Free Downloads: Montessori Art Cards & Art Appreciation




Art cards are a staple of the Montessori classroom and art appreciation. You can make your own three-part art cards by printing out two sets of cards for matching, one set will need to be labeled, one set will need to be mute. Lastly, you need to make a set of labels for the mute cards. Below are my 10 recommended resources for art cards and art appreciation:

1. Child-Sized Masterpieces for steps 1,2,3 of Mommy It's a Renoir (various levels) by Aline D. Wolf on Amazon.com

2. For a brief overview of Montessori art, read Montessori Philosophy & Practice AGE 3-6+ YEARS—Art by Michale Olaf.

3. Listed here is a free resource and YouTube clip for how to present three-part cards:
From Montessori Print Shop

4. And here is a blog post, Montessori Three-Part Cards, from Montessori Candy.

5. Here are some Montessori art card free PDF downloads:

• O'Keeffe Art Cards 3-Part Cards
• Picasson cards
• Leonard da Vinci
• Monet
• Renoir
• Art cards (various works of art)
• Artists cards (various artists)
• YouTube video clips on Montessori art: Art Appreciation in the Montessori Early Childhood Classroom

6. Online resources for women artists:

• Women Artists in History, organized by Wendy Russ
• Art Promote: Image Collections links (print out and make your own cards to match!)
• Women Artists, Women's Art Websites, A directory of famous female artists (by Zeroland)

7. Art books to get from the library or used on Amazon.com:

• Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists, a series for children
• Express Yourself! (Art Explorers) a series for children by Joyce Raimondo

8. A beautiful Montessori "Art at Home" post from The Montessori Child at Home blog.

9. First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos on Amazon.com 

10. And lots more art resources, links, and downloads at Living Montessori Now's Montessori-Inspired Art Appreciation blog post!

Personal Note: I love art. Both my parents were artists. My son loves to do art. Sadly, I think art gets left out of many classrooms: it's messy, it's costly, it's not as important as math or language, yada, yada. But art is such a vital part of our lives, whether it is photography, drawing, painting, or collage. For our children it is a means of self-expression, builds fine motor skills, practical life skills, and it's fun!