I am the highly disorganized, free spirit type. What I like to see as creative genius poses some interesting challenges when the word schedule sends shivers down my spine. If you've been around here long, you may have seen some of my past posts on how we structure our day. Much is the same, but much is different too.
For the most part, we aim for a routine. I have a traditional schedule with times listed, but that's more of a utopian dream. We get most of it in most days, so I'll take it.
I know everyone has a different approach to folding Montessori into their home and homeschool, each equally valid. My prerogative is an approach that is closer to what is found at a Montessori school for a host of reasons. You'll see that influence in our day.
Here it is:
A few things I want to point out:
Our week isn't entirely consistent. The evenings can vary considerably depending on the day and the outside activity. We attend our Classical Conversations community once per week. We're often able to recoup some afternoon work hours on the essentials. There are days where our work period shifts to the afternoon. Between medical issues and other activities, there are times we have to be flexible to make it all work.
There is definitely space here and there for everyone to play and choose activities, which is important to me. The personal project time listed is technically for me. I'm trying to spread out my projects into daily, bite-sized chunks versus the procrastinate and panic mode I'm currently in. My children are becoming quite independent these days with how they spend their time, so it gives me the space to focus. I'm amazed at how often they chose something I would consider an academic pursuit.
Achieving a three-hour work period has always been important to me. It is something Maria Montessori advocated for. There are differing views on this when applied to a homeschool, and I certainly don't see it as a must for being successful. But for us, it has worked well logistically. With four of us involved, which includes me giving presentations, we have to line up our work time, or I will be flitting in and out of our work space all day. Honestly, I think the idea of focusing for a solid three hours is more challenging for me than them. But I am needed to that degree if I'm going to observe and guide each of them. They also work well together as they are close enough in age to present some lessons to each other. I love those moments. Overall, I find we have a far better flow when we're in a solid word period routine versus falling out of one.
We tend to tackle our Classical Conversations work at the beginning of the work period. It takes around 20 minutes to cover it. I treat it as our circle time. There are other elements of our CC work sprinkled throughout the classroom in other activities, such as the science shelves and books options.
We've taken a slow jaunt into elementary. My oldest struggled for some time when she went through some aggressive medical treatments. She's flourishing now, which is fantastic, but it makes pacing a bit odd compared to how a normal child moves through the scope and sequence. She is obsessed with language, and I'm honoring that. She jumped a grade level in a month. I've also found that the elementary work we're tackling can be challenging to approach when you aren't dealing with a proficient reader. The beauty of this age range is that children can work more independently. I am able to assign additional work in the afternoon that doesn't require my direct involvement. Eventually this will turn into research projects and the like. I think we're close to a more formal elementary work plan that will allow her to manage more of her own education.
Make sure you understand your state laws in regards to homeschooling. Our laws only regulate days of attendance, not the total hours spent. However, there are states with far more stringent hourly requirements.
If you noticed, there are points where I schedule myself and that's even more apparent in my version of the routine. I removed a few line items to focus on the homeschooling aspect. I used to think it was only the children that needed guidance. However, by giving myself flexible boundaries as well, I'm able to address more things for me. And whether I like it or not, I'm the one that sets the tone of our school day and home life. I've placed an emphasis on meeting my needs lately, and our days have become instantly calmer.
As always, this is a work in progress. The heart of Montessori is observing and addressing what the current needs call for. There are still some things I want to address differently. I need to arrange more field trips. It used to be a major part of our experience, and I've dropped the ball a bit there. I'm playing with the idea of adding another work period on Saturday - essentially following the same routine through lunch time. The kids have been in an eager learning phase lately, and I'd like to capitalize on it. We struggle to get back on track on Mondays, so I'm hopeful that keeping more consistency on the weekends will help.
I hope you find some inspiration here, even if it's simply in the fact that I don't have it down to a science either. But as always, find the routine that works for you and your family. We're all unique.
-Bess
If you are homeschooling, please join me at Montessori Homeschooling.
Don't forget to follow me on Facebook.
This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series. I am truly honored to be part of this endeavor. I want to encourage you to visit all the participating blogs to learn more about Montessori in our daily lives.
For the most part, we aim for a routine. I have a traditional schedule with times listed, but that's more of a utopian dream. We get most of it in most days, so I'll take it.
I know everyone has a different approach to folding Montessori into their home and homeschool, each equally valid. My prerogative is an approach that is closer to what is found at a Montessori school for a host of reasons. You'll see that influence in our day.
Here it is:
6:45 Mom
up (Exercise, Pray, etc.)
8:20 Breakfast
9:00-12:00 School Work Period
12:00 Lunch
1:30 Additional Work Time for Older Children if Needed
2:40 Cleaning/Chores
3:00-4:00 Personal
Project Time
4:00 Afternoon Activity (Art, Music, Science Experiment, etc.)
5:00 Start
Dinner (Children Assist)
7:40 All Family Pick Up/Clean
8:00 Start
Bedtime Routine
8:30 Bedtime
for L and W - E Later
8:45-9:45 Personal
Project Time (Mom)
A few things I want to point out:
Our week isn't entirely consistent. The evenings can vary considerably depending on the day and the outside activity. We attend our Classical Conversations community once per week. We're often able to recoup some afternoon work hours on the essentials. There are days where our work period shifts to the afternoon. Between medical issues and other activities, there are times we have to be flexible to make it all work.
There is definitely space here and there for everyone to play and choose activities, which is important to me. The personal project time listed is technically for me. I'm trying to spread out my projects into daily, bite-sized chunks versus the procrastinate and panic mode I'm currently in. My children are becoming quite independent these days with how they spend their time, so it gives me the space to focus. I'm amazed at how often they chose something I would consider an academic pursuit.
Achieving a three-hour work period has always been important to me. It is something Maria Montessori advocated for. There are differing views on this when applied to a homeschool, and I certainly don't see it as a must for being successful. But for us, it has worked well logistically. With four of us involved, which includes me giving presentations, we have to line up our work time, or I will be flitting in and out of our work space all day. Honestly, I think the idea of focusing for a solid three hours is more challenging for me than them. But I am needed to that degree if I'm going to observe and guide each of them. They also work well together as they are close enough in age to present some lessons to each other. I love those moments. Overall, I find we have a far better flow when we're in a solid word period routine versus falling out of one.
We tend to tackle our Classical Conversations work at the beginning of the work period. It takes around 20 minutes to cover it. I treat it as our circle time. There are other elements of our CC work sprinkled throughout the classroom in other activities, such as the science shelves and books options.
We've taken a slow jaunt into elementary. My oldest struggled for some time when she went through some aggressive medical treatments. She's flourishing now, which is fantastic, but it makes pacing a bit odd compared to how a normal child moves through the scope and sequence. She is obsessed with language, and I'm honoring that. She jumped a grade level in a month. I've also found that the elementary work we're tackling can be challenging to approach when you aren't dealing with a proficient reader. The beauty of this age range is that children can work more independently. I am able to assign additional work in the afternoon that doesn't require my direct involvement. Eventually this will turn into research projects and the like. I think we're close to a more formal elementary work plan that will allow her to manage more of her own education.
Make sure you understand your state laws in regards to homeschooling. Our laws only regulate days of attendance, not the total hours spent. However, there are states with far more stringent hourly requirements.
If you noticed, there are points where I schedule myself and that's even more apparent in my version of the routine. I removed a few line items to focus on the homeschooling aspect. I used to think it was only the children that needed guidance. However, by giving myself flexible boundaries as well, I'm able to address more things for me. And whether I like it or not, I'm the one that sets the tone of our school day and home life. I've placed an emphasis on meeting my needs lately, and our days have become instantly calmer.
As always, this is a work in progress. The heart of Montessori is observing and addressing what the current needs call for. There are still some things I want to address differently. I need to arrange more field trips. It used to be a major part of our experience, and I've dropped the ball a bit there. I'm playing with the idea of adding another work period on Saturday - essentially following the same routine through lunch time. The kids have been in an eager learning phase lately, and I'd like to capitalize on it. We struggle to get back on track on Mondays, so I'm hopeful that keeping more consistency on the weekends will help.
I hope you find some inspiration here, even if it's simply in the fact that I don't have it down to a science either. But as always, find the routine that works for you and your family. We're all unique.
-Bess
If you are homeschooling, please join me at Montessori Homeschooling.
Don't forget to follow me on Facebook.
This post is part of the 12 Months of Montessori Series. I am truly honored to be part of this endeavor. I want to encourage you to visit all the participating blogs to learn more about Montessori in our daily lives.
Our Daily Homeschool Schedule | Natural Beach Living
What to do today… Our Typical Homeschool Day Schedule | The Natural Homeschool
What to do today… Our Typical Homeschool Day Schedule | The Natural Homeschool
Montessori Caregiver Rhythms and Routines (Finding What Works for You) | Living Montessori Now
Our Montessori Homeschool Schedule | Planting Peas
The Daily Rhythm in Our Montessori Home | The Kavanaugh Report
Montessori Inspired Routine at Three | Mama’s Happy Hive
A Day in the Life of Montessori Busy Hands | Christian Montessori Network
Our Daily Routine | Grace and Green Pastures
I love how you do so well in mirroring the type of schedule found in a school setting! I know it's extremely hard work and takes a boatload of discipline. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's certainly interesting now that I have multiple students in my "class". ;-)
DeleteThis was such a great read! We've been attempting the Montessori elementary curriculum for about a year and a half with our oldest. Some things he's ready for, some things he's not. I figure if I follow the child, we'll get it all down by the time he's ready to be heavy into it or at least by the time the next child is ready. Lol. There are a couple moments in this post where you seem to be a little disappointed in yourself for "dropping the ball" etc. I hope you know you're doing an amazing job, especially with added family medical issues. <3 I love that you mentioned that you need to check into your homeschooling laws. We are a family who has to record hours, not daily attendance. Oh, and we too have added Saturdays, especially when we have appointments for kiddos that make other days impossible.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear Saturdays work for you. I fairly certain we'll add it in another month or so. It's interesting to try to figure out how to juggle the needs of the family in cooperation with local homeschooling laws.
DeleteAs to disappointment with myself... well, I guess that's what I get for trying to be funny. This was an interesting topic for me since I haven't written about our schedule in a long time. And when I last did, it was exceptionally rigid. Our family has changed so much in the past few years for a myriad of reasons; medical needs included. It's been good overall but sometimes I look back at myself back then and laugh a little. But then I suppose that's what parenting should be; getting a bit more fine tuned each day.
Thank you so much for the kind words!
I wonder how much our schedule versus "free flow" is affected by the number of children involved. With one child at home it is actually harder to stay scheduled; but when I have had 3 or more, it definitely becomes a need. At least for my household anyway ;)
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying reading through everyone's thought-out explanations. This is a great topic :)
I've heard you talk about your day in the past and it seems so lovely. But I can see how staying on track might become a challenge sometimes.
DeleteIt's funny how I've cycled through the years. I started very rigid. Then I moved to the opposite extreme for a bit. It is tough to get things done because everyone had a different preference. They were doing fine but I was stressed out because it took so much of my time. They eventually started annoying each other as well due to the constant differing goals. Getting back to a routine compromise between all of us was more difficult than I imagined but we're starting to flow with it again. Mine are so close in age that they are happiest when they can find the same rhythm. It's so much trial and error! I'm sure it will change again in the future but as they get older, interests and activities tend to limit our options a bit; not that it's a bad thing.
I wish I could see more insight into 3+ families who homeschool with Montessori... mostly out of curiosity.
And our schedule will change soon as well ;) It will probably have to change every week - no more free-flow for us ;) Whenever we have visitors (short term or long term), we stick to a schedule more. With foster children, the needs of every one will be so different...
DeletePray for us! (and for their families)
I appreciate your written out schedule by time. I feel like I can look into the future a little bit when I read your posts to see how we may be homeschooling one day. :) I appreciate your discipline and perseverance in your homeschooling schedule. It's a lot of work and you really are doing a fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteI also strived for the 3-hour learning period, but I find that, for now, doing our workout in the middle helps us release our wiggles and focus better afterward. `thank you for the great and detailed schedule.
ReplyDeleteI know schools that do this so it's not unusual at all. The school my children have attended in summers always has a big physical activity session before the work period. It's something I need to get back to!
DeleteWe seem to have similar views on schedule. My kids are a bit younger 20 mo to 5.5 yrs. We really try to do the 3 hr work period, but it's usually more like 2. I struggle getting the younger two (middle child is 3.3 yrs) to stay in the school room for the work period. Any tips? They are all hesitant to choose their own work as well and I'm not sure how help them! Thanks so much for sharing what you do--it helps to see how others are doing things!
ReplyDelete