There are so many Montessori printables and matching style of cards available I want to share what we are currently using. What cards we use depends on our child's interests but there are some general themes that many young children will be attracted to. Some of the downloads I've linked to are Montessori 3-Part Cards. My child is pre-reading so I only use the image cards, we will use the other cards when he is older. We also do a lot of this work together as the focus is often on (verbal) language.

Printables are often a really affordable option for Montessori activities. Although you can go through a lot of printer ink. I print on paper and sometimes glue the paper to card. I have previously been addicted to laminating, laminating makes the cards nice and glossy and the cards more durable but for home use I would rather a more eco friendly option. I often use our little corner cutter which can make the cards look more professional too. 

Just a note on what you see here. This is child led work. It's simple and doable. It's age and developmentally appropriate. My child here is two (26 months). He doesn't always finish this work, and often his lines are wonky, but it is 'his' work. 

Favourite Animals - Silhouettes - Montessori Toddler. It is interesting to watch a child do this work. My toddler names the contrasting picture (black images) like "pig" and then matches it to the pig, he is looking at the contrasting picture and using his memory to form a picture in his mind.

Colour Books - Toddler. I've found this to be a good way to introduce more colours like pink and violet that my toddler isn't already familiar with. This builds concentration too, as he finds the red, blue, yellow and green work easy but there are a lot of pictures to match. If you were starting out you would reduce the amount of colours out and/or reduce the amount of cards to match/sort. 

Geometric Shape Matching Cards. This is a fantastic activity that I really like. Out of this set we've started with the triangle, circle and square. My toddler is familiar with these shapes but this adds depth to his knowledge, he can apply his knowledge of shapes to the real world. Extension idea is to now try find shapes in the environment. I also like this set, and this shapes in nature set. 

Montessori Parts of The Body Cards. Most toddlers love learning about their body parts. We use these as naming cards and match them to our own body parts. For learning about the body we also really like the My First Body DK book. 

Australian Animal Cards - Montessori 3-part Cards. For toddler matching work we can use the image cards only, no words. At 26 months I'm not looking for exact images to match, and animals in their natural habitats is perfect, we no longer need the image on the white background. I haven't used all the animal cards in this set as we don't have all the models and these are difficult animal names for my toddler to pronounce, we will start with four and build up. I've used the download version but I love this company as they have so many fantastic Montessori sets which include printed cards and the models.

Please note that all of the downloads I've linked to have high quality, clear and sharp images. My printer doesn't always print perfectly so there are some lines and some colour unevenness on the cards. 

It's always a good idea to plan and think ahead. In the next three to six months I'm looking at making some cards including:

• animals and habitats
• land/air/water activities
• geometric solids matching

My favourite sources for Montessori Printables include:

• Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) as there are so many options. I use Montessori Nature and Montessori Print Shop the most. You will also find great printables from I Believe in Montessori, Diamond Montessori, Pinay Homeschooler, and Tanglewood Hollow.
• Etsy - it's always easy to search, we like the Little Spark Company.
• Montessori For Everyone.

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