It is often said that Montessori materials haven’t changed in over a hundred years, but in reality, they have evolved. Did you know, for example, that the ‘Red Rods’ used to be green? Or does anyone remember that the red and yellow ‘Colored Cylinders’ were once white and orange, and that the Geometric Insets were originally red and white? We were also amazed to discover that even the ‘Brown Stair’ was once blue.
Montessori materials have been and continue to be subject to change. In the early days, Maria Montessori herself occasionally modified the materials based on her observations. Later, the Material Committee of the AMI initiated changes, sometimes based on suggestions from the manufacturer.
