Montessori Homeschool Routine by Marie Mack of Child Led Life

Young boy doing a nature activity on the rug with nature objects and a chart with their names on it
"Plainly, the environment must be a living one, directed by a higher intelligence, arranged by an adult who is prepared for his mission." ~Maria Montessori 
Our Montessori approach up until now has been to set up the best Montessori environment we can with an open learning philosophy. Our children have had the opportunity to work on any of the activities we have out, without much routine to the day or many formats to the activities. Now that Samuel is 2.5 years old, we feel like an established routine could do us all some good.
But where to start? What's the best way to complete all the tasks considered to be appropriate for a Montessori school age 3-6? And how do I keep all those lessons, activities, and planning within my small budget? Here's what I found! 
After reading through Lisa Nolan's Montessori homeschool e-book, and having some discussion with my husband, we decided that homeschooling is the best thing we can do for our children at this point in our life. So question one answered: YES!
After you answer that first question, you are ready to start some research and work on a routine that will work best for your family. I wanted to be sure to explore all options out there for how to best present Montessori preschool to my children. I listed some of my finds here for you to use in your own research.     
Young boy doing a puzzle on the rug
Photo by Marie Mack 

The Sequence of Work and Scope Websites: Our Montessori Story and  Montessori Teachers Collective - These two sites have a by-name listing of all the tasks that should be reviewed during the preschool years. (Also see other tabs on these pages for elementary years.) 

The sequence of Work and Scope Books: Counting Coconuts Mini Units- I think this is a great example of how to set up activities for quick availability. With a little planning and some organization, this would make life so much easier! I would use this idea to gather materials to have on hand to present the week's lessons. (She intends these mini-units to help educate her son while they transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4 with the addition of their daughter.)  
Counting Coconuts Circle Time and Calendar: I love the idea of circle time with a calendar. We all use time and calendars daily. Circle time would be a great way to focus children before lessons and a great way to end the day.  
More Homeschool Planning and Classroom Culture: Grace and Green Pastures Planning and
Ideas about a Daily Rhythm: The Parenting Passageway and Counting Coconuts Daily Rhythm. 

 Minute-by-Minute Schedule Examples:
  • Montessori Teachers Collective- Good description of the presentation and use of materials.     
  • Lisa Nolan's Montessori For the Earth: Lisa's program is what we used when we started our son on the Montessori Method. It was extremely affordable and she was available to answer personal questions about specific situations.
Free Downloads: Living Montessori Now- This site ALWAYS posts wonderful lists of where to find free stuff. 
Tot looking through a glass door at the family dog, a big grey hound dog
Photo by Marie Mack 

The first question should really be, "Should you Montessori Homeschool?" It is going to take dedication and hard work to set up the correct environment and activities to help your children thrive. Lisa Nolan put together a wonderful ebook to help you answer that very important first question. 

I primarily focused my research on setting up a Montessori preschool routine, but many of the links I reference have subsequent links to lower and upper elementary years.   
Follow me through some wonderful free resources available to help you with your Montessori Homeschool Routine! 

Resources To Use for Planning: Our Country Road - Details on how an amazing Momma plans her days for her four beautiful children ranging in age from 6.5 years to 7.5 months. 
Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook by Maria Montessori and Basic Montessori by David Gettman-Both books are very helpful bedside readings from the experts! 

I really love the fact that many of these schedules have a devotion period built into the day. I think adding devotions into a daily routine would help children continue the same habit throughout their lives. 
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" Proverbs 22:6
Where to Find Lessons: Montessori Primary Guide- Step-by-step lessons are often accompanied by a video.

All this planning and scheduling can be done on a budget. Here's a list of sites that offer free printables and downloads. 
Researching and preparing is important, but remember your children are only young once so don't push too soon. Splash in rain puddles, curl up with popcorn and a movie and stay up past bedtime to read a good book. Let them the little! There is time for "school" for the rest of their lives.

~Marie Mack of the Child Led Life blog

The original post was published at Montessori on a Budget... and I find the research I did extremely helpful as my children move into different phases of their Montessori journey. 

Linking up with Montessori Monday! 

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The links on this page were updated on 6/14/2023.

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And now for my top posts!

A Montessori Teacher's Thoughts on Waldorf Education

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How to Talk so Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Simone Davies of The Montessori Notebook

How to talk with children is a lesson we all seem to need. Even as infants they learn from how and what we say to them. We are thrilled to have Simone Davies back with us to walk us through the How2Talk2Kids method of communicating with our children. It ’ s a pleasure to be back guest blogging here. I love the energy of this group and your passion and interest in incorporating Montessori into your homes. I ’ m exactly the same. When my children were born  (already 12 and 13 years ago!), I wanted to learn a different way to be with them. I didn’t want to force learning on them; I wanted to discover and explore the world together and guide them along the way. But I found my communication skills lacking. A repertoire of “good girl/good boy,” “what a great job,” or “don’t worry, it’s just a scratch” came flowing out of my mouth in the same way we had been raised by our parents. The words I used just didn’t seem to be consistent with the way I wanted to raise my kids, for ...

Montessori FAQs About When to Begin Cursive

I have many questions regarding teaching cursive letters. My three-year-old son is in a Montessori school now. However, the teacher is using print letters for teaching him. I personally want my son to learn cursive letters because I know it has many advantages. I have discussed this with the teacher, but she insists on using print letters. Is my son going to be confused because his teacher is teaching printed letters (ball and stick) while I'm teaching cursive letters? Any disadvantages to my son? Also, how can I start? Developmentally, your three-year-old son might not show any interest in cursive letters, so, be careful. The cursive letters are very abstract, more so than print letters (stick and ball as they are often called). And also, cursive letters are taught for writing. And remember, writing comes BEFORE reading in Montessori. The window to begin writing is age four to five (and is highest usually at age 4 1/2 and is called "The Writing Explosion" in Mont...

Montessori Sewing Works by Aimee Fagan, author of Sewing in the Montessori Classroom: a practical life curriculum

If I had to pick just one type of work to stock my practical life shelves with, it would be sewing. I am NOT an accomplished sewer. Actually, I think it has been over a year since I pulled out my sewing machine, and then I prefer to make clothing with elasticized waists. But, when it comes to the classroom, I think nothing beats handwork. Maria Montessori stated that the activities of practical life should be meaningful, looking around my classroom, I wanted to find activities that still had meaning for today’s children. Polishing is great, but how many children really see their parents polishing the silver place settings? Spooning, tonging, pouring, and the like are quickly mastered when we leave the lessons simple and isolated on the tray. What materials could we use that would appeal to the 3-year-old and remain enticing through age 6 or beyond? Sewing. A child’s engagement with practical life materials is what prepares him for later success in the classroom. These handwork acti...

Montessori and Baby Sign Language Question

"If Dr. Maria Montessori were alive, would she suggest baby sign language?" I used to ask myself that question a lot! I do not think she would be against it since she worked with handicapped and special needs children early on in her career. But I don’t think she would have included it into her infant toddler curriculum, either—just a hunch. I was opposed to it for my son, who has Down syndrome until I watched a DVD for parents of young children with Down syndrome. And it had to do with auditory skills. For example, if I were to say to my son, “juice,” he might hear “juh” or “u” or “s” but not “juice.” Now, let’s say I hold up a cup of his juice and I sign “juice,” he would understand me by seeing the sign and the juice, but he probably would not hear the word correctly. (It later turned out my son had hearing loss.) So now you sign to him “juice,” and he has a mental picture of “juice” and can sign it back. After I watched this DVD and they talked about sign lan...

Montessori & the benefits of the geoboard!

The geoboard is one of the most beneficial materials in a Montessori classroom and at home. It is both a Practical Life activity and a Sensorial activity, depending on how you use it (present it to the child). Practical Life "All the practical life activities, in addition to improving hand-eye coordination and muscle control, are designed to increase the child's ability to concentrate [and to also go from left to right, and from top to bottom]." Montessori on a Limited Budget by Elvira Farrow and Carol Hill Practical Life Introduction from my Montessori training manual: "Exercises in Practical Life are given the greatest importance. Exercises in Practical Life help the child mainly in his efforts to adapt to his limited space, and his group, and to achieve independence. They answer his need expressed by "Let me do it by myself." They are excellent for the toddler old who is struggling to bring his psychic needs in accord with his physical development by de...

Three-Year-Old Having a Hard Time with Montessori Practical Life Activities

I am not very experienced with toddlers and I am having a hard time with my son who is about to turn three in May. I have used Montessori principles with him since he was born, but he has been a challenge lately...I am having a hard time keeping up with his needs and it seems that any practical life work I put out becomes a disaster. He takes great pleasure in dismantling anything and everything I prepare. Currently, my front porch is covered with beans...he will start to sweep with me but then he just throws them everywhere. This is the same for almost all the work I put out. He is very busy. He masters things easily, then becomes bored and will not choose the work again. And I feel like I can not keep up! Sweeping: we had a dustbuster in the classroom (and I had one at home for my son for a few years--it finally died!). And use rice for pouring, because it can be dust busted a lot easier! Try some larger motor movement (gross motor) activities, instead, and focus les...

Child Screams and Runs Around the Classroom When Asked to Put Montessori Activities Away

I have a child in the class who just turned three. Very smart. His parents are bilingual. Repeats words, phrases, or sentences you say in the third person. He can sit down and do work but when he is done he would start screaming or running around the room wall to wall. Then would have a hard time going back to work. He has a fascination with fans and makes fans out of most of the materials. Recently he has been pulling hair in random no apparent reason and no show of emotions toward the child. Are these signs of something about the child or just simply a child lacking communication skills that will come soon. Thank s. "When he is done he would start screaming or running around the room wall to wall..." I suspect he gets away with not putting his belongings away at home, too, and uses tantrums to get his way. Ask for a good time to talk with the parents over the phone (try not to talk in front of the child) and find out what their child does when he is asked to put s...

Montessori and Potty Training Boys

My son E. is 26 months old and has been wearing underwear for about a week during the day (cloth diapers at night). For the first day or two, he'd make it to the potty about half the time... But after those first few days, any suggestion of the potty upset him very much. So, I stopped mentioning the potty, thinking he was still learning about his body... The past few days he has not attempted to go to the potty at all, just has accidents all day. Should I be doing something else? If so, what? Should I try to get him to help clean up? If so, how? Have I missed his window of opportunity? Oh! The joys of potty training! Boys? Oh boy! Boys (when they potty train or potty learn ) act just as you described! They are fickle! What to do? 1. Don't show emotions when your child has accidents or refuses to try to go in the potty, just be matter-of-fact. 2. Don't expect the child to clean up accidents, you can invite them to help you, but at age 26 months they might not have t...

The Working Mom's Guide to Montessori in the Home by Meghan of Milkweed and Montessori

There are all sorts of reasons for bringing Montessori home. And there are all sorts of ways of doing it. There doesn't have to be   a divide between working moms and stay-at-home   moms (who are, of course, also working). There really are just moms, and we’re all just doing our best. Let’s have a bit of grace with each other (and ourselves), shall we? With that said, there are some practical differences.   Those of us who go out of the home to work have to focus our efforts on shorter time slots and more specific times of the day. There may not be as much time for themed trays and seasonal artwork, but there can be simplicity, respect, and a prepared environment. Here are a few ways we try to bring Montessori into our home: 1.  Focus on the environment.  Maybe you can’t give your child all of the time you’d like to, but you can prepare a space in the home that is his own. It doesn’t even have to be a lot of space. By creating a welcoming environment for the und...