“What the hand does, the mind remembers”
-Dr. Maria Montessori
Who we are
Stencils & Stuff was founded in 1978 by Marla Lloyd under the name Montessori Inspired. It was created after years of observation in her Primary Montessori classroom, where she saw how much the children in her class gravitated to the geometric shape insets and sought to find a way to incorporate that into other lessons. This was the foundation for her business plan- marrying that innate creativity and curiosity with something that builds off the children’s interests. Not only that, but other primary motives behind the creation of stencils were the to build and strengthen dexterity and memory simply through the method of movement.
Marla went on to open several other schools, each of which included the stencils she’d created in that first classroom. When she retired, her youngest daughter, Andrea, decided to take over the business. Andrea has her own Montessori school, and uses all the stencils in each of her toddler and primary classrooms. In 2019, she decided to share the reigns with her two daughters, Sage and Mariah, who are also trained and practiced Montessori teachers.
Since then, the business has undergone some changes. The name has been changed to Stencils & Stuff to incorporate the addition of products outside of stencils alone- including teacher merchandise, downloadables, and figures.
Our Mission
Stencils & Stuff is a family business whose objective is to make learning fun and engaging! It has been backed by research to excite and captivate children while developing critical skills such as dexterity, handwriting, and memory.
Our stencils encourage independence and creativity, which lays an important foundation for how children engage in, not only the classroom, but the world around them.
We want to give children the tools to enjoy their lessons, to challenge their creativity, and to embrace whatever comes next!
Why Our Products Make a Difference
Current neuroscientists have found that “tracing exercises improve children in three areas- speaking, writing, and reading”. More specifically, “tracing complex lines stimulate neurons in the brain”.
Our stencils were carefully chosen with that in mind- to give the opportunity to challenge the child. We introduce mammals, sea life, and other types of animals in the pursuit of expanding the child’s scope of understanding. Seeing the interest of the children in these shapes led to incorporating them into existing Montessori work. In doing so, children are able to expand the use of their hands in actually drawing the land/water shapes, the solar systems, continents, and the symbols of our language- all leading to pencil control.
Another important aspect of our stencils is the open ended creature of creativity.
These beautiful stencils complete any educational environment, providing the means for natural artistic development.
Our materials are designed to last. They are durable, versatile, and engaging, making them a crucial addition to any and all classrooms!
