7 Montessori Tips for Road Schooling

“I love the idea behind the Montessori philosophy but we spend so much of our day in the car — it is too hard!” “I would love to do a Montessori-based homeschool but we are full-time RVers and always on the road.” These are phrases many road-schooling families share.

We live in a 200 square foot Airstream. While we are not always mobile, we live out in the country and spend an incredible amount of time in the car — and space is incredibly valuable. With over a decade of teaching in Montessori schools, we knew we would bring a Montessori spirit to our homeschooling. While a full Montessori room setup would be lovely, it is absolutely doable to incorporate Montessori methods into your road schooling — whether you are a full-time RV family, a family who spends a lot of time in the car, or you are looking to get some school hours in on a spring road trip.

7 Tips to Incorporate Montessori Into Your Road Schooling

You are obviously not going to bring along an entire moveable alphabet, golden beads, and a pink tower. But you can rethink these materials to be more car-friendly. Grab a magnetic set of letters (small magnetic boards designed for spelling work great) and a set of small magnetic blocks or some LEGO bricks. You have manipulatives that are easy to take along and use on the road.

Yes — the old-fashioned file folders you would see in a doctor's office. They are perfect for creating mini workspaces. Attach a small pocket on the inside with a piece of paper and staple in printables of Montessori-based works. Compact, organized, and ready to go.

Place several small items into a cleaned-out plastic bottle, fill with rice or quinoa, and you have a seek-and-find bottle — a variation of a classic Montessori classroom activity. Some families prefer to make a master list of all the objects for children to check off as they find them.

Small, child-sized books are great to bring along in the car. Create a book based on pictures of a blend your child is working on, an animal they are interested in, or a word search. These are wonderful ways to bring learning along and keep kids engaged on long drives.

Grab a plastic storage bin with a lid. As you find good, small, Montessori-friendly items at your favorite stores, add them to the bin. Keep it stocked and ready to pull out whenever you hit the road.

Color gradient matching is a wonderful Montessori-inspired activity that can easily be created with free paint samples from the hardware store — and it can be adapted for all ages. Grab a handful before your next trip and you will have a ready-made sorting and matching activity that requires no prep on the road.

So much learning and movement can happen at rest stops. Read the informational signs together. Bring along your Montessori yoga cards for a quick stretch and workout. Practice grace and courtesy by picking up a piece of litter. Rest stops are a surprisingly rich learning environment when you look at them through a Montessori lens.

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