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A child focused on sorting objects by size using Montessori pink tower cubes.

Montessori Environment at Home: How to Design a Montessori Bedroom for Your Toddler

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Just like a meticulously designed Montessori classroom can encourage order, independence and self-motivation, so too can a carefully crafted Montessori bedroom. Bringing the Montessori environment into your home not only cultivates your child’s confidence but also serves as a bridge to what your toddler learns at school.

Here are some ways that you can implement Montessori principles into your toddler’s bedroom to create a Montessori environment at home:

Get a floor bed.

A floor bed provides children with the ultimate form of independence. It allows him to easily climb in and out of bed without any extra help from his parents. This gives the child much more control over himself.

Provide low storage space.

Make sure that your child’s belongings – toys and clothes – are within their reach. An easy way to do this is to set up low shelves or cubbies in the room to make their toys accessible and baskets to place books within arm’s reach. You can also install a lower rod in the closet so that your child can choose her own clothes.  Being able to do this empowers the child by allowing her to make her own decisions.

Supply child-sized furniture.

By adding a tiny table and chair, you can create a toddler-friendly work space, yet another way to foster your child’s ability to self-motivate. To make the environment even more appealing to a toddler, try adding a cozy beanbag chair or a tiny rocking chair. Either one would serve as the perfect place for your little one to settle down with his favorite storybook.

Keep it simple.

A Montessori space encourages simplicity and order. You can de-clutter by putting any excess toys or furniture in storage.

Decorate with low-hanging paintings.

This again goes back to the whole concept of scaling things down so that they are at your child’s level. By hanging paintings at a lower level, you give your child the ability to explore and interact with her environment. Hanging the paintings at eye level also give your child the chance to truly appreciate the artwork.

Add a mirror.

Children love looking at themselves and admiring their own clothing selections and a mirror enables them to do this. By hanging a child-height mirror in the room, you also promote self-care as it allows children to look at themselves as they get dressed and brush their hair.

Our Environment

At Silverline Montessori School, we provide our students with a carefully planned Montessori environment that includes a wide variety of Montessori materials. Our classrooms are designed specifically to promote creativity, imagination, independence, and self-awareness.

 

 

Children participating in outdoor activities, learning about nature in a Montessori garden.

The Role of Guides in Montessori Schools

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In a Montessori classroom, teachers play a unique but important role. We refer to our teachers as guides because they do more than just teach. Montessori guides do not stand at the front of the classroom reciting facts to the entire group of students. Instead, they migrate around the classroom, observing and interacting with students individually. Our guides at Silverline Montessori are specially-trained to detect what each child needs in order to reach their full potential.

Creating the Perfect Learning Environment

One of the roles of Montessori guides is to ensure that their classroom is properly organized with specially designed learning materials that are accessible to children at all times.  Montessori materials are interrelated and follow a sequential order.  Guides serve as a link between the environment and their students. Through observing their students, a guide learns which materials a child is ready to be presented so that students are constantly challenged.  A guide also makes sure that the classroom is neat and everything is in order. This sense of order is important because it establishes consistency and independence, as children are able to find learning materials on their own.

Helping Children Discover Their Strengths

Since Montessori guides typically stay with children for multiple years, they are able to form a connection with their students and an understanding of each child’s strengths and weaknesses. This allows them to create a daily lesson plan for each child. This lesson is brief and given individually or to a small group of children, rather than the class as a whole. Instead of telling a child what to do, the guide shows a child how to use a specific material and what can be done with it. The guide will then step back and let the child take control of their own learning. If a child has a question, the guide asks them how they would solve the problem, allowing the child to develop critical thinking skills and creativity.

Establishing Trust

In order for a child to reach their full potential, they must feel comfortable in their learning environment. This is why Montessori guides aim to establish a trusting environment where children feel free to be themselves. Guides will never criticize a child’s work or scold a child for not doing their work properly. Additionally, guides will not reward a child for good work, as a Montessori education seeks to establish an intrinsic love of learning. Because a child is not being judged, they begin to trust their guide and feel more at ease doing their work.

Serving as a Role Model

Students view their guides as role models and mimic their behavior. Guides practice what they preach by displaying important character traits, such as respect towards others and offering assistance to those who need help. When a guide is helping a younger child, other children observe this and begin to model their behavior after their guide. This encourages them to help other children with their tasks, which strengthens their confidence, as they feel a sense of pride that they have accomplished something meaningful.