Montessori Inspired Playroom

As I started working on this blog post, I realized that I never formally shared that we bought a house! TJ and I closed on our first home back in March and it’s been such an exciting time for us. I plan to share more about our home buying process and the renovations we’ve done so far – but I’ll save that for another time.

Today, I’m sharing all about Nori’s playroom makeover. Completing this room for Nori has been top on my list of home projects. This is the room that will get the most use. The room that will allow her to learn, imaginate, and express herself through play. It’s also the room that will keep her entertained while I work from home over these next few months due to Covid-19.

I think most parents can agree that too many toys quickly become overwhelming, whether they’re in a bedroom, playroom, or common area of the house. All it takes is five minutes of play for a room to become a complete disaster. Over the last few months, I observed Nori interacting with her toys. More often than not, baskets would be emptied, toys would be tossed to the ground, and nothing would hold her attention longer than a few minutes. I began to realize that she had far too many toys and was simply overwhelmed. 

When we moved, the last thing I wanted was to use the playroom as a space to house all of her toys with no structure. I spent some time researching how to create a space that would be educational, yet rewarding for her development. I stumbled across “Montessori Playrooms” and knew it would be the perfect fit for our home. Below I share more information on Montessori practices and how you can easily implement them into your space as well. Much of what I discuss was learned by reading The Montessori Toddler.

What is a Montessori playroom?

“A Montessori playroom is a simple, clean space with a limited number of carefully selected age-appropriate toys designed to help the child develop skills such as their fine and gross motor skills. It is a place that promotes engagement rather than just provide entertainment. Toys are often rotated every 1-2 weeks.” – Montessori Method

What are Montessori principles and activities?

Some of the key Montessori principles involve:

• Setting up activities that are the right level for you child – challenging enough for them to master, but not difficult enough that they give up
• Placing everything low enough for the child to see and enjoy
• Creating a play space that is orderly, simplistic and beautiful with zero clutter and limited toys/activities
• Creating a space that allows the child to have freedom to explore and learn
• Focusing on order and routine – every toy having a specific place

Montessori activities are broken into five categories:

1. Hand-Eye coordination
2. Language
3. Arts and crafts
4. Music and movement
5. Activities for daily life

How to create a Montessori-style space?

I think it’s important to note that you do not need an entire playroom to have a Montessori-style space. This practice works well in a bedroom, living room, or any other open space you already have!

Purge Current Toys:

For parents interested in adapting Montessori principles into their play space, the first step is to purge your current toys. This will give you the best idea of what is no longer needed. I started by gathering all of the toys Nori had outgrown or no longer held her interest. I placed them into two separate piles – one for donating and one to keep for either our next baby or simply for sentimental reasons.

Store and Rotate Toys:

Next, I made a pile for toys that would be displayed on her shelf for the week. All other toys were placed into a container which I stored in her closet. As I rotate her toys, I will pull them from the storage container. For the toys that are stored away, be sure to place them out of your child’s sight.

Shelving:

The most optimal way to display toys in a Montessori setting is through shelving. The Montessori method encourages children to play with toys, therefore you want to have the items out on display (versus away in toy boxes). I personally love cubed shelving, but you can also work with whatever shelving you have on hand. The most important step is to display the toys are at a level your child can see and reach.

When deciding which toys to display, an important reminder is less is more. Having a limited amount of toys out at a given time allows for your child to better concentrate and master the task, rather than moving from activity to activity without ever fully completing any of them.

Transition to Wooden Toys:

If you google “Montessori Playroom”, one common theme you’ll notice is that most involve wooden toys. Wooden toys are not only beautiful, but they’re also eco-friendly, non-toxic, and long-lasting. The wooden toys used in Montessori playrooms aid in developing the child’s fine or gross motor skills, which usually isn’t seen in most battery-operated toys that are more for entertainment and distraction.

I transitioned most of Nori’s toys over to open-ended wooden toys as they allow her to use her imagination and creativity during her play. I’ll be honest – wooden toys are not cheap. I paced myself and bought them over time, but I know they’re an investment and will last her for years to come. Some of my favorite small businesses for quality wooden toys are Etsy, Bannor Toys, and Wild Creek.

Plastic toys can work as well, but be sure to choose toys that help develop skills. Nori has several plastic toys that will be on rotation amongst her wooden toys, including an object permanence pig that lights up.

Once Nori gets a little older, I plan to rotate the ball pit in her room with a wooden Pikler to aid in her gross motor skills. I’ve found so many beautiful Piklers that would work great in this space, but I want her to be a little older before I splurge one for safety reasons.

Furniture/Decor:

Use child-sized furniture that’s at an appropriate height for your child which they can easily manage without assistance. Artwork should also be displayed at a level that they can see and enjoy. Nori is still at the age where she pulls everything down, so I opted to hang artwork and decor lower than normal, but still high enough where she cannot access it.

Give Everything a Home

This is something we never practiced prior to switching over to a Montessori inspired room. Her toys would end up scattered across the floor and we would quickly toss everything into one large bin at the end of the day. After reading “The Montessori Toddler”, I learned that toddlers thrive off order and routine. Give everything in the playroom a designated space, whether it’s toys on the shelves, books on the wall, etc. It’s important not to have items in different spaces every time your child enters the room.

By giving everything a home, this will also teach Nori how to clean up after herself. She’s only 12 months and far too young to fully grasp this concept, but we’re working with her everyday by demonstrating how to put toys back on the shelves after she’s finished playing.

• 

• 

• 

That’s it! I hope you found this information helpful and are inspired to adopt some of these principles in your own home. If you’re in the need of more information, I cannot recommend “The Montessori Toddler” by Simone Davies enough.

We have one final project planned for her playroom – a fun DIY on the opposite side of the room. Keep an eye out for a blog post about it coming soon!

Xo,

Brooke