Frequently asked questions

A team of readers reviews each product listing and compares the product to their Montessori albums. If the material matches a presentation in their album, or is aligned with the general characteristics of Montessori materials as understood by the reader, the product is listed for sale. 

The Shared Environment's team of readers are Montessorians with AMI diplomas. Some are currently practicing as guides, some work in training centers, and some are retired from working in schools.

Readers assign album badges to products that are specifically described in presentations in their albums. An album badge means the product is highly relevant to Montessori practice. An album badge is not an endorsement of quality, safety, or efficacy. Album badges represent the results of peer-review by The Shared Environment's team of readers and do not indicate endorsement by a third party.

The album badging process, name, and graphics are all the original, proprietary creations of The Shared Environment. (All intellectual property rights reserved.) 

The Readers have been trained at a variety of times and AMI training centers, and there will be differences of opinion. Our hope is that the community will enjoy the breadth of perspective. If you would like to share your thoughts about a specific product, we welcome your feedback. Please raise a ticket.

If a seller has acquired AMI approval for their product, the approval will be indicated in the product listing by an official AMI logo. 

Authenticity is a matter of opinion. The Shared Environment's peer-review system relies on the knowledge stored in AMI-trained Montessorians' albums. A reader offers an album badge when a product is specifically described in a presentation in their album. If a product is for sale in The Shared Environment and does not have an album badge, then no reader has found the item described in a presentation, but one or more readers have determined that the product is aligned with the general characteristics of Montessori materials as they are described in the readers' albums.

Generation after generation, the scientifically developed and refined Montessori method is passed from Montessorian to Montessorian through accredited training programs. The albums are stores of that knowledge.

The albums' quality and accuracy are maintained by collective effort. Trainers instruct trainees, and trainees record and illustrate the instructions. These drafts are reviewed by a trained Montessorian working as an album reader. The album reader recommends corrections, which the trainee then makes. The albums are then reviewed by the trainers and, finally, are evaluated by external assessors.

Montessorians' albums are not identical to each other. The contents of albums can vary slightly based on where and when the Montessorian trained. For this reason, The Shared Environment’s peer-review process includes opportunities to appeal decisions.

There are many marketplaces where customers can explore wide ranges of uncurated products, and we believe those marketplaces are valuable. What we have built is a niche marketplace where some of the mental load has been eliminated for Montessori professionals and families.

A WishList is a list of products that someone would like to purchase or would like others to purchase for them.

For example, a Young Children's Community guide might make a WishList of all the things they wish they could buy for their learning environment, and then share the WishList with the enrolled families.

Families might purchase things from the WishList as a way of supporting their child's guide or school. They might even include their child in the process of gifting the item to the classroom.

Volunteering, gifting homemade items, or gifting purchased items can increase the child's sense of belonging and attachment within the community.

Your child's guide might prepare a WishList of items that support a current interest in the learning community, or a list of items they'd like to include in the environment but cannot purchase within their classroom budget.

Throughout the school year, many items get damaged through children's exploration. This is a normal part of the Montessori method. Guides are expected to keep materials well-maintained and complete, and that can sometimes be challenging given the limited budgets they have available.

By purchasing materials for the classroom environment, families can help keep tuition lower and the quality of education high.

Yes, if you give someone a gift from their WishList, the WishList will update and the item will no longer be there.

The Shared Environment accepts MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

While viewing your cart, you can click the "Submit Tax Exemption Certificate" button to be redirected to our submission portal. Once uploaded, our system will be able to apply the tax exemption to your future orders.

Alternatively, you can upload your certificate at any time using our submission portal to register for tax exemption.

(Note: there may be a delay to tax exemption status registering for your account, please raise a ticket if this is causing issues during checkout.)

After placing your order, you will receive a confirmation email with all the order details. If you don’t receive it within a few minutes, please check your spam folder.

Shipping times depend on which carrier the product’s seller has selected, the product's origin, and where you are located. Please consult the seller’s policies for more information.

If the seller added a tracking number to the order when they fulfilled it, you will automatically receive that tracking number in an email. You can visit the carrier's website and use the tracking number to get detailed information about the package’s movement.

Each seller sets their own return policy and publishes it on their storefront.

Each seller sets their own return policy and publishes it on their storefront.