Creating an Environment of Yes's

I am not a perpetual furniture re-arranger. I am not someone who takes pleasure in trying out new positions and arrangements "just for a change." Sometimes I wish I were, but I'm not.

Yes, I move these around from time to time to get them just right, but once things are in a position that feels tuned to my aesthetic preferences, I am perfectly happy to leave them alone and occupy myself with other pursuits.

However, to authentically implement Montessori in the home, I absolutely have to rearrange things to keep up with Henry's developmental needs.

Here are some examples of elements of the environment that I've had to change for Henry:

• When Henry was first born, he needed to spend time looking at mobiles. I had one hanging above the movement mat in his room and one hanging above our bed, since he spent a lot of time there, as well. I changed these mobiles every couple weeks to keep Henry interested (we bought the whales, the butterflies, the Gobbi, an abstract one, and I made one from black and white cards).
• When Henry started accidentally batting at things, we hung a bell, so he could hit it and make the connection that his movements could impact the environment.
• To encourage him to grasp at things, we started hanging a wooden ring and other beautiful toys.
  
• To encourage crawling, I had to change out the low shelf in his room. Originally, it had storage baskets. I removed two of them to make space for Henry's toys to inspire him to reach and grasp for the objects.
  
• Once he started army-crawling all over the house, I had to put plastic plugs in the outlets and completely de-clutter. We could no longer keep Hoss's basket of disgusting, hairy toys on the floor. We couldn't have any cords showing.
• Then Henry started pulling up on things. I had to rearrange things on his shelf again to make sure he could find things when he pulled up.
• Most recently, Henry started pulling up on our bookshelves and pulling out all the books. Argh! I was hoping that wouldn't happen until we moved. Oh well. I should be celebrating his development! In fact, I celebrated by spending an hour rearranging the environment some more. I had to move the plant off his weaning table, since he was starting to reach it and pull on it. I had to move another plant that he was also reaching for. Come to think of it, I had to move another plant he was reaching for. I moved some of the books off our bookshelf and replaced them with Henry's toys. I also turned a basket into a ball pit (but one that can be put away at a moment's notice, since we are trying to sell our house!).
  

I could have easily decided that I didn't want to keep changing the environment to meet Henry's needs. I could have left cords visible and instead tried to keep Henry away from them. As annoying as it is to change the environment, it would be more annoying for me to constantly have to chase Henry around to keep him away from things.

Instead, I try to create an environment of yes's.

Not only does an environment of yes's keep my stress level down, it also helps Henry develop one of the primary things he's working on in the first year of life: his movement. Even more significantly, the environment impacts Henry's sense of self. I imagine that he is developing more confidence, independence, and self-worth because he is learning that he can interact with the world in the way he wants to.

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