A Smooth Weekly Rhythm with Emma
Meet Emma, a Montessori mom of two living in England. She’s an alumna of Homeschool: Lower Elementary and a member of Constellation.
Would you introduce yourself, your family, and your lifestyle?
Hi, I’m Emma! I’m a mum, wife, teacher and home educator from the UK. I have two wonderful kiddos, aged 3 and 7. I discovered Montessori when my eldest was about 18 months old.
My husband works from home for a global technology company, and I run my own business running Montessori-style play groups in the local area. It is such a joy!
We have just moved house and now live near the beach. We love nature and spend a lot of time in the garden or in the woods. In my spare time I love to crochet or get creative. I also love decorating, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into our new home!
What is a typical day for you with your children?
Our days follow a fairly consistent rhythm! We wake around 6:30 - 7am and enjoy breakfast together before getting ready for the day. We check the calendar for our plans and talk about them. We try to keep our weeks fairly busy, but I do plan in some quiet days too!
My husband works from home, so at 9am he makes his way to the office, and we either head out shortly afterwards or the kids have a little screen time. Then during the afternoon we either play at home or head for a short walk. Then we prep dinner as my husband finishes work, and we eat together (one of the best parts of having him work from home is getting to share meals now.)
Then it’s bath time and bed for my daughter at around 7pm. My son heads up around 8pm and his hour before bed is like his power hour! He is so focused and gets through so much “learning” (inverted commas - we know learning happens always!) in that time.
On Mondays, we go for a nature walk with friends, and it’s just gorgeous! We always go to the same place, and we have all really stuck to it. It’s amazing to see the same location change so frequently - even week by week it’s completely different. I just LOVE the nature walks. It’s such a highlight of our home education and really starts the week off well for us all.
Tuesday’s my children go to their grandparent’s while I work. Wednesday’s my son attends a local forest school nursery, and I get some one-on-one time with my daughter. Thursdays my son has an engineering club, and Fridays we keep open for anything really. Saturdays the kids are with their dad while I work and Sundays are usually pretty chilled at home.
I’d love to work in more opportunities to visit the library or bake (my eldest isn’t really into baking though!)
What do your children like to do?
My son is really into Legos. He plays with them A LOT! He’s also a really physical child and is always moving his body (one of the perks of home education!). He is also really mathematically minded and loves playing around with numbers.
In the U.K. there’s a TV show called Numberblocks (sooooo not Montessori 🙈), which he really loves and has learned lots from. In this last year as well, I’ve noticed a huge increase in him engaging in role play. Mario and Luigi are favorites as well as Mummies and Daddies or pets. He also loves a game and is always telling jokes!
My daughter is a typical first plane child... always busy… always getting involved in practical life! Baking is a favorite of course! But when she’s not doing that she’s usually playing a role play game with her brother. If she’s playing on her own, she likes playing small world with basically anything she can get her hands on 😆 or drawing and crafting. Her interests change frequently and keeping on top of the shelves can be a challenge sometimes!
What challenges are you currently facing with your children at home?
My daughter has had quite a clear shift from unconscious to conscious absorbent mind and is firmly within the second half of the first plane now, and simultaneously my son is now firmly in the second plane of development. We have seen quite a change to the dynamic between them and in the home as a whole, and communication and holding boundaries has sometimes proved challenging. It’s a different ball-game for sure!
What is your favorite Montessori material or activity?
Ohhhh I LOVE the decanomial bead set. It’s just so adaptable, and we have used it so frequently. I also love watching my daughter use the metal insets (although we have plastic ones). And I think probably colour box 3! It’s just soooooo beautiful.
Why Montessori?
Montessori has totally changed my life! So much so that I have centered my work around teaching other parents about it. I think Montessori has brought a lot of organization to my life (which I need!) and also, I love that it makes so much sense to me. The respect and freedom aspects especially - I love seeing how my children interact with each other and other people because they’ve always been spoken to with respect.
If you could time travel and meet Maria Montessori herself, what would you say to her?
I would invite her to the future with me and ask her what she thinks of all the technology we have available today. And I’d ask her to help me design my home education room at home 🤣
What do you tell yourself when you feel like you're failing?
I usually tell myself that it’s just one day and tomorrow will be better.
