Many homeschoolers think it would be fun to use themes but feel overwhelmed at the thought. How often do the shelves need to be changed? Does everything need to be changed? What if there are activities on the shelves that my child still loves? What if it isn’t the perfect theme for my child?
You don’t need to worry about it. I have some helpful tips here for preparing themed Montessori shelves for a variety of ages from toddlers through early elementary.
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
How to Choose a Theme
You can use your child’s current interest as your theme, or you can use almost any theme as long as you individualize the activities for your child. Sometimes your child can help you choose the theme.
You’ll find more ideas about why themes are helpful either all the time or at certain times of the year in my post on “Should You Use Unit Studies?” That post also contains a very long list of all my unit studies (themed posts).
I have tips on creating unit studies for a variety of ages in my post on “How to Create a Unit Study.”
How Often to Change Your Theme
I like to keep themes for toddlers and preschoolers for a month. You’ll see that I change my themed shelves once a month (for me it’s for my blog post on the 15th of the month). I’ll sometimes rotate activities during the month, but I don’t change the entire theme (unless it’s a holiday-related theme that needed to end with the holiday). If you prefer, you can change your theme weekly or every other week. It’s really up to you and the needs of your child or children. For elementary-age children, I tend to change materials more often while keeping a larger theme for a month to six weeks (sort of like themes within themes).
What if your child loves an activity from the last theme? It’s fine to keep it for awhile longer. I often keep favorite materials out longer. I just move them to another shelf. If your child isn’t in love with your present theme, you might want to look at the activities. Are they too easy or too difficult? If it really is the theme that’s the problem, you can start your next theme earlier and have it last longer. The most important thing is to individualize your activities for your child(ren).
You can have your theme in one area like I do (although I’ll have certain of my themed activities on other shelves if they don’t all fit on one shelving unit). Or you might want to have some themed activities on each of your shelves without one centralized themed shelf. Either way is fine. It really depends on what works best for you and your family.
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from the Beginning
Although I didn’t have a designated themed shelf before January 2017, I’ve had a themed post using free printables on the 15th of each month since December 2011. And, as I said, you’ll find all my themed posts in my “Should You Use Unit Studies?” post, which I update monthly.
Update: You can see all my monthly themes using free printables in my post with more than 12 years’ worth of free printables and Montessori-inspired activities.
Our Themed Montessori Shelves Throughout the Year
Here are our themed shelves from 2017. Note: In case you’re wondering I purchased our shelves from Amazon.
Montessori Shelves with a Penguin Theme
Free Penguin Printables and Montessori-Inspired Penguin Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Lamb Theme
Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
Free Eat-a-Rainbow Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Turtle Theme
Free Turtle Printables and Montessori-Inspired Turtle Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Zoo Theme
Free Zoo Printables and Montessori-Inspired Zoo Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Bee Theme
Free Bee Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bee Activities
Montessori Shelves with an Alligator Theme
Montessori-Inspired Alligator Unit with Free Printables and Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Magnet Theme
Free Magnet Printables and Montessori-Inspired Magnet Activities
Montessori Shelves with an Owl Theme
Montessori-Inspired Owl Unit with Free Printables and Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Moon Theme
Free Moon Printables and Montessori-Inspired Moon Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Bear Theme
Free Bear Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bear Activities
Montessori Shelves with a Winter Sports Theme
Free Winter Sports Printables and Montessori-Inspired Winter Sports Activities
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2018
To keep this post from going on forever, I’ll just add the links rather than links and photo each month. Each link will go to the blog post with the shelves and activities for my monthly theme.
- Free Panda Printables and Montessori-Inspired Panda Activities
- Free Nest Printables and Montessori-Inspired Nest Activities
- Free Duckling Printables and Montessori-Inspired Duckling Activities
- Free Tree Printables and Montessori-Inspired Tree Activities
- Free Golf Printables and Montessori-Inspired Golf Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Ladybug Unit with Free Printables and Activities
- Free Star and Constellation Printables and Montessori-Inspired Constellation Activities
- Free Brain and Growth Mindset Printables and Montessori-Inspired Brain Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Fire Safety Unit with Free Printables and Activities
- Free Solar System Printables and Montessori-Inspired Solar System Activities
- Free Peace Printables and Montessori-Inspired Peace Activities
- Free Inuit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Inuit Activities
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2019
- Free Heart Printables and Montessori-Inspired Heart Activities {Human Heart and Valentine Hearts}
- Free Kings and Queens Printables and Montessori-Inspired Kings and Queens Activities
- Free Backyard Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Backyard Bird Activities
- Free Cleaning and Tidying Printables and Montessori-Inspired Cleaning and Tidying Activities
- Free Travel Printables and Montessori-Inspired Travel Activities
- Free Ocean Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ocean Activities
- Free Rocks and Minerals Printables and Montessori-Inspired Rocks and Minerals Activities
- Free Apple Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Apple Unit
- Free Farm Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Farm Unit
- Free Gratitude Printables and Montessori-inspired Gratitude Activities
- Free Woodland Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Woodland Animal Activities
- Free Months and Seasons Printables and Montessori-Inspired Months and Seasons Activities
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2020
- Free Winter Printables and Montessori-Inspired Winter Activities
- Free Oviparous Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Oviparous Animal Activities
- Free Spring Printables and Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities
- Free Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Earth Day Unit
- Free Volcano & Earthquake Printables and Montessori-Inspired Volcano & Earthquake Activities
- Free Summer Printables and Montessori-Inspired Summer Activities
- Free Fruit & Vegetable Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fruit & Vegetable Activities
- Free Medical Worker Printables and Montessori-Inspired Medical Worker Activities
- Free Fall Printables and Montessori-inspired Fall Activities
- Free Construction Printables and Montessori-Inspired Construction Activities
- Free Calming Printables and Montessori-Inspired Calming Activities
- Free Resilience Printables and Montessori-Inspired Resilience Activities {Growth Mindset Unit}
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2021
- Free Black History Printables and Montessori-Inspired Black History Activities
- Free St. Patrick’s Day Printables and Montessori-Inspired St. Patrick’s Day Activities
- Free Weather Printables and Montessori-Inspired Weather Activities
- Free Endangered Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Endangered Animal Activities
- Free Seashell Printables and Montessori-Inspired Seashell Activities
- Free Noisy Insect Printables and Montessori-Inspired Noisy Insect Activities
- Free Summer Sports Printables and Montessori-Inspired Summer Sports Activities
- Free Me on the Map Printables and Montessori-Inspired Me on the Map Activities
- Free Bat Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bat Activities
- Free Senses Printables and Montessori-Inspired Senses Activities
- Free Gingerbread Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Gingerbread Unit
- Free Snowperson Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snowperson Activities
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2022
- Free Dental Health Printables and Montessori-Inspired Dental Health Activities
- Free Colors & Diversity Printables and Montessori-Inspired Colors & Diversity Activities
- Free Rabbit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Rabbit Activities
- Free Fossil Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fossil Activities
- Free Crocodilian Printables and Montessori-Inspired Crocodilian Activities
- Free Snake Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snake Activities
- Free Weird Insect Printables and Montessori-Inspired Weird Insect Activities
- Free Friendship Printables and Montessori-Inspired Friendship Activities
- Free Nocturnal Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Nocturnal Animal Activities
- Free Feelings Printables for a Montessori-Inspired Emotions and Feelings Unit
- Free Kindness Printables and Montessori-Inspired Kindness Activities
- Free Snowy Day Printables and Montessori-Inspired Snowy Day Activities
Our Themed Montessori Shelves from 2023
- Free Germ Printables and Montessori-Inspired Germ Activities
- Free Birthday Printables and Montessori-Inspired Birthday Activities
- Free Caterpillar to Butterfly Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
- Free Amphibian Printables and Montessori-Inspired Amphibian Activities
- Free Reptile Printables and Montessori-Inspired Reptile Activities
- Free Fish Printables and Montessori-Inspired Fish Activities
- Free Bird Printables and Montessori-Inspired Bird Activities
- Free Mammal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Mammal Activities
- Free Road Construction Printables and Montessori-Inspired Road Construction Activities
- Free Detective Printables and Montessori-Inspired Detective Activities
- Free Evergreen Tree Printables and Montessori-Inspired Evergreen Tree Activities
- Free Ice Skating Printables and Montessori-Inspired Ice Skating Activities
How to Set up Montessori Spaces at Home
See “How to Create a Montessori-Friendly Home” for ideas for a number of levels. Here are some of my main home environment posts here:
- How to Prepare a Montessori Baby Room at Home (roundup post)
- How to Prepare a Montessori Toddler Environment at Home (roundup post)
- Preparing a Montessori Newborn Baby Space at Home
- How to Use Montessori Mobiles to Encourage a Newborn Baby’s Development and Delight
- Preparing a Montessori Baby Space with Shelves at Home
- Preparing a Montessori Baby Space in Your Living Room
- Preparing a Montessori Baby-Toddler Space at Home
- Preparing Montessori Toddler Spaces at Home (includes our Montessori toilet learning setup)
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 2 Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 2½ Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 3 Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 3½ Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 4 Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 4½ Year Old
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a 5 Year Old
- How to Prepare Themed Montessori Shelves
- How to Prepare a Montessori Home Environment for Afterschooling
- Create an Attractive Home Environment from Montessori at Home!
- How to Set Up a Montessori Homeschool Classroom
- How to Prepare Montessori Homeschool Spaces for Babies through First Graders
- How to Prepare a Montessori Space in Your Living Room for Toddlers Through Early Elementary
This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series!
12 Months of Montessori Series – Homeschool or Montessori Work Areas (Homeschool Rooms)
Check the posts below for a variety of awesome ideas for homeschool classrooms and kid spaces!
- How to Set Up a Reading Nook Kids Love | Natural Beach Living
- Awesome Homeschool Room – Pictures & Printable Homeschool Planner | The Natural Homeschool
- How to Prepare Themed Montessori Shelves | Living Montessori Now
- Montessori Inspired Homeschool Space | Mama’s Happy Hive
- Montessori Home — Our Art Area | The Kavanaugh Report
- How I Organize our Montessori-Inspired Learning Space | The Pinay Homeschooler
How are you coming along with your classroom or Montessori space?
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Deb, you always have such insightful and useful articles! I really love this, and will definitely refer my readers to this! I get asked so much about where to start and your blog is often one of the first places I refer people to <3 Your thematic units are so beautiful!
My ultimate inspiration this school year! Thank you for sharing this Deb!
Hi Deb, your work is always a masterpiece. I love your shelves and how you prepare each activity. Your grandkids are the luckiest!
More Power
Nikki