Montessori infant room: a guided tour

Can you believe that my little pumpkin is almost 6 months!!!  I am having such a hard time realising how fast he is growing.  I try to enjoy every single moment with him, and not forget to cherish them!

During the holidays, I had (took) the time to read quite a few books.  Some for my personal enjoyement, but some for my family as well.  One of them was a book I had already read before:

which is IMO probably the most useful book explaining the Montessori philosophy  for infants.

There are some parts of the book that I don’t agree with.  Breastfeeding notably, weaning, sleeping arangements for some part.  But it is such a wealth of other information, that I was prepared to overlook those part and read the book again.

Again, it gave me so many ideas to enrich Pumpkin’s environment.  Many things I had already applyied, either because I remembred from the first time I read, or just because I had already did them with Peanut and was hapy with the results.

When we came back from the holidays, I was anxious to get back to work on modifying his environement and make it as friendly as possible for him.

So welcome to a tour of Pumpkin’s room:

2 words I kept in my mind while creating this space: simplicity, and adapted. I wanted his room adapted for him, and keeping it simple just allows that.

So here is the (cute) view when you get in: The floor bed

The first thing I needed to do was to install his floor bed. I couldn’t sleep him in his basinette any longer, so it was getting dangerous. I knew that a floor bed was the next step.

I used a IKEA matress that I bought for my DD. THe mirror is just next to the bed. I was afraid that it would keep him from falling asleep, but au contraire! He falls asleep looking at himself most nights (while I am putting the other 2 to bed). The mirror is currently not hung on the wall, we need to fix something on it, and so that is why the pillows are on each side: to protect DS

ON the bed, there is a beige blanket. It is a double size organic coton blanket folded in 2. When I put DS to bed, I put him in between the 2 layers, much like if it was a sleeping bag. He LOVES to sleep on his tummy (yes I know…but at this point, whatever I’ll do, he will turn anyways!), so this allows him to have the freedom to turn and not be caught in the blankets. (the blanket is tuck under the matress on both sides)

Next , the changing station:

A set of drawers with a dual purpose. With DD, the changing station was on the floor. However, having a back problem this time around, I had to have a changing station that was more back friendly 

This dresser is IMO too big for the room. It is pretty useful now as I have to store the cloth diapers, and the middle section is dedicated to that. But once DS1′s wardrobe done (we have just moved recently), we will take the cabinet he is using right now, and move it to this room. The cabinet is a Ikea system that is very child friendly, and a lot smaller. But in the meantime, this will do.

I have added artwork near the chaging station for him to look at. The drawing are from the Wee gallery

Next to his bed, between the bed and the door, there is a little shelving to store toys

there are only a few toys there at a time:

and right beside that is the potty station:

We are ECing with this baby, and so having a potty in the room really makes things easier

I have also added on the floor a lambskin ( no pics sorry)

Since this room is supposed to be an office, it was made with ceramic tiling. Not really perfect for a little one. But with the floor bed, he has a nice place to play, and this addition on the floor makes another spot for him to enjoy while feeling another sensation on his skin.

I am currently working on some new artwork for his room, hopefully they will be ready next week. i’ll post about that later.

Finally MOBILES! Mobiles are a big thing in the infancy period. I have asked DH to fix a plant hook on the ceiling of the room. THis allows me to have a variety of mobiles, even ones that he can pull on like this:

t is a mobile that I have found at Micheal Olaf. It is attached to an elastic, and so when he reaches for the hook, he is able to bring the mobile to his mouth. The elastic is not too elastic though, because otherwise he could get hurt when releasing the mobile. He LOVES this mobile, as it makes sounds when he graps it, so it is rewarding for him.

having fun on the floorbed…

there are a few ressources out there about the environment of the infant.  THese are the ones I used or got inspired from:

- Montessori from the start

-Albums from Montessori research and development

-And of course Finn’s room from Meg at Sew Liberated

Homemade material – sandpaper letters

Keeping in the same line of subject today.  The sand paper letters.

I wondered for a while how I would make those.  I knew I wanted them made on wooden boards, but at the time, that was it.

I found some really thin wooden board at my local art shop. In the watercolor section.  SO I bought that and had DH cut them into 4 squares, so I didn’t need all that much.

Then I painted those boards with acrylic paint that I also bought there.  I used the same red and blue that I did for the red rods and the numeral rods.  I created the pink with a dash of white.  I started by painting only one side, but was not happy with the end result, so I ended up painting both side, and I am happy that I did.  It makes a neater job IMO.

Once the paint was dry, it was time to add the letter.  I had different options:

1- apply glue and pour sand over it to create the letters

2- Used sticky felt

3 go the longest way and use sandpaper.

After weighing all the options, I decided to go the “real” route, and use sandpaper.  I do not regret one bit this choice, even though it took longer.

SO I used 220 sandpaper.  I could have used softer, but that was what I had on hand.  DO NOT GO LOWER THEN THAT THOUGH, it is too rough for little hands.

I cutted the letter with a exacto and a self healing board.  Then I glued them with carpenter glue.  This does a wonderful job of sticking the paper!

I finished with a slight coat of Mod podge, but I didn’t pass over the letters  for fear that they would not have the necessary tactile feeling anymore.  I think I could have done it though without problems.

So here is the finaly result:

I organized them in a basket, I couldn’t find any wooden boxes that would fit them in, and that allowed me tu reuse things I had on hand.

I am super happy with the result, and I don’t feel the need to get already made sandpaper letter. (which is an indicator for me of my level of satisfaction

I did see some really nice handmade ones though.  So if you don’t feel like making them, but would rather have something homemade, these would be a very nice choice.  Otherwise, this is a fun but I admit time consuming project.  YOu cannot do this in one seating, because of the paint…

HTH

Homemade material – The Seguin tables

As I was cleaning the basement,  I realised that some material I made never was showed here as a final product.

Seguin Tables:

THis was a fun project that I really wanted to make for Pea as he is really into math.  He is not quite redy yet to work with it, he is still in the stage of the beads, but the time is almost there.

So here they are: The teen boards

I made the boards per se with the same technique as I did for the numeral cards

I finished them with a light coat of varnish, as I was not entirely happy with the mod podge finish (it is a little sticky).

Voilà