There’s always a lot of talk in Montessori groups about routine and rhythm. It should come as no surprise that we’re slowly rebuilding our routines this week, after I took a couple week’s off to make some changes in my life – namely my career but also in my own fitness. While I’m fairly settled in my new routine, I needed to figure out how Bella fits into it.
weekly visual schedule
I started by making a visual calendar. Now, we’ve always used a visual calendar but I modified this version to include two activities per day – which was really a little prompt to remind myself that the day doesn’t end with the nap! I should note that our ‘activities’ range from classes like forest school and cycling, to things we choose to do in our time like swimming and going to the park, to normal household activities like shopping and baking.
I posted on Instagram how much the visual calendar has helped us shape the feel of our week, but now I’m starting to feel the daily routine come together too.
A lot of people prioritise morning and breakfast time to sit down and work together, and rightly so because the brain is fresh then. But it doesn’t suit us, because I wake up and do a home workout immediately, while Bella eats breakfast. This is really important because I wouldn’t workout at any other time of day, and it coincides with Bella having an activity that she can undertake almost entirely independently. Three cheers for Montessori self-serve areas!
picnic lunch
Afterwards, we go back upstairs and wash and dress. By this time, it’s usually time to head out the door – whether to a playdate, the shops, the park, or in today’s case, forest school. Another one of my fitness goals is to walk 10,000 steps, so I try my best to forego the car and get moving. Bella loves walking at the moment, so it’s often a leisurely stroll down the various side roads – stopping to smell the flowers, collect petals, wave at dogs and stroke kitties. We get back for lunch and this is often my favourite part of the day. Bella has really taken to having a picnic lunch outside and now we do it every day!
I’ve discovered that after lunch, sitting in that lovely spot of shade in our garden, that is our learning time. We observe nature – smell the jasmine growing, watch butterflies and ants, collect leaves. We also pull out the language objects and play sound games, as in the photo. I figure I’ll mix it up each day, maybe doing art or poetry or counting – whatever Bella’s into at the moment.
sound games after lunch
It comes to an end when Bella loses interest, and then we head inside for a nap. It’s made the naptime transition much easier, as she’s starting to learning that this is just what happens when we come inside.
The time after nap hasn’t quite come together yet. This used to be snack time and I’ve let that falter. I’d like to get back to a proper afternoon tea – we used to make mint tea together, right from choosing the leaves from the plant plant, etc, but frankly it’s too hot now. I’ve been pondering with making our own smoothies, which I may do after we go strawberry and raspberry picking this weekend. And then we sit, and eat whatever snack we baked for the week (this week is cheese and bacon muffins), and avail ourselves of the time for a bit more learning.
Ideally, I’d like to make it Bengali time – we’ll read a couple books in Bengali, speak Bengali, Skype my mother, etc. Unfortunately Bella only let me read her one book yesterday before getting frustrated, but as always, it’s a work in progress and the more we do it, the longer she’ll be able to handle (fingers crossed).
After that, it’s basically free play until Daddy comes home. If it’s been a low day for the steps, I’ll often pop out for a quick walk by myself while Daddy takes over, or I’ll start making dinner. On a good day, I just step back and pull out my Kindle, while Bella plays with her dad.
We have dinner, then tidy up, Bella has a bath, followed by books and bedtime, and then the rest of the evening is ours. Whew!