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Montessori Inspiration for Parents and Teachers

Preparing a Montessori Baby Space in Your Living Room

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Preparing a Montessori Baby Space in Your Living RoomI prepared Montessori baby rooms for both of my now-adult children as babies. I also prepared a baby space in our living room for naps and playtime. You can see a photo of those spaces in my posts “My Top 3 Natural Parenting Principles” and “How to Set Up Your Home for an Infant by Using Montessori Principles.”

I always found the living room Montessori baby space to be a very important part of our Montessori home. Now I’ve prepared a Montessori baby space in our living room for my granddaughter, Zoey. Zoey is 6-months old, so she’s already had some changes in the toys available for her.

I take care of Zoey a few afternoons a week, so the living-room space is where Zoey plays (does her “work”) and takes naps. I have a laptop computer at a counter at the edge of the living room, so I’m able to both watch Zoey and do my work whenever Zoey takes her naps or when Zoey is busy with her own work. I follow the Montessori principle of not interrupting her when she’s concentrating (to help her develop and improve her ability to concentrate). I’m ready to read to Zoey or play with her whenever she indicates that she needs my attention.

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Items Often Found in a Montessori Baby Room:

  • a baby-proofed space that is safe for the baby to move and explore
  • a floor bed
  • a mobile above the floor bed
  • a mirror attached to the wall or a horizontal mirror (Note: In Montessori infant programs, the mirror isn’t placed by the floor bed to differentiate the sleeping area from the play area. We co-slept when our children were babies, so we only had the horizontal mirror by the floor bed that doubled as a play mat and nap mat. With limited space for my grandbabies, I’ve had a similar setup. It’s worked well and hasn’t interfered with my babies’ or grandbabies’ sleeping, but you’ll have to decide which works best for your baby space and your baby.)
  • low pictures on the walls
  • low shelves
  • child-sized furniture
  • natural materials wherever possible (You can see some of my favorite choices for Montessori baby toys in my post “Best Toys for Kids: Montessori Baby and Toddler Toys.”)
  • gate at the doorway so the door can be left open

For more resources and examples of Montessori baby rooms, see “How to Prepare a Montessori Baby Room.”

Preparing a Montessori Baby Space in Your Living Room

Montessori Baby Space in the Living Room
A Montessori baby space in the living room is obviously different from a complete Montessori baby room, although the spaces I’ve prepared have had many of the same items. I don’t have the usual low pictures on the walls because my living-room baby spaces have been in the middle of the room. I don’t worry about having the “perfect” Montessori baby space. I’ve used baby mobiles that I’ve gotten as gifts rather than buying or making the traditional Montessori baby mobiles. You can see how I put together the baby mobile for my granddaughter.

Spielgaben Mobile for Babies

Mobiles and Mirrors are Some of the Favorite Parts of Montessori Baby Spaces

I purchased a traditional twin-sized cotton futon and covered it with a fitted cotton sheet for the floor bed. When my children were babies, I used a toddler-sized futon for the floor bed. For my granddaughter, I decided to use a regular twin-sized futon, which can also be used as a yoga mat or guest bed. The floor bed doesn’t fit within the mirror, but I was able to place the futon right over the mirror base without any problems.

The baby table and chair (Montessori weaning table and chair) are in my dining room. I add a low shelf (tall shelf laid horizontally) for baby toys and sensory materials when the baby is mobile. Until the baby creeps or crawls, I keep toys and sensory materials in baskets right on the floor bed near the Whitney%20Brothers Vertical/Horizontal Mirror With Standhorizontal mirror.

I babyproof the entire room and close doors or use gates at stairs to keep the baby safe. I try to make as large of a babysafe space available for the baby as possible. I don’t use playpens, so I have to be sure the entire area is safe.

Our house has an open floor plan with combined dining room, kitchen, and living room. Once Zoey is mobile, her Montessori baby space will have three accessible areas:

  • our living room with her floor mat and mirror for play and naps and a long, low shelf for toys, practical life activities, and sensory materials
  • our kitchen, which will be babyproofed and have all cabinets locked except for a cabinet that will belong to Zoey
  • our dining room, which includes Zoey’s weaning table and chair
The Horizontal Baby Mirror - an Important Part of Our Montessori Baby Space

The Horizontal Baby Mirror – an Important Part of Our Montessori Baby Space

I’ve been very happy with our Montessori baby space, and Zoey loves it. It’s very adaptable, and I just watch to see which changes or additions Zoey needs as she grows and develops.

Preparing Montessori Spaces in Your Home

See “How to Create a Montessori-Friendly Home” for ideas for a number of levels. Here are some of my main home environment posts:

I’d love to hear how you’ve used Montessori ideas in your baby spaces! 🙂

The Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Year

This post is part of the Ultimate Guide to Baby’s First Year.

Ultimate Guide to Baby's First Year

Over 40 bloggers have gathered together to bring you advice, ideas, resources and more on everything you might need for your baby’s first year. Thank you to Dayna from Lemon Lime Adventures (landing page for the event) for organizing the event and working tirelessly to put it all together and to Nicolette Roux from Powerful Mothering for a tremendous amount of work in helping Dayna put everything for the week together.

Not only is this series full of amazing tips and resources that every parent can use, there are giveaways! See the Rafflecopter form below!!! Today’s post is part of the “Ultimate Guide to Baby Play Spaces, Nurseries and More.”

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Ultimate Guide to Baby Play Spaces, Nurseries and More

Ultimate Guide to Baby Play Spaces, Nurseries and More ~ Lemon Lime Adventures

Nursery Ideas

Owl Theme Nursery Ideas ~ Powerful Mothering

Nurseries on a budget — cute, stylish spaces that don’t break the bank ~ Peace but Not Quiet

The matress in the corner – La Cité des Vents

Sharing the master bedroom with Baby – The Colored Married Life

Why We Love NOT Having a Nursery ~ Let the Journey Begin

How to Decorate Your Nursery On a Tight Budget ~ Trust Me, I’m a Mom

Nursery Must Haves & Decorating Tips ~  Makeovers & Motherhood

Preparing Montessori Spaces in Your Home

See “How to Create a Montessori-Friendly Home” for ideas for a number of levels. Here are some of my main home environment posts here:

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Comments

  1. Betsy says

    What a great space for baby! We tried to make our home baby-friendly so that there were no issues regardless of the room we were in. I loved having a mattress on the floor 🙂

    Reply

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