A Montessori Home (Ages 7 and Almost 5)
During my Spring Break I spent some time reorganizing our house as part of Simone's online course about preparing a Montessori home. It's crazy how much new stuff sneaks in all.the.time.
Update 1: Boys’ Room
I find that it takes constant vigilance to keep up with growing and changing boys. Tate and Henry still share a room. I spent some time donating toys that they have grown out of, and making sure each thing in their room has a spot. They are constantly bringing new things into the house (mainly things they get from other people, such as goodies from birthday parties), and it’s a constant struggle to keep stuff organized. I want each thing to have a spot, so that they boys can take responsibility for restoring the environment each night.
Update 2: Art Shelf
I put this shelf together a while ago, but I refreshed it and updated it over the break. Honestly, the boys barely use this area, but I’m still inclined to have these kinds of things available to them. Tate is definitely increasing his interest in art (Henry has never really been interested in it).
Update 3: Living Room
I moved all of Tate’s costumes into our ottoman, which opened up an entire shelf. I moved the boys’ board games out of a high shelf in the bathroom onto the low shelf in the living room. We’ll see if this arrangement works out!
Update 4: Adventure Playground
We already have an area of our yard dedicated to free play with bricks, pavers, planks of wood, metal buckets, etc. I added an outdoor storage unit from IKEA (we pulled off the bottom of the legs to lower it more to child-height) that includes nails and tools.
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8 comments:
Fun to see! You were the first person who got me interested in integrating Montessori in our home with our baby (though I grew up in Montessori schools and the approach has always resonated with me). I recently received Simone's book, Montessori Toddler, in the mail, and it's a total treasure. I definitely plan to take her course someday. Even at 15m, it already feels somewhat challenging to stay caught up with our baby's needs for independence and exploration in our home environment. I definitely wish I would have spent less time before he was born thinking about mobiles (although those are important too) and more time thinking about later stages that would be soon to come. I appreciate how Simone offers a very holistic vision in her book.
Hi, Nora!
I felt totally overwhelmed by the amount of work I had to do to change the environment to meet my children's needs when they were younger. It's getting much, much easier as they get older!
I'm so glad you got Simone's new book! It looks awesome!
Do you have suggestions for a website or book that could provide ideas for lower elementary aged kids? We have a 6 and 8 year old with a baby on the way and need to do some long overdue major purging to make room for the new baby.
Hi, Kristin S! How We Montessori is my favorite blog featuring children about that age!
Can you let us know where you got your cubed storage? I have looked at Montessori furniture specific sites and it is very expensive. I love the look and simplicity of having a place for everything. I have a 7.5 year old and 3 year old so it can be very difficult to bridge the gap between the ages.
Hi, Mary! IKEA! I love that place! Wishing you and your family well!
Could you provide some photos of the entire room where you have the art shelf or the book wall shelves? I am currently arranging our home to better suit our toddlers independence. I am torn between creating an entire playroom of all their things (art, sensory, building, dramatic play, etc) and finding ways to incorporate their play/work materials throughout our home. Seeing the entire flow of a Montessori inspired home would be so helpful! Thank you.
The table in between your boy's bed.. where did you get that from? Thanks!
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