When I became pregnant with twins, my mother purchased the new addition of this book for me. I work full time, but still have found time to make the materials in the book (they are very easy!). I enjoy spending time on the exercises with my girls, who are now two and a half . They also look forward to when he have "school".
As an introduction to the world of Montessori; this book has been an eye-opener to me. This book has shown me the beauty of the Montessori Method itself, so much so that my husband and I are considering placing our girls in a Montessori school when they get a little older.
I did find the index of toys and materials outdated, as hinted at by the below critic. Some of these toys are no longer manufactured. I find it sad, however, that the below critic finds teaching manners such as cleaning up after yourself outdated. My girls, at two and a half, enjoy watching me and my husband in the kitchen, helping us clean with their child-size brooms and mops, dusting, etc. I want my children to understand that they are a contributor to their own environment, and not to expect such things to be taken care of by maids or parents.
I recommend this book to you as I have to many parents of pre-school children.
The author of this book gives a brief history of Maria Montessori and how she discovered how children learn. It then goes on to describe the methods used, and gives detailed instructions for all the exercises and demonstrations which are used with preschool-aged children.
The author also gives instructions for making many of the Montessori materials at home, with common household items or easy-to-obtain craft supplies. Throughout the book she offers many alternative suggestions for the materials which are typically used in a Montessori classroom. For instance, she mentions that a muffin tin can be used very effectively to sort buttons, and that a handtowel may be used for the workmat.
Although this book was orginally written in the 1960's, most of the information is still useful today. The cover mentions that it has been updated and revised, but it is not clear what information has been changed in this edition. Still, overall this book is a wonderful resource for frugal parents who are able to teach their children at home, and who want to use Montessori methods to do so.