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Ahoefa Akakpossa, her husband and son Yannis currently live in Central California. Ahoefa infuses Montessori into every aspect of her son’s day. Ahoefa says she loves observing how Montessori is teaching Yannis independence and new skills.
Welcome to a day in the life of Ahoefa and her family! We hope this series continues to spark inspiration for new ways to encourage learning at your home.
Wake Up and Read
We read a handful of books to Yannis before we get out of bed. It’s so great for his language development and a nice way to ease into the day ahead. Yannis loves to read, and will have us read his entire collection of books to him at times. To make things a little less repetitive I have started rotating books in each week from the library. After half an hour or more of reading, we brush our teeth, change diapers and make the bed.
Toilet Learning
Yannis has recently started toilet learning. I created a toilet area for him to meet his needs for wanting to be next to me when I'm using the restroom. I set the space right outside our main restroom so whenever I'm on the toilet, I redirect him to his toilet. I also put some toys, trucks, and books to keep him occupied. It has worked like a charm!
Breakfast Time
After the toileting routine, We make breakfast together. Some days it’s just mom and son, or the whole family. It all depends on Dad’s working schedule! Yannis stands in a learning tower so he can help as much as possible with food prep. We try to expose Yannis to as many foods and flavors as possible. I also give him practical life tasks in the kitchen, like loading the dishwasher. It builds his confidence when he helps contribute.
Zoo Visit
It doesn’t happen every day, but here we took a trip to the zoo. Our local zoo was doing a hands on activity with the African safari animals. After the educational part, Yannis had the opportunity to interact with one of his favorite animals, the giraffe! He fed the giraffes and observed them interacting. Later in the day we made sure to read books about giraffes and discuss his experience.
Time Outside
We spend a lot of time in the garden as it’s a great sensorial learning experience. On this day, we are working on our tomato garden. We have a community garden to get the children involved in growing seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Shelf Activities
By this time of the day - after lunch and snack time - the weather is too hot for us to be outside so it makes it easier to concentrate on his work inside the house. Currently we are using Monti Kids’ Box with Bins to teach him the open and close concept. He likes to open it to find a different item in each compartment before closing it to move onto the next. Independent play varies day by day depending on how interested he is in the materials. Some days he’ll do it for hours and other times it’s just a couple minutes.
Evening Chores
After Yannis eats dinner, usually with me, it’s time for his nightly chores. This includes helping with the dishes, mopping the kitchen and sweeping the floor. Initially it took longer to have him help clean up, but I knew the developmental rewards were worth it. Now, he knows where everything goes and is so helpful. It actually makes cleaning fun for all of us. Then our bedtime routine includes taking a shower, reading bedtime stories and saying good night.
For more Montessori inspiration from Ahoefa Akakpossa follow @raisingyannis.