Washing |
| 11 | Flower ArrangingFlower Arranging Set | 3 to 5.5 years | Wet Pouring Between Two Pitchers |
| 12 | Metal PolishingMetal Polishing Set | 3.5 to 6 years | Table Scrubbing |
Sensorial, 12 lessons from 2 years
| # | Lesson | Age | Before this |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knobbed CylindersKnobbed Cylinders | 2 to 4 years | Can come first |
| 2 | Pink TowerPink Tower, Work Rug | 2.5 to 4 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 3 | Brown Stair (Broad Stair)Brown Stair, Work Rug | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Pink Tower |
| 4 | Touch Boards (Rough and Smooth Boards)Touch Boards | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Hand Washing (Practical Life) |
| 5 | Red Rods (Long Rods)Red Rods, Work Rug | 3 to 5 years | Brown Stair (Broad Stair) |
| 6 | Color Tablets: Boxes 1, 2 and 3Color Tablets | 3 to 5 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 7 | Sound Cylinders (Sound Boxes)Sound Cylinders | 3 to 5 years | Color Tablets |
| 8 | Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets)Geometric Cabinet | 3 to 5 years | Knobbed Cylinders |
| 9 | Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag)Mystery Bag (Stereognostic Bag) | 3 to 5.5 years | Touch Boards (Rough and Smooth Boards) |
| 10 | Binomial CubeBinomial Cube | 3.5 to 6 years | Red Rods (Long Rods) |
| 11 | Geometric SolidsGeometric Solids | 3.5 to 6 years | Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets) |
| 12 | Trinomial CubeTrinomial Cube | 4 to 6 years | Binomial Cube |
Math, 12 lessons from 3.5 years
Language, 12 lessons from 2.5 years
| # | Lesson | Age | Before this |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sandpaper LettersSandpaper Letters | 2.5 to 5 years | Can come first |
| 2 | Sound Games (I Spy) | 2.5 to 4.5 years | Can come first |
| 3 | Moveable Alphabet: Building First WordsMoveable Alphabet, Pink Series Object Box | 3.5 to 6 years | Sandpaper Letters |
| 4 | Metal InsetsMetal Insets | 3.5 to 6 years | Knobbed Cylinders (Sensorial), Geometric Cabinet (Plane Geometric Insets) (Sensorial) |
| 5 | Pink Series: Object Box ReadingPink Series Object Box | 4 to 6 years | Moveable Alphabet |
| 6 | Three-Part Cards: Land and Water FormsThree-Part Cards (Land and Water Forms), Land and Water Form Trays | 4 to 6.5 years | Pink Series, Land and Water Forms (Cultural) |
| 7 | Blue Series: Words with Consonant BlendsBlue Series (Blend Words) | 4.5 to 7 years | Pink Series |
| 8 | Grammar Symbols: The Noun and the VerbGrammar Symbols | 4.5 to 7 years | Pink Series |
| 9 | Puzzle Words (Sight Words)Puzzle Word Cards | 4.5 to 7 years | Pink Series |
| 10 | Green Series: PhonogramsGreen Series (Phonograms), Moveable Alphabet | 5 to 7.5 years | Blue Series |
| 11 | Command Cards (Reading of Commands)Command Cards (Action Cards) | 5 to 7.5 years | Puzzle Words (Sight Words) |
| 12 | Grammar Boxes and Grammar Box CardsGrammar Boxes | 5.5 to 9 years | Grammar Symbols |
Cultural, 12 lessons from 2.5 years
Questions about the Montessori sequence
Is there a free Montessori curriculum available for homeschooling?
Yes. This sequence is free to read and print, with no account and no email. Each lesson has its own page with the steps and the next lesson. It's still growing, so check the count at the top of each area. We haven't bought the paid curricula; our curricula page compares seven of them on prices read from their own sites.
What are Montessori albums?
An album is a Montessori teaching guide that sets out how to present each lesson and what it is for, area by area. Teachers have traditionally kept them in large binders. The lesson pages on this site follow the same pattern, with labelled fields so you can find the age and the prerequisites at a glance.
What are the 5 learning areas of Montessori?
The five are Practical Life (care of self and home), Sensorial (one quality at a time, such as size), Math (quantity before numeral), Language (sounds before reading) and Cultural (geography and science). Montessori's own 1914 handbook split the work into three parts: motor education, sensory education, language.
A sequence gives the order. The shelf, the long morning and the first month are in how to homeschool Montessori. If you're new to this, answer six short questions and get a first shelf for each child, with the one lesson to present first. For every work at one age, go to lessons by age.