Customer Testimonials

Hear what teachers and parents have to say about Maitri Learning's materials and our founder, Julia Volkman. You can see more on our Customer Reviews page.

How delighted I am with your language materials, both for the toddlers and for the 3-6 year olds.  It's refreshing, for example, to see a real leaf with highlighted parts, rather than the stylized leaf so many of us have grown up with.  How wonderful to have both options!  I think your images would be great for toddlers as well - not the labels, just the images. I appreciate your commitment to excellence and standards. Thanks,  
- Judi Orion

Hello, I'm thrilled to make this purchase for my new classroom. I have been hired by a little school to convert the pre-K into a Montessori classroom and they have agreed to allow some to matriculate to kindergarten within my class, in the future.... I used your cards while interning at a school all last year and I won't use anything else. Thank you for your wonderful work, research, organization tips, and "how to" refreshers.
Kind regards,
Kellie Young

I wanted to say thank you for your beautifully created materials. The work of making language materials is extremely painstaking for a Montessori perfectionist, and the energy that then goes into re-making portions that get chewed, bent, or torn can be overwhelming to torturous. I found during my observations and practice teaching back in 2008/9, that many classes did not have definition stage material beyond *maybe* one or two old, rarely used sets. I also found that there was a lot of "extra" language "lessons" on the shelves that seemed to stall children in the phonetic word decoding stage of reading. The first classroom I led came with exactly ZERO definition sets and a few incomplete "parts of" sets, and a glut of non-Montessori reading materials to "fill in the gaps." (this is not a judgement, but what the previous teachers were able to manage at a time that Montessori options or the time needed to make materials weren't available) My first order of business was buying a complete set of the parts and definitions for botany and zoology. It amazed me to see the difference when children took on the challenge of reading themselves the books after labeling and eventually reading and playing the exciting and humorous language puzzle of the definition stages. I am just deeply grateful for your well-designed, thorough, and unyielding materials. You don't dumb things down; you use the word "throughout" right there in the definitions of the parts of the tree, "easiest" set according to my students! We love your materials, and I am deeply grateful for the level of excitement these materials bring to the students and to me in learning about and loving the world around us.
 - Renee (Post Oak School)

Thank you so much for noticing that I had two items ordered and offering to send them both together to save me $6.95 in shipping. It might seem like a small thing, but it is details like this that make customers love you! Thank you for your thoughtfulness. I love my products. I will recommend Maitri Learning to all my Montessori teacher friends! Thank you!
- Erin McFarland

The quality of the 3-part reading cards was excellent. The company has certainly created a useful product. Their informative instructions and guidelines for age appropriate usage with children was appreciated. Children themselves will be intrigued and have a natural curiosity to match the pictures and words. I look forward to purchasing other card selections from Matri Learning.
- Christine Maasdam

This is a great game for preschoolers. My grandson loves to play. [Transportation Matching Cards]
- Jackie Qualls

Perfect or my ESL students. [Around Town Vocabulary Cards]
- Sharon Hulton

Perfect for the beginning rider who is getting to know her horse. Book is small...palm-sized, but great for little hands. ["Parts of" the Horse book]
- E.M. Strommen

I love your cards--they are absolutely lovely.
- Ashley Speed

I received my order a couple days ago and I just opened the box and I am SO HAPPY with the materials I ordered! I am excited to find your company, as your language cards are so lovely. I will definitely keep your catalog and place more orders in the future. Thank you for creating such quality Montessori products!
- Melinda Kedro

Again, love, love, love - appreciate, appreciate, appreciate - am grateful, grateful, grateful for your website and the caring wisdom behind it. The world is a better place with you in it. :)
- Cheryl Lewis-McCarren, Parent & Teacher

This letter is intended as a hug! I have loved you from afar for about a year now. I am Diana's mother and have appreciated not only the many hours of training you have so selflessly provided but also the high quality friend you have been to her. I can't thank you enough!
- Julia Lowe, Parent

I love your site:) I am working as a lecturer, training adults in Montessori (AMS).. and I need to add that I've browsed so many sites but found yours to be truly educational..Thank you and keep up the good work:) God bless..
- Jeniffer Fernando

I just wanted to write to say how much I appreciated your article in the Winter Public School Montessorian and your efforts to bring attention to this valuable piece of scholarship. In a culture where "more" is generally perceived to be better, sometimes it is difficult to see the value in slow and focused (when in fact, we know that this is what children need- slow paced, relaxed, repeated exposures to growth promoting materials). As a teacher it is good for us to think more critically about those "extra" things (extensions, etc) that we bring into our classroom and what they are trading off with. Anyhow, thanks again for another wonderful article (I loved the meditation one as well).
- Abigail Miller

Comments from the Maine Montessori Association workshop

“Excellent!  So valuable to revisit the cornerstone of Montessori education”

“Very interesting!  Julia was engaging and insightful.  Don’t stop at age 6!”

“Enjoyed the speaker- very informative”

“Great subject.  Trainer was very fun and energetic.  Very knowledgeable on the subject.  I enjoyed it very much!  Lots of great information- sparked thinking and reflection.”

“Very relevant information on brain research with many pertinent connections to our Montessori children and classroom.  Lots of suggestions and helpful reminders to me as a teacher of what all the theory looks like on a practical everyday basis.”

“I really got a lot out of this workshop.  I wish I was introduced to the Montessori ten years ago.  Julia is an excellent presenter and her enthusiasm made it very interesting.”

“Excellent, wonderful speaker.  Valuable information.  The timing of this subject with the start of the next school year was well planned.  I was very impressed and pleased with all the great information I am able to take with me.”

“Julia Volkman was wonderful.  She was easy to follow and understand.  Very to the point and answered all the questions we asked.  Inspiring.”

“Very informative.”

“Julia has great energy and she kept you captivated.”

“Julia is fantastic!  This workshop has definitely help to reiterate what we, as Montessori teachers, do each day and why it works.  This workshop was extremely informative and very well presented.”

“Great presenter.  Interesting subject.  Useful information.  Very enjoyable.”

“Very interesting.  Excellent, knowledgeable speaker.  Kept us engaged.  Great personality!  Loved the stories and pictures of children.  Would love to hear her again on other subjects.”

“Very informative regarding child’s reactions and withdrawals to work.”

“This workshop teaches a lot about how the brain works from baby to adult, and how to detect different learning disabilities.  This first part was excellent.  I can’t wait to learn more in the second part.  I will be able to put this in practice.”

“Inspirational presenter.  Enthusiastic and knowledgeable.  Lots of practical/educational suggestions for classroom application.”

“Very well presented.  Really enjoyed information and presenter.  She was energetic and inspirational.”

“Julia is an amazing presenter, very vibrant and attention catching.  She makes things interesting to listen to.”

“Julia was a very energetic and knowledgeable speaker.  I am back to a new school year with new thoughts and renewed energy!”

“Julia was a dynamic speaker.  The information was clear and interesting. I would love to go to more of her workshops.”

“Julia was an excellent presenter.  She kept it engaging and pertinent.  I am definitely going back to school feeling refreshed in Montessori philosophy.”

“Hearing about neurological exams was very helpful.  Excellent tone of presenter... modeled calm personality of a Montessori teacher.  Excellent suggestions for supporting the role of the Montessori teacher.”

“Very effective facilitator.  Made the concepts understandable in her presentation, videos, ability to connect content with experiences in the classroom. I feel I have more of an understanding of the child’s behavior in learning about the brain, and have learned how to interpret what I observe and what I can do to meet the child’s needs.”

“Julia gave great information.  How important to sit and observe and see the child as a whole.  Be patient!  Slow down!”

“The information given reminds me of what you should do and what we all know, but need reminding.  Understanding the child can so difficult sometimes and the tools and having the confidence in yourself to move forward for the child can be difficult as well, but we do have the tools (we can do it!)

“One of the best.”

“Great to get information integrates new research into existing Montessori practice and philosophy.”

“This was very inspiring and helpful. “

“Excellent and informative presentation.  Thank you so much!  I will be taking several ideas back to my classroom.”

“Julia was wonderful, inspirational, funny and real.  I can’t wait to share the training with my colleagues!”

“I loved it!  The timing was very good; right before the beginning of school.  I think it is good to be scientific about learning,”

"Julia was an inspiring presenter- just what I need to get revved up for the school year.  Energy was fabulous as well as knowledge of materials and of children.  Because she is IN the classroom and she IS Montessori trained, she gets it!”

“Well organized.  Speaker was dynamic and presented useful information.  Gracious hosting.”

“Fantastic!  Great review for what should in the forefront of our mind!  The school looks wonderful.  The space just right size and the people were warm and willing to share… Thank you!  I wish the afternoon more relevant to elementary.”

“Wonderful integration of neuroscience and development of the mind in Montessori terms.  This was geared toward 3-6 and elementary teachers, etc.  Could take the sample principles where and when they applied, however, there are differences for 6-9 -12 that could be addressed.  Basic premise-OBSERVATION-great reminder.

“Enthusiastic instructor- very knowledgeable.”