My first Montessori purchase: An A Plus Montessori review

A few weeks ago I ordered sound boxes and a scale from A Plus Montessori. I ordered on a Friday and got an email from the company on Tuesday saying they did not have the scales in stock :( I was quite disappointed since that was what I wanted most, but that stuff happens, right? I had the option of switching to another product of similar price or just going through with my order without the scale. I decided to just get the sound boxes and asked when the scales would be back in stock. I got a reply the next day with the tracking number for the sound boxes and a note saying the scales would be in stock within two months.

The following Tuesday the sound boxes were on my doorstep! They were packaged well and in great shape. They seem to be of high quality, as well, considering the low price point of A Plus Montessori's products. All in all, I am quite thrilled with my experience. I would have liked a quicker email that one of my products was out of stock, but I thought the customer service was otherwise excellent.

And look how cute the sound boxes are on our activity shelves!

Cheap Montessori materials you don't have to make yourself

I've been on the lookout for genuine Montessori materials that don't cost an arm and a leg and after a long and mostly fruitless search I found an awesome resource! A Plus Montessori is a discount retailer with amazing prices and everything I've been looking for.

I've been on the lookout for a pink tower and everywhere I looked they were easily $100! For wooden blocks! Making one myself was pretty much out of the question so I had almost given up on the authentic pink tower experience (nesting blocks anyone?) when I found one on A Plus Montessori for $26.95.

$26.95? That's, like, affordable.

Buying materials for Montessori at home

I don't have gobs and gobs of money to spend on materials and I assume you don't either. Why when you search Montessori materials does every little wooden, simple thing cost over $50? It's hard when you don't really know what you need and everything labeled Montessori costs so much. I went to Target the other day on a search for cheap, cool things to use for activities and I wasn't disappointed!

I got a set of 6 pinch bowls on clearance for $4.10. I didn't know what pinch bowls were, I guess I am not much of cook, but they are used to hold small amounts of condiments or other foods you don't need a lot of. The ones I got were all different colors but apparently they do not exist on all of the internet because I can not find the brand (Epicura) anywhere! The ones below are similar to what I got. They can be used for transfer activities like spooning dried beans or droppers of water. Or you can put a spoonful of ice cream in each one and have an ice cream sampler like Ryann insisted on last night. Good thing the bowls are small!
Curious Chef® 4 Piece Silicone Pinch Bowl Set

I also got this small pitcher for $2.99. There was a white one for $3.99, but I thought it might help her learn to pour easier if she can see the contents. Generally used for creamer, it's the perfect size for little hands. It is apparently in store-only at Target but Amazon sells it for just a bit more. You can use the pitcher to practice pouring.

Anchor Hocking Presnece Collection Presence Glass Creamer

While we were in the kitchen section, Ryann insisted we get a turkey baster. I think we should be able to practice transferring water with it. She thinks it's a microphone,she calls it a "turkey phone." It was $1.99

Harold Imports Turkey Baster

All-in-all I spent $9.08 for some pretty useful materials! My next purchases are going to be trays and rugs. I'll talk about uses for those in later posts.