L moved into her toddler bedroom last week! I was expecting some tears in the middle of the night, or at least when she woke up in the new room in the morning, but L transitioned like a champ. She helped me move over her books and clothes the day before, and she spent a few nights “helping” her daddy measure the new room for her furniture, so she was already accustomed to the new space.
As in her infant room, EVERYTHING in L’s toddler room is completely secured to the walls for safety purposes. She spends a lot of time in there freely mobile and unsupervised, so it is important that she can’t get hurt. If you are going to provide an environment where a toddler can grow her independence, it absolutely needs to be a safe one. This room has a small closet that we decided to use instead of a dresser. We took off the closet door for easier access. We put in a low-hanging clothes rod for hanging clothes, and my husband built adjustable shelving for the top half of the closet. There is also a bin in the bottom full of socks that L can get by herself. When she is toilet-training, there will also be a bin full of underwear down there. The hamper is to the left, and she is able to reach it and put her dirty clothes in all by herself.
Right next to her closet is L’s grooming station. We hung a mirror at her height so she can see her face. Below the mirror is a shelf my husband made since I’m too picky to choose things from stores like regular people. We keep a comb on the shelf so L can brush her own hair and a burp cloth so she can wipe drool/boogers while looking in the mirror. Underneath the shelf are a series of hooks. Each night, I hang the next day’s clothes there for L to bring to the bathroom. I tried giving her a choice of two shirts at first, but instead of choosing she just brought them both to the bathroom. Luckily for me, she is not yet very particular about what she wears! When L begins to care about which outfit she wants to wear, I’ll start hanging up two choices again.
On the way to the bathroom, we put a reading nook. There is a soft chair that is just L’s size across from a bookcase that is a husband-made replica of the bookcase in her infant room. Books are placed laying flat, so she can see what each one is before she chooses it. This reading nook is convenient for when L is spending some time alone in her room (when I hop in the shower!), as well as for our bedtime routine. The door to her bathroom is right next to her reading nook. At night, we change for bed and then come to the reading nook to read a bedtime story. After the story, L puts the book back on the bookshelf and walks to her bed. She likes to sit on daddy’s lap on the edge of the bed while he sings a bedtime song . Then she climbs into bed, he tucks her in, and leaves the room.
As in her infant room, L’s bed is a twin mattress on the floor. She is able to get into and out of it by herself. She does not sleep with a pillow, since she still sleeps on her stomach. We have low-hanging artwork on the wall so she can actually see it. I made silhouettes of some of her favorite animals — it’s more abstract than the animal pictures in her infant room, but still recognizable enough for us to discuss them.I was very pleased with how easily L transitioned into her toddler bedroom. I had wanted to do it in August so we would have a couple of months before the arrival of Baby #2 for L to get used to the room, and she has adjusted beautifully already.
Reblogged this on Br Andrew's Muses and commented:
1 year old, 2 year old, Daily Living, Kids, Montessori Environment, Toddler
I have heard a lot about this system which came into vogue after our own children had been through the regular schooling system
How old was your daughter when you moved her in there? My son will be nearly two when his brother or sister comes along and we’re thinking of doing this for his room but I worry he’ll be too young to be in a bed (he’s still in his crib). I guess I worry that he’ll open his door and wander around the house in the middle of the night haha
She was one and a half, but she has always slept on a mattress on the floor. If you’re worried about him leaving the room, you can put a baby gate up across his doorway.
Good point. My neice has also always slept on a mattress so I’v seen it work well for them (for the most part). He’s 15 months now so we’re thinking in the next few months.
The room looks beautiful!
These are great ideas for independence and exploration. Nice job!
Oh this is lovely! So well thought out. I love how the art work is her eye height. This is so much better than the majority of kids rooms I see that seem to be more designed to the adults taste than practically for the child. Wonderful. Thanks for the ideas too 🙂
Well done, it’s beautiful
I just read this and I can’t wait to set it up for my baby girl now almost 2!
Perfect timing! 😊
I love this! I actually used to teach at a Montessori school and I love everything about it. How old was your daughter when you moved her to this room? Great read! Gives me lots of inspiration!
She was 18 months, but her infant room was similar: https://momtessorilife.com/2015/06/10/montessori-infant-bedroom/
How did you secure them to the wall? I’ve thought about using hook & loop, like a Velcro type system, like I have for items I’ve hung higher up. However, I was curious if you had a special way you did it.
You can buy child safety straps to connect furniture to the wall — like this: https://www.safety1st.com/home-safety/furniture-wall-straps-white-110140500.html
I think we bought them at Target or Home Depot.
The pictures on the wall are hung using 3M velcro strips.
Thank you! That is what I was thinking of using. We’ve used them on heavy items to help add security so they wouldn’t shift on a hook. I appreciate your response!
Where did you find that fantastic bean bag chair?
Target!