Montessori Toddler Room
Calvin has officially moved from his nursery to his "big boy room"! My dad made the room for him in May. It was a completely unfinished space before (didn't even have insulation or drywall), and it was a lot of fun creating the space with Calvin in mind. After the construction was done, I had the fun of completely furnishing and decorating the room. I have tried to set up the room to promote independence.
Within the past few months, Calvin has been spending an increasing amount of time in the room playing and reading. Last weekend he slept in the room for the first time!
Here's a little tour of his new toddler room!
Calvin's dressing area: This chair is located near Calvin's closet. In the morning we choose his clothes, and then he sits in the chair as I help him get dressed. Every morning is different. Sometimes Calvin spends five minutes trying to put on his own socks. Sometimes he screams when I try to put his shirt on him because he wants to put it back on the hanger. Often, though, he helps pull up his pants and sticks out his feet for me to put his socks and shoes on. The morning routine has been pretty rough the past few weeks, and dressing always seems to be the hardest part, but I hope that with consistency it will get easier soon!
Calvin's care of self station: I saw this mirror from Ikea and immediately thought it would make the perfect care of self station! For now, it contains Calvin's hair brush and a tray of tissues. He also has a tiny waste basket, which is actually a little planter that I also bought at Ikea. Calvin enjoys using these care of self activities as well as participating in other aspects of his care in the bathroom. Care of self is fundamental to helping a child achieve independence. Calvin always hated having his nose wiped, but when I showed him how to blow his own nose he loved it! He would use all the tissues I put out and literally beg for more. I was amazed at how quickly he became proficient at blowing his nose. A prime example of the Montessori motto "help me to do it myself!"
Calvin's floor bed: same bed with a couple changes. We are now offering Calvin a toddler pillow. He doesn't really use it yet. He snuggles into it when he's awake, and I think I have seen him actually sleeping on it once. We still use the sleep sack because Calvin really likes it, and we are a little bit concerned about him kicking a blanket off and not staying warm enough at night. Way back when Calvin was beginning to crawl I was concerned about a sleep sack limiting his mobility, but Calvin has no problem crawling and walking while wearing the sleep sack.
Calvin's work shelf: I bought the same shelf as we have in the nursery (Childcraft), just a taller version. The nursery shelf is 20" tall and this one is 27".
Currently on his shelf at 16 months:
A play silk, which he currently loves to put over his head and run around the house with
Stacking rings
Peg board (Haba palette of pegs, I have removed the rings for now)
Stringing
A basket of balls
Coin Box
Hammer balls
Then there's Calvin's basketball hoop, which I have mixed feelings about. It is a giant piece of plastic and, I feel, a bit of an eyesore. However, it is a great gross motor opportunity, and Calvin absolutely loves it. My husband and Calvin play basketball with it several times a week. I have also put a few seasonal books on top of the shelf.
I also installed a shelf for Calvin's Schleich animals. Calvin loves them (especially the dogs), and I think they are beautiful enough to have their own display shelf!
Calvin's work table: This is the Ikea Latt table. It is still a little bit high for Calvin. I considered shortening the legs of the chair and table, but he manages them fine and will grow into them soon enough, so I decided to leave them as is. I also put a small gallery of important people above the table. In my last post I mentioned that Calvin loves to point to things and have me name them. Since I put these pictures up, Calvin has been pointing to the people in the pictures for me to name them.
Calvin's reading nook: This is my favorite part of Calvin's new room! The space had some awkward rafters that made this corner functional as neither part of the room nor a closet, so my dad had the idea of making it into a reading nook. He made the nook the size of a twin mattress, so this is just a mattress with a futon cover that I bought. He also made a little shelf at the end, which is perfect for a few of Calvin's books.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Calvin's Montessori toddler room!
Within the past few months, Calvin has been spending an increasing amount of time in the room playing and reading. Last weekend he slept in the room for the first time!
Here's a little tour of his new toddler room!
Calvin's toddler wardrobe: This is an Ikea Kallax unit that I modified using a hack I saw on Of The Moon and several other Montessori blogs. Four drawers on the left and I left the shelf off the right side and instead installed a tension rod for a toddler-height closet rod! To start, I am just putting out two shirts for Calvin to choose from each day. One drawer is for socks and underwear, one for gloves, hats, and swim suit (we do swim lessons year round), one for pants (two choices each day), and one for pajamas. The remainder of his clothes are either hanging on the adult-height closet rod or are in baskets in the top of the closet. As Calvin becomes more proficient at choosing his clothes and more independent at dressing himself, we will begin to offer him more choices.
Calvin's care of self station: I saw this mirror from Ikea and immediately thought it would make the perfect care of self station! For now, it contains Calvin's hair brush and a tray of tissues. He also has a tiny waste basket, which is actually a little planter that I also bought at Ikea. Calvin enjoys using these care of self activities as well as participating in other aspects of his care in the bathroom. Care of self is fundamental to helping a child achieve independence. Calvin always hated having his nose wiped, but when I showed him how to blow his own nose he loved it! He would use all the tissues I put out and literally beg for more. I was amazed at how quickly he became proficient at blowing his nose. A prime example of the Montessori motto "help me to do it myself!"
Calvin's floor bed: same bed with a couple changes. We are now offering Calvin a toddler pillow. He doesn't really use it yet. He snuggles into it when he's awake, and I think I have seen him actually sleeping on it once. We still use the sleep sack because Calvin really likes it, and we are a little bit concerned about him kicking a blanket off and not staying warm enough at night. Way back when Calvin was beginning to crawl I was concerned about a sleep sack limiting his mobility, but Calvin has no problem crawling and walking while wearing the sleep sack.
Calvin's work shelf: I bought the same shelf as we have in the nursery (Childcraft), just a taller version. The nursery shelf is 20" tall and this one is 27".
Currently on his shelf at 16 months:
A play silk, which he currently loves to put over his head and run around the house with
Stacking rings
Peg board (Haba palette of pegs, I have removed the rings for now)
Stringing
A basket of balls
Coin Box
Hammer balls
Then there's Calvin's basketball hoop, which I have mixed feelings about. It is a giant piece of plastic and, I feel, a bit of an eyesore. However, it is a great gross motor opportunity, and Calvin absolutely loves it. My husband and Calvin play basketball with it several times a week. I have also put a few seasonal books on top of the shelf.
I also installed a shelf for Calvin's Schleich animals. Calvin loves them (especially the dogs), and I think they are beautiful enough to have their own display shelf!
Calvin's work table: This is the Ikea Latt table. It is still a little bit high for Calvin. I considered shortening the legs of the chair and table, but he manages them fine and will grow into them soon enough, so I decided to leave them as is. I also put a small gallery of important people above the table. In my last post I mentioned that Calvin loves to point to things and have me name them. Since I put these pictures up, Calvin has been pointing to the people in the pictures for me to name them.
Calvin's reading nook: This is my favorite part of Calvin's new room! The space had some awkward rafters that made this corner functional as neither part of the room nor a closet, so my dad had the idea of making it into a reading nook. He made the nook the size of a twin mattress, so this is just a mattress with a futon cover that I bought. He also made a little shelf at the end, which is perfect for a few of Calvin's books.
I hope you enjoyed this little tour of Calvin's Montessori toddler room!
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