apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

As a Montessori parent, I am so loving this room. We are about to move with our 9 year old, who is about to start public school (her first time out of a Montessori environment) and our twin toddlers, so this is real inspiration for how we might incorporate some Montessori elements into our new place.

Cat

It is a lovely space. Congratulations.

I would love to here more about Montessori parenting, and how it relates to decorating!! I do adore the room :-)

I can't believe how much I love this room.

My son's bed is also on the floor, for many of the same reasons as above.

I love it. Thanks for sharing.



http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

Seeing this room makes me want to completely re-decorate my sons brightly colored, plastic toys filled room! It seems so calm and peaceful.

Oh, good. I saw Meg's post earlier and thought, "This should be on ohdeedoh."

I love the birds!

http://pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com/

Really beautiful, indeed. Magazine picture beautiful. And clearly made for Meg's first child. I would like to see this room again in 2 years on a normal day.

I loved reading all about the philosophy behind all the elements. Very cool.

Whilst I think this room is a beautiful space to look at, I wonder how much of it really does cater for a growing child rather than it's lifestyle conscious parents. Like a previous poster suggested, I would love to see the room photographed again once Finn is here and has experienced a couple of Christmases and birthdays - would the room be just as serene? (and should it be?)

Fiona, mummy to Ruairi aged 18 months

and I meant to say "its" - sorry for the bad grammar!

Fiona, I noticed the many comments that had to do with "we'll be doing this..." or "Finn will choose from two or three outfits that I set out for him..." I suspect that real, actual parenting will be somewhat...different than she has in mind.

But if she can stay flexible and re-think her assumptions, rather than blame the baby for all the chaos, she'll get through it just fine.

After all, we were all that not-quite-a-parent-yet pregnant lady, with our own visions of what parenting would be like. There's no way you can learn until it actually happens to you.

When I looked at this room for the first time I thought how lovely it was...but also how it doesn't seem like a kid actually lives in that room. I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Those prints on the bookcase? Those would be pulled off every day and on the floor. We have a similar rocking chair. My 1 year old loved to stand it in backwards and rock back and forth. Fast. I allow her to play alone in her room, so I had to turn it around and pushed it close to the wall (I use it at night to nurse her to sleep). The lovely desk and chair- that would make a great place to stand and jump from (as would that perfectly tucked bed). The mirror at that height? Yeah right.

While indeed lovely, I agree with the other posters. Show me this room again in 2 years (or even 1 for that matter).

Wrenx,

You're absolutely right! Ruairi's pre-arrival room was fairly tasteful and I had wanted to implement a no-plastic-all-wooden-toys rule but alas, I have come to realise that children however small have their own taste, which seems to err towards all things tacky ;-)

Laughed at the post above this - you're so right about the mini-gym appeal of most furniture!

Fiona

Although she may be a first time parent, she's also a Montessori teacher with loads of experience. I mean, what has worked in her classroom (even one in rural Mexico!) should have no problem being implemented at home.

I actually think it is very important to carry the elements of a learning philosophy that you believe in at a consistent rate. Finn is one very lucky little guy.

Although it has not been possible for me to completely ban plastic and garbage toys from our house, I would love to do just that. I admire someone whose family actually respects their wishes.

I think some of you may underestimate Meg, she'll be a brilliant example of a Montessori parent. Her blog gives you a real sense of her calm and serene presence, and the ways she has incorporated the different themes into her classrooms. This isn't something she's just 'trying out' - it's a way of life - and I would wager that in 2 years time, the room will still be the same peaceful space without an overload of plastic toys.

Hi all,

I realize that not everybody is familiar with the Montessori approach, and I wrote another post explaining a bit more about it here for those of you who are interested: http://sewliberated.typepad.com/sew_liberated/2009/04/follow-the-child.html.

Having taught young children for many years, I can tell you that the Montessori classroom is neither cluttered nor chaotic. As for your questions about toys, I believe this is a problem only in more affluent societies. Where I was teaching in rural Mexico, an overabundance of toys was not an issue. The children had less but treated what they had with more respect and care. Limiting the toys available at any given time and rotating them out according to the child's own choice and preferences is a tried and true Montessori tenet, and I know many families who do this with complete success.

As for the mini-gym appeal of the furniture, again ... children in my school never jumped off of child-sized furniture. They had a great amount of respect for their learning environment, being responsible for dusting, washing, and in general caring for it - mistreating it never occurred to them. I never had to say "don't jump off the furniture because it's not allowed." However, if it came to that, I would have had to set down a firm limit and consequences for the child's own safety. As for the rest of your concerns over safety - all of the mirrors and the frames are bolted to the walls, with the exception of the little owl print which will change location before he can grab at it.

Warmly,
Meg

Hi Meg,

I wanted to post again to say that I truly do think you have created a beautiful room. I am also a teacher and know only too well the benefits of calm, peaceful and ordered spaces for children to grow, develop and learn (and as an adult, I appreciate how much I need them too).

I hope you and your wee family enjoy the space you have created,

Fiona

This room is absolutely stunning, down to every last detail. No matter if the room ends up a bit cluttered when a real child arrives to live in it (although I doubt it will get too messy since Montessori kids are usually instinctive about putting their things away and respecting them), it will still retain an air of order and thoughtfulness because these are obviously the motivations with which the room was created.

As a Montessori parent myself, I acknowledge that some of us can get a little carried away with wanting a beautiful and inspiring environment for our (and all) kids, free of clutter and plastic, full of opportunities for hands-on experience and personal responsibility. But if that's our worst mistake, we're doing ok, right? :)

The room is beautiful, but to me it is so 'done' that there's no room for the child's own personality to emerge. This is a very serene and peaceful - and adult - sanctuary. And it's so fully decorated, that I wonder how the child will develop his own knowledge of the world....

If this is what Montessori is about, then I'm not really a fan. I had always been told (by Montessori parents) that Montessori was very much about self-education and about self-awareness, but in order to develop that self-awareness, there needs to be space - creative space and room for that to happen.

I'm all into lower consumption; I also fully support having children explore the world for themselves. And that means that there will be some 'mess' - because my definition of 'mess' is often my child's definition of exploring the world and playing with ideas. Where I see mess, my two children often have different imaginary worlds on the go and they can explain every aspect of those worlds to me. It is, after all, their space - to shape and develop and create as they like.

Do they jump or climb on the furniture? No. Do they put stuff - ie books, pillows, duvets, lego, benches - all over the floors? Absolutely - and those things can form caves, houses, traps, spy offices, coffee shops (this morning's adventure), stores, etc.

That said, it's a beautiful space; it's just not a space that would work at all for my two children.

As a Montessori parent, I see this room as very realistic. The room will grow and change along with Finnian as he grows, but it will not become more chaotic or cluttered.

My kids are both very creative, and sometimes at home don't put everything away promptly in true Montessori form, but their rooms are always comparatively tidy. And let me assure the doubters, especially wc_canuck, that Montessori helps foster creativity, not limit it. Just because my 5 year-olds room is tidy doesn't mean that she doesn't play intensely there. I find that having a "blank canvas", a tidy room, actually encourages creativity.

Fair enough, mschatelaine...I was also the kid in school with the messiest desk but the highest grades and went on to become a professional classical musician, so perhaps my children's 'spreading' tendencies are genetic ;-) ?

I can't think well in a room that's too blank. I need to be able to create a nest for myself...That said, my kids are asked to clean their space on a weekly basis...and within five minutes they've launched into another adventure that invariably involves pillows, duvets and many blocks.

Congratulations on creating a beautiful space, and welcoming your first! Hooray! I am excited to learn more about montessori methods--I like the openness and respect they seem to nurture.

Love this room. I also made these fabric birds... but I have yet to find a nice birch branch to hang them on. It is so practical to have the bed on the floor... very Asian. Thanks for sharing this lovely space.

Are the Montessori methods and co-sleeping compatible? Not even just co-sleeping, but room sharing ... my child doesn't have her own room.

A Montessori child stepping in. I'm 30. My mom was trained in the Montessori way, taught and then was the Administrator of my k-8th grade Montessori school and I can tell you that it did not always translate at home! :) At school we were encouraged to seek out our own work, but we weren't left to lag behind the rest of the class. I for one hated to read, but was encouraged by my teachers until I could read on my own. It's hard to understand Montessori just by looking at a child's bedroom. I would look at this room and say "Asian inspired" because of my own particular worldview. But looking closer at the low tables and chairs and the mirrors hung at a toddler's eye level, I can see it. I would encourage you to seek out resources in your own area to learn more about Montessori. Visit two schools at least as each school is unique.

The most important thing that I carry with me is that Maria Montessori brought education to all children because she knew that any child could learn. Before she pushed for this, children in very poor neighborhoods were not educated in her part of the world because they were assumed to be not as intelligent. In the same way, let us all realize that whether we have a fully stocked playroom or a high tech nursery, you moms and dads are the ones that make the difference. Station in life or access to the "hundred board" or the binomial cube does not determine your child's success (are you with me Montessori peeps?). Encourage your child's dreams, let them make mistakes, and watch them thrive in any environment.