A Day at Redbud Montessori · Davis, California

From the walk in to the last pickup.

Here's what an ordinary day looks like, start to finish.

arriving

You'd never know it was here.

A wooded area with tall trees and a wooden deck or porch structure in the background, partially obscured by branches and foliage.
A wooded area with tall trees and a wooden deck or porch structure in the background, partially obscured by branches and foliage.

The drive takes you out to the edge of town, on a road heading into the country. Then a small road, then a smaller one, and you park in a gravel lot under enormous oaks.

From there it's a short walk along a path and across a little footbridge, though children often skip the bridge entirely and run down and up the embankment instead.

settling in

The day starts with four child-directed routines.

Shelves holding various colorful backpacks and lunchboxes in different sizes and patterns.
Shelves holding various colorful backpacks and lunchboxes in different sizes and patterns.

Inside, everything a child needs is built at their height. A cubby for spare clothes and anything they've brought from home — usually something for sharing day. A hook they can reach for their backpack. A cart for water bottles and a shelf for lunchboxes.

The children do this themselves. It takes a two-year-old a while to master the routine, and then one morning it doesn't.

drop-off

The part parents worry about — goodbye.

Through the school and out to the backyard, where the teachers are already outside with the children. There's a bench there that most parents use for a hug goodbye. And then off the children go into whatever's already happening.

Some mornings that's easy. Some mornings it isn't, especially in the first weeks.

When it isn't, a teacher comes over and holds your child, offering reassurance while you go. No one will tell your child not to cry — the teacher will let the feeling run its course on your child's schedule, which is usually over by the time you reach the parking lot. 

It's the same principle as everything else here. Follow the child, which applies to feelings too.

Three stylized pine trees with varying heights, depicted in a minimalistic green silhouette. 
the schedule

How the day unfolds.

  • Three young girls playing outdoors near a wooden fence, one girl in a blue dress standing on a tree branch, two girls in striped and yellow hoodies standing close together.

    The morning: Free play, then lessons.

    Children arriving early have the yard to themselves for a while — the trikes, the tire swing, the mulberries.

    Montessori presentations begin at 8:45 for the red group, with math or language and science. At 9:15 the yellow and blue groups have their Montessori presentation, and the red group has another lesson in practical life or sensorial and geography.

  • Two young children playing with a colorful marble run toy on the floor while an adult watches. The girl is focused on placing a marble in the toy, and the boy watches attentively. The setting appears to be indoors, likely a classroom or playroom.

    Free choice & snack

    From 9:45 to 11:00 it’s free choice. The children pick their own jobs. 

    Snack is a job and sits out through the morning. A child eats when they're hungry, or doesn't. Much of the fresh food on the table came from families who donated it on Monday.

  • A teacher standing in front of a classroom with young students sitting on the floor. The teacher is pointing at a board with a pointer. Educational posters and a calendar are visible on the wall.

    Circle or movement

    At eleven the groups gather for circle. Songs, a story, and on Wednesdays, whatever a child has brought from home to show everyone. It's half an hour, and it's the part of the day most children would tell you about first. Thursdays are movement days, when the children let all of their wiggles and giggles out.

  • A young girl with curly blonde hair, wearing a green shirt, floral skirt, and beige leggings, walks away carrying a water bottle and a colorful lunchbox on an outdoor paved area enclosed by a wooden fence, surrounded by tall trees.

    Lunch & recess

    Lunch is at 11:30, at the picnic tables under the shade structure. Children bring it from home. If they'd like something warm, they can bring a heat-up, and a teacher in the kitchen will warm it for them.

    After that the yard is theirs again until one o'clock.

  • A plush sloth toy lying on a brown pillow on top of a blue floral-patterned mattress, partially covered with a black blanket with colorful designs, on a carpeted floor.

    Rest

    At 12:30 the yellow group settles down in the living room — the same room that holds sensorial and geography the rest of the day, quiet and dim for an hour and a half. They're up around 2:00.

    The older children stay out in the yard until 1:00.

  • A woman reading a children's book to a group of young kids in a classroom setting.

    The afternoon: A second round of work.

    At one o'clock the blue and red groups have a thematic lesson with their group. The red group has P.E. on Mondays and Wednesdays, and culture on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:30. The blue group has free choice until 2:30.

  • Children and an adult engaging in a craft activity at a table, with craft supplies such as markers, scissors, and pipe cleaners visible.

    Pickup: Snack, free choice, and home.

    From 2:30 the children are outside again. At four, snack comes back out, and the last stretch is a choice — there may be a story with the group, a project a child may choose to do or not, and time to choose an afterschool job to work on with a friend. 

    At pickup you collect your child from wherever they are in the school or outside in the yard. Every teacher knows every parent, and most of the grandparents too.

the grounds

The rest of the six and a half acres.

The backyard is fenced, but the fences are wood frames with wire, so a child can see straight through to the trees on every side. Nobody feels boxed in.

And the yard isn't where the outdoors end. Groups head out with their teacher across the property — to Hedges Grove for a parachute game or pumpkin picking, to the small garden to learn how to tend it, or just out on a walk to observe what's there.

A park with green grass, large trees, wooden benches, and string lights hung between the trees.
Children running and playing outdoors in a park or playground area, with trees and a fence in the background.
Children sitting on a bench and two girls playing on a swing at a playground.
Children sitting at picnic tables outdoors, supervised by a woman, with trees and a wooden fence in the background.
Children playing and riding tricycles and scooters in a playground surrounded by trees and a fenced area.
Child jumping over tree stumps in a park with playground equipment and trees in the background.
Children and an adult playing with a colorful parachute outdoors in a grassy yard surrounded by trees, near a house with string lights.
Two young girls playing on a red slide at a playground surrounded by trees.
Children playing in a park playground with swinging children, a group of kids sitting on a bench, and trees providing shade.
A young boy wearing an orange shirt and navy shorts is playing with a yellow toy dump truck on a dirt playground. There are wooden tables, benches, and various toys around him, with sunlight filtering through the trees. 
come visit

Come see a morning for yourself.

Reading about a day is one thing. Standing in the backyard is another.

Looking for hours, tuition, and the calendar? →

Book a tour