Establishing Rhythms and Routines for Acton at Home

At Acton our day is scheduled simply. Below is a snapshot of your learner’s day in the Montessori studio. Keep reading for some tips and take-aways for how to develop your own rhythms and routines at home! 

8:00-8:45 - Preparing the Environment 

During this time, the learners are arriving at Acton, being greeted individually by the guides and preparing for the day. This includes changing into their indoor shoes, hanging up their backpacks and layers, putting their lunchboxes in the kitchen, using the bathroom and washing their hands, and helping to prepare the studio by setting up snack, rolling work mats, setting up the dishwashing station, and filling water bottles for the day ahead. 

8:45-9:00 - Group Time

At group time, the learners have the opportunity to share how they are feeling, listen to a story, sing songs, and receive new lessons as a community.

9:00-11:15 - Montessori Morning

Learners have the opportunity to choose works and materials from all areas of the classroom, including practical life, sensorial, language, math, art, geography, culture, and science. During this time the guides also offer individual or small-group lessons. It is also during this time that the children will self-serve their snack and wash their plate.

11:15-11:30 - End of Morning Group

While one guide leads the group in songs and/or stories, the other supervises as the learners prepare for outside by changing their shoes, using the bathroom, washing their hands, and putting on their layers.

11:30-12:15 - Outside Time

The learners enjoy unstructured play in the Acton outdoor space.

12:15-1:00 - Lunch

Upon their return inside, the learners change their shoes, hang up their layers, and wash their hands for lunch.

1:00-3:00 - Rest/Montessori Afternoons

After lunch, some learners spend the next couple of hours napping or resting, while others engage in a second Montessori work cycle. At the end of this time, all the learners meet outside to enjoy a shared afternoon snack (prepared by the afternoon learners) and play outside. 

Creating A Rhythm and Routine at Home

Each family will develop their own routine as they navigate Acton Montessori from Home. Here are a few things that you may want to consider as you create your own system:

1. Start your day off by inviting your child to prepare his/her home environment:

• • Ask, “What snack would you like to have later in the day?” Let him/her prepare it. 
  • Ask “What activities would you like to do today? If we are going to do art, we need to get out the art materials.” Let him/her help.
  • Fill a water bottle for the day ahead. 
  • Pick out a playlist of music to listen to for the day (reggae? classical? jazz?).
  • Water the plants.

• Arts and crafts
• Yoga
• Activities from Acton Montessori’s Unit of Study or Life Lessons
• Going on a virtual field trip (there are a lot of options available online)
• Reading/looking at books
• Free play
• Conducting a science experiment
• Journaling 
• Baking/cooking
• Household responsibilities (folding laundry, matching socks, sweeping the floors, etc.)

3. Make lunch a present moment:

• Take time to invite your learner to prepare lunch with you.
• Allow the child to set his/her spot with a placemat (which can be a piece of paper he/she decorated earlier that day), a drinking glass, and a napkin.
• Let your child teach you our lunch poem.

4. Allow time to rest body and mind time after lunch:

• Take a nap (if needed).
• Read a few books.
• Listen to quiet music.
• Meditate.
• Use a sand timer to help your child know when this time will end.

5. Engage in a gross motor activity:

• Go for a walk.
• Play a game such as twister, hokey-pokey, “Cookie Monster, what time is it?” (ask your child about Coach Andrew’s fun game!)
• Wash something….anything! The windows, boots, the bathtub, the refrigerator, etc.
• Build something…a fort, a birdfeeder, a school made out of magnatiles!

Key takeaways:

1. Don't put pressure on yourself to always be doing something for your children. We want to foster freedom and independence in the children and let them choose things independently as they are ready.
2. Your child is still working even when he/she doesn't seem to be. Children are making observations, adjusting to what's going on that day, trying to figure out what to do next, and so on. Allowing this process to play out naturally and choosing to step back will serve both of you for the better!

H/T our friends at Wonder