7:45am – 9:00am | Arrival of children. Free choice of activities including arts and crafts. Children may also be involved in preparing snack and lunch, folding laundry, feeding the pets, etc… |
9:00am – 10:15am | Individual work with the Montessori materials. After introduction of the materials, the child may work with them as long and as often as he/she chooses. A snack table is set during this period and the children may have their snack when they choose assuming there is a space at the table. |
10:15am – 11:00am | Small group activities. One half of the group goes to the gymnasium for music and creative movement while the other half remains in the classroom for circle. This time includes daily calendar and weather information, discussion of the monthly theme and introduction to French language. Then, the two groups switch activities. |
11:00am – 11:30am | Outside play. Free choice or planned outdoor activities. |
11:30am – 12 noon | Longer period of outside play or quiet group activities before lunch. |
12 noon – 1:00pm | Lunch, followed by a period of free play indoor or outdoor. |
1:00pm – 3:30pm | Same as the morning program 9:00am to 11:00am. Children have a snack as a group at about 2:45pm. The children attending both morning and afternoon have a quiet time or a nap from 1:00 to 1:30pm and they may rest longer, according to their needs. Different types of small group activities are also planned, such as games and science experiments. |
3:30pm – 5:15pm | Free choice of activities. The children are also involved in tidying up and preparing activities for the next day. |
The schedule of activities may vary according to the weather, the mood of the children or other factors.
Children who need a nap may bring their favourite blanket, pillow or Teddy Bear.
A series of special activities instructed by people with a specific skill are planned during the year. These programs may include dance, music, drama or visual arts.
- Lethbridge Montessori children celebrate 100 anniversary of Montessori education, 2007.
- Fireman demonstrates firehose.
- Zahra Foroud helps one of her students count numbers at Lethbridge Montessori School. Foroud was one of four Lethbridge teachers who were semifinalists in the 2009 Provincial Excellence in Teaching Awards. Photo by Pamela Roth