The Michael Olaf Montessori Company

MICHAEL OLAF MONTESSORI SHOP
IN THE 1980'S

No business plan, no plans at all to start a business. Susan Mayclin Stephenson was on maternity leave from being a Montessori elementary teacher in Marin County, California. Jim was a painter for the Berkeley schools. 1982 their teenage daughters, with the typical confidence and initiative of Montessori school graduates, started a tiny shop to provide Montessori toys and books for children because they could not find anything good enough in the whole San Francisco Bay Area for their new baby brother. They named it after him, Michael Olaf.

Teachers discovered the tiny shop and asked for a list so they could order from home. Then the growing number of new customers asked for pictures which Susan drew with a pencil, laying out the catalogue pages, text blocks and drawings, on graph paper taped to the dining room window. The business grew and grew, moving to two more stores, each larger than the last, in the Rockridge area of the East Bay, between Oakland and Berkeley.

Even though the Michael Olaf Montessori Company provided things for homes and schools the interest was never in "stuff" as Susan had seen the problems of giving children more toys then time, and how the concentration level in Montessori classes seemed to diminish as classrooms became more and more busy with materials. Susan wanted to share her Montessori experienced, gained from work with infants through high school students so she incorporated her Montessori ideas for parents and teachers on the pages of these catalogues. Some of these early catalogues are still saved. In fact she was shown a collection of them when visiting a school in Cali, Colombia in 2015!

MICHAEL OLAF TODAY

BOOKS
The Michael Olaf Montessori Company is now reformed as The Michael Olaf Montessori Publishing Company. Above are three of the 4 books published as of the end of 2016, and more are on the way. Susan's books are being translated into many languages and are considered the best first introduction to Montessori.

WHOLESALE/BULK DISCOUNTS
Bulk orders of these Montessori books are available in the USA

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS
Individual copies can be found on Amazon in several countries. Translated books are available at AMI (Association Montessori Internationale) organizations in Vietnam and Russia, and more will be available. Above is the link to these books at Amazon.com in the USA. Please check Amazon in your own country for printed and E-books.

TOYS AND MATERIALS:
In January, 2018, Michael Olaf will no longer carry toys and materials. We do hope that others will carry on our work and find ways to provide the very best in materials for homes and schools.

"TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK" means that these items, at the "TOYS AND MATERIALS" link above will be available until January 2018.

"SOLD OUT" means that these items are gone for good, we are trying to update this several times a week as items sell out.

Jim, Michael, Susan, Narda, Ursula, October 2017

THE MICHAEL OLAF MONTESSORI SHOP
IS CLOSING IN JANUARY 2018:

SHOP NOW FOR THE HOLIDAYS
AND FOR YOUR SCHOOL

MICHAEL OLAF MONTESSORI COMPANY
65 Ericson Court, #1, Arcata, California 95521

michaelolaf.net

michaelolaf.com

Susan's oil paintings,
inspired by her international Montessori work,
and her new books, will be announced
on her personal website: SUSAN