Montessori planning cards from Child of the Redwoods.
When parents come to me and say they're thinking about homeschooling, they are typically very, very excited and have very concrete ideas about that that looks like, imagining that one day everything will finally come together.
The house will be cleaner.
The mornings will be calmer.
The toddler will magically stop needing so much attention. (Ha!)
Breakfast will happen without anyone spilling the milk.
Everyone will get dressed on time.
Then, they'll be ready to homeschool. And so will you!
I understand why we picture it this way. Starting something new can feel so big that we convince ourselves we need to become an entirely different family before we begin.
But after years of supporting Montessori homeschoolers, I've noticed something about the success stories.
The families who fall in love with this beautiful, creative way of life aren't the ones with perfect mornings and rigid schedules.
They're the ones who begin anyway, regardless of the plumbing leaks, grocery lists, dentist appointments, gymnastic practices, play dates, and all those awkward, occasionally-grumpy shuffling into the homeschool day.
Lessons flop sometimes.
Someone still forgets to feed the dog.
Icky viruses come and go.
Life doesn't pause so you can homeschool for 7 hours like you’re in an office job. You dont need to get dressed up (unless you want to!) or hire an interior decorator or a virtual personal assistant.
Leave that business to the influencers, okay?
Homeschooling simply becomes part of your regular life with your children
If you've been wondering whether your busy days are "good enough" for you to add in some actual homeschooling, I hope this brings you some peace.
They probably already are.
If you're just getting started, our guide to Montessori Homeschooling for Beginners. Your First Steps with Confidence will help you see how these ordinary days become the foundation for something amazing.
You Don't Need Perfect Days to Begin Homeschooling
One of the most persistent fears I hear from parents is whether they can homeschool — and — continue part of their existing lifestyle.
Homeschool and work at home part time.
Homeschool and send their child to a little preschool co-op two mornings a week.
Homeschool and have a baby or little toddler in the mix.
Homeschool and do some worldschooling and traveling.
Homeschool and be a single parent or a parent with an often traveling spouse.
Homeschool and homestead with some chickens and a garden.
Homeschool and live in a city apartment without a backyard…or in an RV…or on a boat!
Homeschool and have a chronic illness that requires a lot of self care.
Homeschool and a million other things that are already present in their lives.
Because the idea of homeschooling is so monumental, you too might be wondering if you can do it justice while you’ve got so much already going on.
Taking the time to pause and reflect on this does make good sense.
Homeschooling isn't something you try for an afternoon. You've likely been thinking about it for weeks, months, maybe even toying with the idea for a few years. Of course you wonder whether your family can actually do it.
I wish more parents knew that Montessori was never meant for “perfect” families with unlimited income and resources. Sometimes I’ll be researching online for ways to make my own life easier and I’m mid-way through a blog post when I realize the author’s solution was to outsource: simply hire a housekeeper and an at-home tutor!
Certainly having an abundance of financial security and flexibility can be helpful. But you really can Montessori homeschool with so many other things at play in your life and without having to outsource all the things because it was designed for real children living real lives.
Children who get distracted by butterflies and need time to move, explore, and wonder.
Parents who are learning right alongside them, prioritizing their own self care and the family’s responsibilities while also making some intentional time every week to teach lessons.
Wherevery you are right now, you can definitely do the above and take that first step.
Montessori Was Never Meant to Feel Like School at Home
Your own education probably has greatly influenced your idea of what school should look and feel like, whether in a classroom or at home.
For most of us, the image that comes is desks in rows or groups, a bell that rings telling you when to start or stop, subjects divided into folders of certain colors, the teacher at the front of the room being the authority on All Things.
Without realizing it, when beginning a Montessori homeschool adventure, we often bring that picture with us.
We imagine homeschooling our children should look similar to school, just around the kitchen table instead.
You are that authority figure. So you should naturally have…a strict schedule, a bunch of curricula piled up around you; and every subject area should be covered during the day or it’s a failure.
In Montessori, we imagine something different.
A guide, rather than a teacher.
A work cycle based on child choice rather than a schedule.
Movement as an essential part of every lesson.
Questions rather than answers.
This requires us to embrace homeschooling as a way of life, rather than approaching it as something that starts, stops, and is regularly evaluated for correctness.
Instead of following the clock, we invite you to a radical shift: following your child instead.
Daily Homeschool Plans Should Help You Feel More Peaceful
When parents search for daily homeschool plans, as enticing as they look, I don't think they're really asking for yet another planner.
I think they're asking for reassurance.
They're asking,
"How do I know we're doing enough?"
"What if I forget something important?"
"How do I know what comes next?"
Those questions have very little to do with time management or where you write your to-do lists!
They have everything to do with confidence and adequate resources.
A good daily homeschool plan isn't there to control your family life.
Its primary purpose should be remove unnecessary decisions and allow you to lean into your flow.
Instead of carrying your entire homeschool in your head, you have a gentle guide that reminds you what you’re teaching at every stage of development.
That leaves more room to observe your actual child and enjoy life together!
What I want to see in a successful homeschool life is families doing a lot of connecting.
Laughing together, working in partnership, bouncing ideas off each other, having conversations during mealtimes, reading stories and talking about them, and engaging in projects that are meaningful.
All of this is so, so important. And when you’re in flow, supported by a basic rhythm and routine, it can feel natural.
You can enjoy the day you're actually having and see all of the good in it instead of worrying about the one filled with a million yet-unchecked to-dos.
For our members, we actually suggest using a simple weekly planning card with a couple of thematic activities/projects to do, plus four foundational Montessori lessons per week.
We even have an app that makes lesson recommendations for you based on your child’s level.
This makes it very reasonable to prioritize lessons without losing yourself in it; it’s the bit of structure you need without the extreme overwhelm that so many families face every day.
The genius in this approach is that you are in control of your days and your busy, busy, unpredictable life.
You don’t have to reinvent what you’re doing. The lessons just fit themselves in and around everything else rather than replacing it.
You Don't Have to Build Everything Yourself
Here’s something that should give you a boost of confidence right away.
You will never be at a loss for ideas about interesting things you could teach your child. There are thousands of wonderful ideas available.
You can rest easy, knowing that there is no scarcity of great lessons and projects for you and your child to do at home.
But homeschooling familes deserve more than this. It’s exhausting hunting for the next lesson online or trying to decide if your child is ready for the Montessori golden beads or if you should do more practical life work first.
This means that to avoid overwhelm, you need to know where you’re going, ideally all of the time.
The Child of the Redwoods Curriculum was created to make this easy for you.
Our fully scripted lesson plans remove the guesswork so even if you’re a complete beginner in Montessori, you don't have to spend your evenings wondering what to teach tomorrow.
Because of our interdisciplinary learning, subjects connect naturally instead of feeling like separate pieces you have to organize yourself.
With a clear daily progression, you can simply continue the journey your child began yesterday.
And because there's support for multiple ages, families can learn together more naturally, even when siblings are at different stages.
When you're not carrying the weight of constant planning, you have more energy to enjoy learning with your child. As parents who homeschooled two children through their teen years, we would know!
Your Ordinary Days Are the Foundation of Your Homeschool
I think we spend so much time trying to design the perfect homeschool day that we sometimes miss the beauty in the regular days happening right in front of us.
There will be many moments that may not look like school at all — but they are full of learning.
They are full of connection.
And they're often the ones your child remembers the most years later!
If your mornings are busy, your afternoons unpredictable, and your life terrifically ordinary, you don't have to wait until everything settles down before you begin homeschooling.
No perfect schedule, perfect techer, or perfect daily homeschool plans needed.
When you establish a gentle rhythm that helps you come back tomorrow with excitement for the next lesson in the sequence, you don’t need anyone else to tell you you’re doing it right — you can just feel it!
If you're ready to see how Montessori homeschooling can fit naturally into the life you're already living, I'd love for you to read Montessori Homeschooling for Beginners: Your First Steps with Confidence. It will help you take those first steps with encouragement — and the confidence to begin before everything feels perfect.
