Prepared Environment – WonderHouse of Littles

How to Create a Montessori-inspired Bedroom

admin — Mon, 13 May 2024 14:48:19 +0000

How to Create a Montessori - inspired Bedroom

More than a century since its inception, Montessori is now more popular than ever and rapidly extending from the classroom to the homes of a growing number of families. Many first learn of the Montessori approach because of the highly commercialized “Montessori bed”, which has been slowly making its way into mainstream design. But while this type of bed is a key aspect of a Montessori-inspired bedroom, there is a lot more to consider when designing this type of space for your child.

So what is a Montessori-inspired bedroom?

In short, a Montessori-inspired bedroom is a bedroom that is designed according to Montessori principles. These include accessibility, functionality, order, beauty and simplicity. It is essentially a bedroom designed with the child’s needs and abilities in mind. You will typically see child-sized furniture to foster independence and provide the child with the freedom to move and explore his surroundings; as well as natural and simple features. These help promote a sense of order, structure and beauty, helping to prevent distractions and overwhelm.

Now let’s look at the different areas you may see in a Montessori-inspired bedroom:

Sleeping Area

The focal point of a Montessori bedroom is, of course, the “Montessori bed”. While in recent years beds in the shape of a house or tent have been widely marketed as “Montessori beds”, in reality a “Montessori bed”is simply a bed that is accessible to the child.

Maria Montessori believed that children thrive when given the freedom to move and learn independently. Therefore, a “Montessori bed” is simply a bed without restrictive railing; a bed that the child can climb in and out of on their own without needing assistance from an adult. This is the key difference between a traditional and a Montessori bedroom.

Traditional vs. Montessori approach

In a traditional bedroom, the crib restricts the child’s movement and vision, preventing them from exploring freely. The child then learns that upon waking up they need to cry to alert an adult to come and get them.

By contrast, in a Montessori-inspired bedroom the child can signal to the adult that they are awake without the need to cry, and can even begin to explore independently. It provides freedom of choice, promotes independence and encourages decision-making. The child gets to choose what to gravitate toward upon waking up; their reading area, their shelf activities, or any other area that peaks their interest.

Now that we’ve discussed the benefits of a “Montessori bed”, you’re probably wondering: Is it safe? And when should I make the transition?

The answer to the first question is yes, as long as extra safety measures are taken. Before introducing a floor bed be sure to completely child-proof the room by covering electrical outlets, installing locks on windows if needed, anchoring furniture to the wall and removing any loose parts or objects that may represent a choking hazard or cause harm to your child.

As for the second question, please know that every child and every family is different, so there is no right answer. Do what feels right for you. Some families transition right after the bassinet, others much later.

We transitioned when my daughter was 13 months old. That’s when the conditions aligned for us and it really was a game changer. It opened up the room and a whole new world of possibility where my daughter could be more of herself. She has been using her bed throughout the day since, to read books and play with her stuffed animals. Imagine being a child and having access to your safe space anytime you want.

Dressing Area

A second key element in a Montessori-inspired bedroom is an accessible dressing area. This area should help foster independence and build confidence; offer choices and provide opportunities for your child to practice new skills.

Ideally you would have a toddler closet. We love the Alba Montessori Children’s Wardrobe by Sprout Kids because it’s just the right size, very easy to organize and can even grow with your child.

If you don’t have a toddler wardrobe, there are many ways you can still offer choices and make clothes accessible to your little one. You could start by hanging two choices on the closet door to start. Another popular option is hanging them on a low shelf. As a more permanent option, a small accessible wardrobe with shelves, drawers or a small hanging space – or a combination of all three – is ideal. However, if that is not an option at the moment due to space or budget restrictions, you can start with baskets on the floor or by hanging a few options on low hooks or the main wardrobe door.

Alternatively, simply add a rack at their level in the existing closet so your child can reach the clothing. Do what you can with what you already have in your home and get as creative as you need to be. The main thing is that you start providing the child with limited options and encourage independence through decision-making. Leave only appropriate options within reach and store out-of-season items elsewhere to avoid potential power struggles.

Another popular hack consists of adapting the IKEA Kallax unit to function as a toddler wardrobe. For this, you will need a 12-18″ curtain rod, baskets or Kallax drawers, and kids clothes’ hangers. On the right side, take out the existing shelf and install the rod to create a space for hanging clothes. Add the baskets or drawers to the shelves on the right side for smaller items of clothing. You can also add a mirror directly on the side of the unit and/or a stool with a few self-care items.

Start offering your child a choice between two clothing items as early as 12 months (or even earlier) and gradually increase that number to 3, 4 or 5 as the child gets older.

We created a DIY wardrobe using the IKEA Eket series at 2 years old. The drawers are push hinges and very toddler-friendly. Inside the drawers, I used small dividers to make compartments for t-shirts, bottoms, socks and other seasonal items. For the section with hangers, we purchased the Eket cabinet with door, removed the shelf in the middle and added a rod for hangers. There is a laundry basket next to it for dirty clothes and a chair nearby to help with dressing.

Zara Home wardrobe for a 4-year old. Four containers at the bottom with 1) underwear, 2) socks, 3) bottoms and 4 ) tops (t-shirts). Next to it is a laundry bin and chair (not pictured) to help with dressing.

Play & Movement Area

If space allows, you can consider a small shelf (or baskets) with activities that your child can play quietly with upon waking up. A soft rug near or in front of the shelf helps to create a soothing atmosphere and allows the child to play and move freely. I like to keep activities/toys in the bedroom simple and not overly stimulating, opting for passive toys and avoiding toys that feature loud sounds and/or flashing lights.

For a younger toddler, choose materials that are interesting to explore and manipulate, and support the child in developing the skills they’re working on at that moment. At this stage they are likely working on developing fine and gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, cognitive skills and concentration.

A few Montessori sensorial materials you can consider include: a three-piece circle puzzle, a three-shape puzzle, the object permanence box, the Imbucare box, rings on a vertical dowel, rings on a horizontal dowel, colored rings on dowels, and a shape sorter. At 18 months your toddler might also enjoy a hammer bench type of toy, more difficult puzzles, object-to-picture matching using miniature figurines and nesting cubes.

For an older child (3+), pretend play items such as dolls, a baby stroller, wooden blocks, animal figurines, stacking toys such as a rainbow and other open-ended items of the sort – as opposed to more Montessori-aligned close-ended activities – might be a better fit, depending on the child. Follow your particular child’s interests and developmental needs. This becomes easier if you adopt an observation practice. Take a few minutes every few days to observe your child objectively, without judgement and without interrupting. This will help you gain insights into their capabilities, interests, developmental progress and more.

And just as importantly, it can help you figure out how you can best support them and continuously adapt the environment to meet their individual needs. To keep the child engaged, rotate toys, activities and books based on the their interests and developmental needs. Toy rotations offer a number of benefits to both the parent and the child.

Reading Area

A simple reading area in your child’s bedroom is a great way to build reading routines and raise book lovers.

Forward-facing bookshelves work best for younger children and allow you to display books with the covers facing forward, making the books more appealing and enticing.

If you opt for a wall-mounted shelf be sure to install it low enough that the child can easily reach. They should be able to pick up books and put them back on their own. Keeping the bookshelves a neutral color (i.e. white or light wood), instead of a bright color, allows the books themselves to stand out. If a bookshelf is outside of your budget, you can opt for a basket on the floor with books in a line (so that the front cover of the first one is visible).

You can make the area cozier by adding seating. A bean bag, play mattress, floor pillow or lounger are all great options but a cozy carpet with pillows works just as well. Alternatively, simply place the shelves or baskets near the floor bed so the child can get cozy and read in bed.

Be sure to include a few of your child’s favorite books. Having a few of their stuffed toys nearby or small items that can be used for bookish play is another way to bring books to life.

Display only a limited number of books and rotate them every once in a while. This helps keep the reading area engaging for the child. If interest starts to wane, it may be time to refresh the space once again.

Self-care Area

If your child performs self-care activities, such as brushing their hair, wiping their face or applying cream, in the bedroom, you may also want to consider having a simple self-care station. This is a great way to encourage independence, improve body awareness and help them learn how to dress and groom themselves. Plus, it can also help make routines easier. This area should include a mirror and a small shelf or basket with the self-care items the child needs. Ours also includes a stool.

Having a designated area for these activities promotes order and organization in the environment (the child knows where these actions are performed and where the items are stored) and encourages the child to practice new skills. For some families these self-care activities may be done in the bathroom or elsewhere in the house. If that is your case, do what works best for your family.

Once you’re done setting up your child’s bedroom, get down on the floor so you can view the space from their perspective.

Ask yourself these questions:

Is the room child-proof and safe?

Is everything my child needs within reach?

Your answer to both of these questions should be yes. Let the the room evolve with the child as they reach new milestones and master new skills.

I hope this article has inspired you to create an accessible and child-centered bedroom for your little one(s). When we design our children’s bedrooms with their needs and capabilities in mind we are not only conveying our love and respect for them but also empowering them. They trust their capabilities because we trust them first. And that’s a solid foundation for any growing, learning, little human.

Three Steps to a Peaceful Montessori-inspired Play Area

admin — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 15:59:12 +0000

Three Steps to a Peaceful Play Area

Have you ever tried to work in your office while it is a huge mess? There are papers everywhere. You’re trying to be productive and creative but you can’t find that one piece of paper you’re looking for and you just spilled your coffee trying to look for a pen. How does it affect your mental state and productivity?

Now imagine you’re a child going into your play area. It may even look tidy but there are dozens and dozens of toys inside baskets so in order to find the one toy you’re looking for you have to dump everything on the floor. It becomes messy pretty quickly. And now there’s barely any clear surface to work on. To explore. To create. To build that big tower you had in mind with your favorite new blocks.

Play is the work of the child. It is how children explore and make sense of the world around them. It is how they learn. And as such, their play space should be inviting, clutter-free, inspiring, and their play time viewed as sacred. Having a functional, orderly and inspiring play area is an important foundation for quality play.

Less is more

A 2018 study entitled “The influence of the number of toys in the environment on toddlers’ play”, published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, confirmed that having too many toys in the environment reduces the quality of play. Conversely, fewer toys led to increased focus and more creative and imaginative play, as well as deeper cognitive development.

In addition to reducing the quality of play, too many toys can also affect concentration – a critical skill to start building in toddlerhood – and may even become overwhelming (too many choices) and overstimulating. This is particularly true if there are too many active toys featuring flashing lights and loud sounds.

So how can you create a peaceful play area?

I use a three-part process with the parents I work with, which I’m going to share with you now.

Step 1: De-clutter

This is the most time-consuming part but also most rewarding. Start by sorting all of your child’s toys, books and materials into three piles. The items that the child has outgrown and is no longer showing an interest in can be sorted into a donating pile or stored away for a younger sibling. The items that are still developmentally-appropriate but the child hasn’t shown much interest in, in the past few weeks, can be stored and rotated later.

Leave out only the toys, activities, books and materials you have seen your child engage with in the past two weeks and store the rest in bins in a closet, spare bedroom or garage. Ideally, this will be a limited number anywhere between 8 and 12 items.

A 2021 survey of parents by toy company Premium Joy revealed that 8 out of 10 children play with only 20 toys or fewer, regardless of how many are available to them. Even more telling, the survey showed that 44% of children play with just 5 to 10 toys, while 21% engage with 11 to 20. This data supports the idea that children should have no more than 20 toys available to them at home, so they can make the best of their play time.

If you’re used to having dozens of toys out, you may feel at first like your child will have “nothing” to play with, or you may wonder if they will engage with such “few” items. In a consumerist society we have been conditioned to feel this way. Know that once the clutter is out you will observe your child engage with the toys that do remain in a different way.

With less toys/activities you will also notice that it becomes easier to observe the child’s interests and what skills they are trying to master. Toddlers love to engage in repeated actions. This gives us an indication of what inner impulse they are responding to, and therefore, what skill they are working to master. And from these observations you can prepare an environment that meets the child’s developmental needs and interests.

5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself When De-cluttering Toys:

Is it broken or missing any pieces? (if so, let it go)
When did my child(ren) last play with this toy?
Has my child outgrown this toy?
Does it foster learning, enhance positive behavior, open-ended play or creativity?
Does this toy benefit or burden our family and space?

Step 2: Simplify

Once you’ve decluttered the play space you can go ahead and arrange the toys/materials you’ve decided to keep for the moment on the activity shelves. Depending on the child, you may want to opt for a combination of passive toys such as blocks, roads, cars, stacking toys, and more Montessori-aligned activities that target the development of cognitive and pre-writing skills. If you have toys that are battery-operated with flashing lights and sounds, try removing the batteries and using them without these features for a while. There is no right or wrong and every household is unique. Work with what you already have instead of buying more.

“A place for everything and everything in its place”

Make sure you have a functional space where everything has a designated place and your child knows where it goes. For example, art supplies go on the art caddy, books go on the bookshelf, activities go on the shelf. Keep it simple for both you and your child. Always model putting activities/ toys back when done using them and encourage your child to do the same.

Because of their strong sense of order, children, in particular toddlers, thrive in orderly environments. If there is a place for everything, the child can learn where items go and is more likely to put them back where they belong. Toddlerhood is the perfect time to start to form healthy habits of putting toys away once they are done using them. It takes a bit of practice in the beginning but it’s worth it.

Keep realistic expectations. Young children need to be modeled and shown exactly what it looks like and it needs to be manageable for the child. Instead of giving them a general prompt such as “go clean your playroom”, break it up into small tasks that the child can handle. Try instead, “How about we do team work! You put the stuffed animals in the basket while I put away the blocks”.

Step 3: Rotate

The last step is to rotate toys and materials/ activities based on your observation of the child’s developmental needs and interests.

Toy rotations offer a number of very important benefits. They reduce clutter and make it easier to clean up; create a calming and inviting space; make old toys feel new and exciting again; prevent overwhelm from too many choices; increase focus and deeper engagement; foster creativity and promote more independent play.

There is no exact prescription when it comes to rotating. Find what works for your family and stick to that. Eventually you will be able to involve your child in this process too.

For more tips on how to observe your child, please see my article on this topic here.

Four Steps to Creating a Fun Children’s Reading Space

admin — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 16:15:18 +0000

Four Steps to Creating a Fun Children's Reading Space

Creating a warm and fun reading space in your home is one of the most effective ways to foster a love of reading in a young child. The benefits of fostering a love of reading from a young age are well-documented. Reading books accelerates language development and literacy skills, sparks intellectual curiosity, improves self-esteem, develops empathy and helps children learn about the world and how to relate to others. Children who enjoy reading are also more likely to embrace life-long learning.

Creating a warm and inviting reading space for your child doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it can be achieved in four simple steps.

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Step 1: Accessible forward-facing shelves

Instead of storing books upright with the spine facing out, display your child’s books with the covers facing forward in forward-facing shelves. This makes the books more appealing and enticing for young children. You can opt for a front-facing Montessori-style bookshelf or instead go with a wall-mounted shelf that you can install low enough that your child can reach. Whichever option works best for you, be sure to make the bookshelf fully accessible to the child. They should be able to pick up the book and put it back on their own.

Keeping the bookshelves a neutral color (i.e. white or light wood) helps the books themselves stand out and look more inviting. If a bookshelf is outside of your budget, you could also opt for a basket on the floor with books in a line, so that the front cover of the first one is visible.

Shelves: Ikea Flisat Wall Storage

Shelves: IKEA Mosslanda Picture Ledges in birch (Amazon alternative here); Metal Baskets: IKEA RISATORP Wire Basket; Bean Bag: Nobodinoz; books displayed can be found here.

Step 2: Comfortable seating

The next step is to add comfortable seating. A bean bag, play mattress, floor pillow or lounger are all great options. Alternatively, a cozy carpet with pillows works just as well. Make the space inviting with rich textures and the child will want to spend more time in their cozy reading space.

Step 3: Magic Touches

To accessorize the space, add items that increase value and beauty for the child such as interesting art work, a few select open-ended materials and/or music instruments. By adding a few open-ended materials that compliment the books on display, the child can also enjoy bookish play. Bookish play makes books come alive for the child and makes reading even more fun. Remember to keep it simple and orderly.

Items pictured can be found here.

Step 4: Rotate Books and Materials

Rotating books and materials every once in a while keeps the space interesting and engaging for the child. There is no exact rule for this. Follow your child. If interest starts to wane it’s a sign that it may be time to refresh the space once again.

Be sure to join your child in their cozy space for quality time exploring books. Modeling a love of reading is a great way to help nurture this in our children and they will reap the rewards of it throughout their life.

If you’ve been inspired by this blog post, leave a comment below or tag us on social media so we can see your creations!