A Day in the Life of a Montessori Teacher | Lesson Planning, Burnout & Real Talk

 

In today’s video, I’m sharing a real look at what teaching feels like right now. From planning new literacy strategies and creating materials for my students, to navigating changing expectations and trying to stay grounded through it all… this is just an honest day in my life as a Montessori teacher.

I also share:

-How I’m restructuring letter learning (4 letters a week + take-home “secret messages”) -The reality of balancing academic expectations with social-emotional needs

-What it looks like to keep showing up when the workload keeps growing

-Small ways I’m trying to bring more joy back into my life (books, cooking, plants)

Teaching is meaningful work — but it’s also layered, complicated, and at times overwhelming.

If you’re a teacher, or someone who just wants to understand what goes on behind the scenes, you’re not alone here.

Mentioned in this video:

Rules for Visiting (book I’m currently reading)

Montessori-inspired literacy routines

Classroom art + garden projects

Let me know in the comments: What is something in your life right now that you’re trying to rebuild or rethink?

This series offers you insight into a Montessori preschool (also known as Primary classroom) ages 3-5 year old. I give you the ups and downs from the beginning of the school year with my take on how I assess, recalibrate and finds way to follow the child while also preparing students for kindergarten.

✨ I write more deeply about Montessori leadership and teacher sustainability on Substack: 👉 https://creativityandwonder.substack....

Are you needing some support with how to structure your classroom? As a Montessori teacher, I understand that feeling of overwhelm! I have created a detailed lesson plan to 'hold your hand' through each day.  These lesson plans can either be used to jump start how to create the rhythm of the classroom (monthly) or I have a full year plan that can then be used for a 3 year cycle.

Montessori Daily Lesson Plans 

Montessori INSPIRED Lesson Plans 

 

LOOKING FOR ART LESSONS FEATURING DIFFERENT ARTISTS? 

Link to my FREEBIES

The Invisible Load of the Lead Teacher

 

There are parts of leading a classroom that no one sees.

Not because they are hidden.
But because they are assumed.

This week I was running a small group lesson with paint.

If you have ever led a paint lesson with young children, you know it requires your full attention. Water cups tip. Sleeves dip. Colors mix faster than you can redirect them. You are watching hands, faces, posture, tone.

While I was mid-lesson, something I had previously delegated was not done.

It was small.
It was simple.
It had been clearly assigned.

And so I did what lead teachers often do.

I carried it.

---

The Work Beneath the Work

When people talk about teaching, they often talk about what is visible:

• The lesson.

• The materials.

• The bulletin board.

• The child who reads their first word.

But the true weight of leading is rarely in the visible work.

It is in the mental map.

READ MORE

Are you needing some support with how to structure your classroom? As a Montessori teacher, I understand that feeling of overwhelm! I have created a detailed lesson plan to 'hold your hand' through each day.  These lesson plans can either be used to jump start how to create the rhythm of the classroom (monthly) or I have a full year plan that can then be used for a 3 year cycle.

Montessori Daily Lesson Plans 

Montessori INSPIRED Lesson Plans 

 

LOOKING FOR ART LESSONS FEATURING DIFFERENT ARTISTS? 

Link to my FREEBIES

 

 

What Parents Told Me After 6 Months in Montessori (I Wasn’t Expecting This)

 

This week I had parent teacher conferences — and for the first time, something shifted. Many of these families didn’t choose Montessori. They didn’t come in knowing what it meant or what to expect.

But six months later… they are seeing it.

In this video, I share: what parents are noticing now how children have changed since the beginning of the year the reality of building a Montessori classroom from the ground up and the parts of this work that are much harder than people realize There are moments in teaching where you realize something is working — even when everything around it feels uncertain.

This was one of those weeks.

 If you’re a teacher, especially in a non-traditional Montessori setting, I think you’ll understand this one.

✨ I write more deeply about Montessori leadership and teacher sustainability on Substack: 👉 https://creativityandwonder.substack....

Are you needing some support with how to structure your classroom? As a Montessori teacher, I understand that feeling of overwhelm! I have created a detailed lesson plan to 'hold your hand' through each day.  These lesson plans can either be used to jump start how to create the rhythm of the classroom (monthly) or I have a full year plan that can then be used for a 3 year cycle.

Montessori Daily Lesson Plans 

Montessori INSPIRED Lesson Plans 

 

LOOKING FOR ART LESSONS FEATURING DIFFERENT ARTISTS? 

Link to my FREEBIES