Matilda's Montessori Nursery

As I previously mentioned, we have changed up Matilda's nursery a bit.  Following Montessori principles, we made her room much more child focused.

 

 

We've removed her crib, and she now sleeps on a mattress on the floor.  The logic behind floor beds is that she can wake up and independently start her day without having to cry for us to come get her. In actuality, since she's still not very mobile, we still have to come get her when she wakes up, but one day she'll be able to just crawl off her bed and start playing. 

 

Because I was a bit weary of her falling off her bed onto the wood floor, we added a pool noodle under her sheet so she won't roll off and a nice soft landing area incase she somehow makes it over the noodle.



She also now has a big open play mat with a low hung mirror and art down at her level.  During the day, this is where she spends most of her time playing.  It's great at fostering mobility since 1) she not likely to get hurt (there's a foam mat under the quilt) and 2) she can see how her body moves in the mirror.  I've also kept her bean bag chair out which she uses to try to pull up on.

 

On the other side of the room is her open shelving which holds her activities.  We rotate out toys every few weeks.  We also use the shelving as our changing station, although we now mostly just change her on the floor.  The baskets have her cloth diapers in them as well as hold her sleep sack and hip dysplasia brace when she's not wearing them.



The other side of the room still looks pretty similar.  We've removed the desk and moved the glider into the corner.  Usually, when she's playing independently, we sit in the glider and watch her. 

 

One important aspect of Montessori nurseries is that the entire room needs to be childproof.  Electrical outlets need to be covered, furniture needs to be anchored to the wall, and toys can't contain any choking hazards.  The glider and ottoman in the room both having locking features, although we might need to remove them from the room once she gets more mobile.  The art at her level doesn't have glass fronts and was hung using Command strips. 

 

It's been about 6 weeks since we redesigned her nursery, and so far, we all really like it!  We spend much more time in there and I think she really enjoys having her play mat and an open area to explore.  As she grows, we'll be excited to add other Montessori concepts in there like a changing station where she can pick out her own clothes and get ready.