# AMI vs AMS record keeping: what changes in your software

Source: https://www.futurenerds.dev/compare/ami-vs-ams-record-keeping
Last updated: 2026-10-25

AMI or AMS changes less in your records than most schools expect. In FutureNerds, the two starter curricula are the same for Infant/Toddler, Primary and Adolescent. They differ in elementary, where AMI is built around Cosmic Education and the five Great Lessons, and AMS uses Cultural Studies.

## AMI and AMS in one paragraph

AMI is the Association Montessori Internationale, founded by Maria Montessori in 1929. AMS is the American Montessori Society, founded in the United States in 1960. Both train teachers and accredit or recognize schools. For record keeping, what matters is the lesson list your software starts from and whether you can change it.

## What FutureNerds sets up for each

When you create a school, you choose Montessori (AMI), Montessori (AMS) or Custom. FutureNerds then fills the curriculum for each age level. In the curriculum settings, AMI is described as "Traditional Montessori curriculum with original album terminology" and AMS as "Adapted Montessori curriculum with modern terminology".

| Age level | AMS areas in FutureNerds | AMI areas in FutureNerds |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Infant/Toddler (0 to 3) | Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Cultural Studies | Same as AMS |
| Primary (3 to 6) | Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, Cultural Studies | Same as AMS |
| Lower Elementary (6 to 9) | Practical Life, Language, Mathematics, Cultural Studies, Peace Education | Practical Life, Language, Mathematics, Cosmic Education, Peace Education |
| Upper Elementary (9 to 12) | Practical Life, Language, Mathematics, Cultural Studies, Peace Education | Practical Life, Language, Mathematics, Cosmic Education, Peace Education |
| Adolescent (12 to 15) | Practical Life, Humanities, Mathematics, Sciences, Creative Expression | Same as AMS |

The AMI Cosmic Education area starts with the five Great Lessons: the Coming of the Universe, the Coming of Life, the Coming of Human Beings, the Story of Writing and the Story of Numbers.

## What stays the same either way

- **Mastery levels.** Every lesson moves through not yet presented, presented, practicing and mastered. You can rename the levels and change their colors.
- **Observations, lesson plans and the Progress Grid** work the same on both.
- **Editing.** You can add, rename and remove areas and competencies at any time, so a school can start from AMS and add its own AMI albums, or the reverse.
- **Changing later.** An admin can change the framework in the curriculum settings. Changing it does not rewrite the areas you already have. An age level with no areas shows a Load AMI Curriculum or Load AMS Curriculum button.

## What other software ships

| Product | AMI or AMS lessons |
| --- | --- |
| Transparent Classroom | [Lesson sets for AMI Toddler, Primary and Elementary, and AMS Elementary](https://www.transparentclassroom.com/) |
| Montessori Compass | [Over 3,000 lessons](https://www.montessoricompass.com/) on the [Montessori Foundation Scope and Sequence](https://www.montessoricompass.com/migration/switch/) |
| MRX | [AMI, AMS and community lesson lists](https://www.montessorirecordsxpress.com/) |
| brightwheel | A [Montessori scope and sequence aligned with AMS and AMI](https://mybrightwheel.com/montessori) |
| Storypark | A [learning set](https://intercom.help/storypark/articles/56140-what-are-learning-tags-and-sets) the school builds |
| FutureNerds | AMS, AMI or custom, chosen when the school is created |

Sources were checked October 14, 2026.

## Which to choose

- **Your guides trained with AMI and teach the Great Lessons in elementary:** choose AMI.
- **Your school is AMS-accredited or your guides trained with AMS:** choose AMS.
- **Your school uses its own albums:** choose Custom, or start from the closer framework and edit it.
- **You run only toddler and primary rooms:** either works, because the two starter curricula are the same at those levels.

## How to set your curriculum framework in FutureNerds

1. Create your school and, at "Decide on your curriculum model", choose Montessori (AMI), Montessori (AMS) or Custom.
2. Open the curriculum settings to see the areas for each age level.
3. Rename, add or remove areas and competencies to match your albums.
4. For an age level with no areas yet, click Load AMI Curriculum or Load AMS Curriculum.
5. Rename the four mastery levels if your school uses other words.

## Related pages

- [Observations and record keeping](/product/observations)
- [Lesson planning](/product/lesson-planning)
- [Best software for a small Montessori school](/compare/best-software-for-a-small-montessori-school)
- [Best Montessori school software](/compare/best-montessori-school-software)
- [Tracking progress from presented to mastered](/blog/presented-practicing-mastered)

## Questions and answers

### Does FutureNerds support both AMI and AMS?

Yes. A FutureNerds school chooses AMI, AMS or a custom curriculum when it is created, and AMS is the default. Both use the same four mastery levels.

### What is the difference between AMI and AMS in record keeping?

In FutureNerds, the starter curricula are the same for Infant/Toddler, Primary and Adolescent. In elementary, AMI has a Cosmic Education area with the five Great Lessons, and AMS has Cultural Studies.

### Can I switch from AMS to AMI later?

You can change the framework in the curriculum settings. It does not replace areas you already have, so you edit them or fill an empty age level with the Load AMI Curriculum button.

### Which Montessori software includes the AMI elementary lessons?

Transparent Classroom ships an AMI Elementary lesson set, MRX lists AMI lesson lists, and FutureNerds seeds an AMI elementary curriculum built around Cosmic Education.

## Sources

All checked October 14, 2026.

- https://www.transparentclassroom.com/
- https://www.montessoricompass.com/
- https://www.montessoricompass.com/migration/switch/
- https://www.montessorirecordsxpress.com/
- https://mybrightwheel.com/montessori
- https://intercom.help/storypark/articles/56140-what-are-learning-tags-and-sets