Zach's Digs - A Montessori Room
I was in Italy finishing my Elementary training when I found out I was pregnant, so my wonderful husband decided to surprise me by totally re-doing our spare bedroom and turning it into a Montessori room. When I came back, we worked together to add the finishing touches (mattress, nursing chair, artwork, etc.).
The floor is wood and it has slight grooves and indentations that provide lovely texture,

The shelving unit is from IKEA, and what's great about it is that when Zach is older we can stand it up and he can use it as a bookshelf. Right

The cloth diapers are kept in a box just below the changing area, and the rest of the diapering supplies are next to the changing pad, at arm's reach. This took a bit of readjusting to get just right, but now it's super comfortable and makes the changing process quick and efficient.
The rest of the shelving unit consists of two sets of drawers: the top right-hand one has socks and undershirts, while the bottom left-hand set holds toys and mobiles that Zach is not yet developmentally ready for. We also have a box in the unit where I've stored larger toys that Zach has received as gifts. As he grows I will introduce them one by one and gauge his interest.
So, what's visually available to Zach right now? On the top row I have several books in

The bottom row of cubbies hold: - a stuffed giraffe (his only stuffed animal toy right now) and a horse jack-in-the-box - three different rattles (all three made out of natural materials) - three Montessori rolling toys (more on those later)
Compared to most children's rooms, the number of toys Zachary has available to him seems sparse. This is done on purpose for several reasons:
- It keeps the room organized and uncluttered, so that this becomes his model of what a living place should look like.
- It allows him to see what toys he has, so he can make his own choices without becoming overwhelmed by too many options.
- It helps him to remember where everything goes, so that he can put things back in their place by himself (with a little help from me at first, of course).
To the left of the shelving unit is the nursing chair, set up in a lovely corner with two windows. I chose this reclining chair from IKEA because it is not a rocking chair or a

The floor bed is actually a crib mattress from IKEA. We are transitioning Zach from his bassinet to the floor bed, so right now we have an extra pad on the bed (the green pad pictured here, which used to be in his bassinet). In a few more days I'll remove the pad and my big boy will sleep on his floor bed! (I'll soon post about how we transitioned him to his own room.) The floor bed is

But even before a child is mobile, the floor bed provides a developmental advantage because it helps him develop awareness of where a surface ends. A small baby on a floor bed can move across it and feel where the bed ends. If he keeps moving, he'll roll off the bed and onto the floor, but the fall will only be a few inches. Very quickly he'll realize that in order to stay on the bed he needs to stop where he feels the surface ending. This in turn will prepare him to make better choices near stairs and on taller beds. Of course, it's important to always supervise crawling babies near stairs and never leave them unattended on a normal-sized bed, but I have heard from many Montessori parents who say that their child showed a healthy respect for stairs from the moment they approached a step for the first time.
The last area of the Montessori room, the activity area, is not actually in Zach's room because of lack of space. (Note: some people choose to set up the mirror and activity area in the same space as the bed, with the mirror running alongside the bed. I feel that this sends a conflicting message regarding the use of the bed. Is it for sleeping or playing?) We chose to set up the mirror and activity pad in our room (which will eventually

Once Zach is sitting up on his own, we'll install a low bar across the mirror so that he can practice pulling up and then walking. The mirror helps him to gain a clear understanding of his body and his surroundings. We have more shelving units in this room, and the two lowest cubbies will belong to Zach. Here he will keep the toys that he'll use in the activity area (such as the Takane ball).
The artwork pieces that we chose for his room are intended to inspire admiration and inquisitiveness. The tiles with the sailboat are from the Amalfi coast, one of our favorite

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of Zach's Montessori bedroom. Setting it up took a lot of thought and effort. I

This Montessori room has worked beautifully so far and we look forward to continuing to modify Zach's environment to meet his ever-changing needs.
Categories
- 3-6 (8)
- 6-9 (26)
- 9-12 (8)
- Positive Discipline (2)
- Conscious Parenting (12)
- Montessori Curriculum (9)
- Preparation of the Adult (14)
- Preparation of the Environment (11)
- Montessori Principles (11)
- Montessori Homeschooling (20)
- Language Arts (3)
- Math (3)
- Geography (2)
- Biology (1)
- History (2)
- Practical Life (1)
- Montessori Stories (4)
18 comments
Leave a comment