Children start arriving from 8.40 am onwards. After putting away their shoes and bags, they greet each other and begin Care of the environment (dusting shelves, material etc.)
They then bring out their work diaries and start planning their work for the day. Since elementary age children enjoy working in small groups or pairs, their planning often involves a great deal of negotiation over timing, choice of activities and choice of work partners
Work may be either follow-up for a lesson already presented or a project that is based on the child’s own interests.
Activities in Math, Language and Geometry are mostly carried out with the aid of specially designed Montessori materials that make abstract concepts more concrete for the child.
Concepts presented in Geography, History and Biology are explored through independent research using encyclopedias, books, experiments, and sometimes even Going Out to visit place/people relevant to the subject.
Children engage in stitching, crochet and reading story books in the silent reading corner as a means of relaxation. Some also take time to work on their patch in the school garden, raking, pruning and watering the plants.
Students pursue their own interests at their own pace without text books or time blocks for each subject/activity.
During the course of the day, children are also called for lessons or workshops by the adult. The size of the group called for a lesson rarely exceeds 6 – 7 children.
Various resource persons come in during the course of the week for Hindi, Tamil, Art, Craft and Music.
Lunch is at 12 noon and work in the afternoon proceeds in the same manner as in the morning.
At 2.30 pm the children start winding up the class, and then gather to share and present their projects or do some singing/storytelling. This time is also used by the children to raise and discuss issues that they feel relates to the class as a community.
After prayers, the children leave at 3.00 pm.
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