Creating a Montessori-Inspired Library/ Learning Area
My 15-month-old is already learning so many things so fast that I suddenly felt the need to read up on various teaching practices for toddlers. Montessori education is something that I've always considered as I've known about this method since I was younger -my mom studied Maria Montessori's theory in one of the subjects for her Masters.
I've been coming across baby and toddler Montessori-inspired rooms and I figured that creating an Montessori-like environment would be ideal to introduce this method to my ever-curious munchkin.
Over the weekend, my husband and I worked on creating a Montessori-inspired library/learning area to house Y's books and wooden educational toys.
Here are the ideas behind this area's concept:
I originally wanted to get an IKEA Kallax but I found it beyond our budget. Good thing we came across this pulp board storage shelf in MUJI. It is of the perfect height, and it is made with pulp board which is in concurrence with Montessori tools being made of natural materials.
I've been coming across baby and toddler Montessori-inspired rooms and I figured that creating an Montessori-like environment would be ideal to introduce this method to my ever-curious munchkin.
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| A low-level shelf, books, wooden toys in their respected places - Beginning our Montessori learning journey |
Over the weekend, my husband and I worked on creating a Montessori-inspired library/learning area to house Y's books and wooden educational toys.
Here are the ideas behind this area's concept:
Low-level, open shelf
This is something common among Montessori-inspired rooms. Maria Montessori believed in independence and freedom within limits, and a low-level shelf allows for the child to reach for toys, books, and articles to to his/her own free will.I originally wanted to get an IKEA Kallax but I found it beyond our budget. Good thing we came across this pulp board storage shelf in MUJI. It is of the perfect height, and it is made with pulp board which is in concurrence with Montessori tools being made of natural materials.
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| Here's Y playing with his wooden puzzles. See how easily he is able to reach the toys/books he wants to play with? |
Wooden, educational toys
Y has way too much toys for a 1-year-old, and I've decided to temporarily "purge out" his toys in this specific area. I wanted to create a space free from electronic toys so that he would find the area stimulating for discovery and imagination.
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| His bead maze and colorful stacker |
I arranged his wooden toys to have specific "areas" -letter blocks, free-play blocks (blocks of various shapes), wooden puzzles, and designated spaces for his bead maze, stacker, and screws (twist and turnables). Only a day in and he already picked up where to put his wooden puzzles back after using. :)
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| Wood puzzles, letter blocks, free-play blocks |
A Mini Library
This area was really intended to be dual-purpose. We've been collecting and buying books since Y was born and as of date, they have accumulated to a pretty good number. I liked that this shelf is non-restrictive, and I had the freedom to arrange his books to my liking.
My husband and I also found this really cool carpet puzzle mats which we found fitting to the learning environment.
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| Here's our growing Eric Carle collection! |
I got inspiration from from a lot Montessori moms and blogs on the internet, but here are the posts that helped me the most:
Remodelling our little space into a Montessori-inspired learning area/library wasn't so difficult, and it didn't cost us a lot. I'm very excited to post about our Montessori journey in the next few weeks!
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message over my Facebook account: http://www.facebook.com/TheUnicornMama
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