Our Hours, Made Simple

Three flexible scheduling options designed to fit your family's needs, allowing your young child to enjoy one seamless day with the same caring teachers and classmates from arrival to dismissal.

🟠 Preschool Half School Day (Ages 2½–4½): 8:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

🟢 Full School Day

• Preschool and Kindergarten (Ages 2½–6): 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m. 
• Elementary & Adolescent Community (Grades 1–9): 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. 

⚪ Full School Day Plus Wrap-Around Care: 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

A Day in the Life: What Your Child Experiences at Wheaton Montessori School

If you're considering preschool for your child, you probably have one question underneath all the others: What will my day actually feel like for them?

At Wheaton Montessori School, we want you to be able to picture it and not just hear about it in the abstract. So let's walk through it together, from the moment you say goodbye to the moment you're reunited. Whether your child is a busy 2½-year-old or an increasingly independent 4½-year-old, here's what their day really looks like.

The Morning Greeting: A Gentle Beginning

There's no rush, no chaos, no scramble. Your child's day starts with a moment made just for them.

Their teacher greets them individually, often crouching down to meet them eye-to-eye, with a warm handshake. It's a small ritual, but it tells your child something big: You are seen. You belong here.

Then comes something you might not expect: you won't see anyone rushing to take your child's coat. Instead, they're given the time to hang up their own jacket, put away their shoes, and place their lunchbox on the shelf, all on their own. It's a small act of independence, but it sets the tone for everything that follows.

The Heart of the Morning: Deep, Uninterrupted Work

This is where the magic happens, a 2½–3 hour stretch where your child is free to work, explore, and concentrate without interruption.

There's no bell forcing the whole class to stop and switch activities together. Instead, your child receives lessons individually or in small groups, then chooses their own work from carefully prepared shelves.

If your child is closer to 2½... you might find them absorbed in pouring water between two small pitchers, scrubbing a table, or polishing a silver tray. To an adult, these might look like simple chores. To your child, they're building the fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and deep concentration that everything else will be built on.

If your child is closer to 4½... their work has grown alongside them. You might find them writing their own story with the Movable Alphabet, working through four-digit addition with the Golden Beads, or tracing the continents of the world with quiet focus.

Throughout the morning, the room hums with purposeful energy, children moving thoughtfully between mats and tables, learning to respect each other's space, and returning every material to its home when they're finished.

Snack Time: On Their Terms

Even snack time reflects this same trust. There isn't a bell or group signal telling children it's time to eat. Instead, when your young child feels hungry, they wash their hands, choose a whole fruit or vegetable, and prepare it independently. From their very first days, they're given the lessons and guidance they need to do this with confidence, so it feels natural, not overwhelming.

A Little Community of Their Own

Because our classrooms bring together children ages 2½ to 6, something beautiful happens naturally: the older children become gentle leaders. A five-year-old might help a 2½-year-old roll up their work mat, show them where to find a cloth to wipe up a spill, or core their apple. Your child will be on both sides of this over the years, first the one being helped, later the one helping.

After Recess: Choosing What's Right for Your Day

Once outdoor time winds down, your family's day can go a few different directions, and that flexibility is by design.

Some children head home for lunch and a nap, picked up right after recess.

Many children stay with us, opening their packed lunch from home and sharing a meal with friends before naptime. Then it's off to our napping room, where each child settles onto their own cot with their own stuffed animal and blanket from home that we wash regularly, a small, familiar comfort in a peaceful, quiet space.

If your child is enrolled in wrap-around care, the day continues gently from there: another stretch of outdoor play once naps are finished, followed by flexible pickup any time that works for you, up until 5:30 p.m.

If your child's day ends at 3:00 p.m., they'll head to our dismissal area. When their name is called, their teacher will walk them out with a warm goodbye and hand them off directly to you or their designated adult.

However your family's rhythm looks, an early pickup, a full day with a cozy nap, or care that stretches into the late afternoon, your child's day here is designed to feel just as unhurried and secure from start to finish.

What This All Adds Up To

Every part of your child's day is built on one belief: we don't do for a child what they're capable of doing for themselves, but we're always right there when they need us.

For your 2½-year-old, this is a safe invitation to explore order, language, and coordination. For your 4½-year-old, it's a place that challenges their mind and nurtures their growing sense of leadership. And for every child in between, it's a place where they're treated with real dignity, the kind that tells them, every single day: you are capable, and you belong here.