Riley Lunt
We have followed @montessoribyjune for years and are thrilled to have had the opportunity to interview the woman behind the dynamic social media presence.
Following in the footsteps of her grandmother, and then mother, Riley is a proud 3rd generation Montessori guide who all share the middle name June. An honor to this heritage, Riley named her business Montessori By June, a website and instagram account that shares how to use the Montessori method at home, as well as making the educational curriculum accessible and easy for parents.
Mother to two children, Hazel (3) and Banks (1), Riley’s relatable content, kind and friendly face (!) is reaching a growing audience on the internet and we cannot wait to watch her continue to grow through her course offerings she has recently premiered.
How has motherhood informed your current career path?
I grew up going to a Montessori school until 7th grade and after high school I got certified through AMI in the primary class where I taught until I had my daughter.
After high school I had no clue what I wanted to do for a career. The only thing I knew that I wanted for my future was to be a mother. I really admired how my mom and grandma raised their children with their vast knowledge and experience of childhood development. Their example inspired me to go get my Montessori certification. Going into it, I hoped to gain information that would help me to be the best mom I could be but as I learned more about the curriculum I really fell in love with the teaching method. It was dream of motherhood that lead me to my career path and I am really grateful I followed that dream!
Tell us something that is bringing you joy as a mother right now.
Watching my kids interact and grow a relationship has been so fun and such a joy to see. When my daughter just randomly goes up and gives my son a kiss on the forehead, I just about die it’s so cute.
I hope to help foster their relationship throughout their lives.
What are some ways you are currently fostering independence in your 2 children?
Recently I’ve had a change of mindset when it comes to how to foster independence in young children.
The Montessori curriculum heavily focuses on teaching children to be physically independent by teaching them to care for themselves, meal prep, clean up, etc., so with my daughter I was really focused on helping her gain those skills. I still think those skills are very important but I’m starting to realize how important emotional independence and stability is for the child. This starts with having a secure emotional attachment with their caregiver and modeling emotional regulation skills at home. With my son I have have been focusing more on those emotional regulation skills, because I think that is the foundation to a happy life.
We love your literacy videos and are excited by the launch of your reading program. What inspired you to head that direction?
When I first started my Instagram account I was sharing general parenting tips influenced by my Montessori background. It was fun to share these tips and tricks but I always felt like I wasn’t sharing Montessori method as authentically and fully as I could because originally it is a teaching method, not a parenting style.
I love the curriculum, so I wanted to do more with making the curriculum accessible to parents who were not trained but still wanted to use the curriculum and that’s when I started thinking about online courses. My grandma has been and still teaches for over 35 years and has developed some reading techniques to go along with the Montessori reading program so I teamed up with her to make the reading course and I am currently working on the math course as well.
As your children grow older, what is something you have been surprised by?
How hard parenting is! But, in all seriousness, when teaching, I had up to 25 kids in my class and I thought “if I could take care of 25 kids at a time then surely I could easily take care of 1 or 2 of my own kids.”
I didn’t realize how hard and different it was to be a parent of children. Each stage is hard for different reasons but equally rewarding.
What does your typical morning routine look like?
My kids are very early risers, and I am not a morning person, so I have had to create a routine that works for all of us. When my kids wake up, they play in their room until around 7am, then we do kid yoga together so that I can lay on the ground and wake-up while still being present with the kids. Then, we move to breakfast followed by baths. It is a bit unorthodox to do bath time in the morning, but it gives me a chance to get ready for the day. Then, we go to the gym and they go to the day care. We come home and my son goes down for a nap while my daughter and I homeschool together. See this video of a “Homeschooling Morning in 12 Seconds.”
How do you practice self-care?
I’ve found self-care to be very important as a mother. My husband is in medical school and gone for generally 12 hours a day and I don’t live close to family right now so I’ve had to be strategic about working in self-care throughout the day. It looks different for everyone. I personally don’t care to get my nails or hair done, but I make sure to do other things I enjoy.
Daily, I set up my routine to include breaks and self-care rituals; for example, my kids bathing in the morning allows me to do my hair and makeup. The gym everyday is a big help for mental and physical health. I almost always take a nap with the kids in the afternoon even though there are always home tasks around the house that I could be taking care of.
Weekly, my husband and I schedule a date night, and I also try to plan play dates with friends for some adult interaction. I’ve come to accept that this phase of life won’t last forever, and though it feels like it requires a lot of sacrifice right now, there will be a phase when I have more time for myself and likely will miss this.
What are some current favorite products working well for you and your children?
Our figgy play couch: it’s so versatile, we use it to make forts, games, obstacle courses etc.
Learning Tower: for me it’s a must have because we do a lot of food preparation together so it allows my kids to work along side each other in the kitchen. My favorite is from Sprout kids.
Pok Pok kids app: another way to get some self care time is a little screen time and the only app I allow my daughter to use is this one.
Gym membership: I think every mom needs a gym membership even if it’s to go and sit in the sauna for a few minutes a day.