How I Prepared My Child’s Play Area as a Montessori Beginner Parent
As the title of this post suggests, I’m still very much a beginner in my Montessori journey. I’ve never undergone any formal AMI training, and all the knowledge I’m applying is just based on my learnings from books and other credible sources such as Montessori accounts and the likes. So from one learning parent to another, here are my go-to tips I’ve applied when I was redesigning my child’s play area.
1. Observe your child. As the common phrase of the Montessori goes, it is always to ‘follow the child’. And you can’t really follow your child’s lead in whatever sensitive period* they’re at if you don’t begin with the very basic task of observing your child. Oftentimes we get too caught up with the day-to-day tasks that we tend to forget being present and in the moment of what our child is doing. But we will never be able to curate our so-called ‘Montessori’ shelves with the ‘right’ kind of toys/activities if we don’t take into consideration where our child is at with the learning pace he/she desires.
2. Repurpose the materials that can be found at home. There’s a lot of stigma out there of how Montessori is all about beautiful toy shelves that could cost a mint to set up. And I’m one of the majority that doesn’t necessarily have the means to provide all of those toys (I don’t even have a proper Montessori shelf!). What I do is simply mix and match from the available materials we have at home, work with what I have, and be creative with whatever I can mix it up with. I also scrounge all sorts of avenues (such as Facebook marketplace/groups and Carousel) for second-hand Montessori toys. But honestly, even with our best intentions and means, sometimes our everyday household materials are already enough for our child to play and learn with.
3. We learn by trial and error. As much of an effort it is to try to meet where our kid’s interests are, sometimes, whatever activity we set up for them to work, may not necessarily draw their attention for long. And that’s okay. I feel that we as parents are entitled to such ‘errors’. But the mere fact that we’re continuously trying to learn and is willing to learn about our child and to meet where he is at developmentally wise, and when we try to cater to where his interests lie, ultimately, we will figure things out and be able to nurture such love for learning in our kids.
4. Keep it simple and minimal. Sometimes, as adults when faced with too many things/mess at once, we tend to lose our cool and concentration. We get sidetracked and whatnot. How much more for a toddler who’s just learning about the world around them. Hence, what we can do is to be mindful of the toys we bring out for our kids to play with. And this is what I love about Montessori shelves (aside from the beautiful shelves): the simplicity and minimalist feel in the toys being brought out. They’re supposed to be limited to a few handfuls of toys that they can play with even without help from us adults. Displayed with a designated ‘area’ and easy to reach even at their height. Then allow them to play with the toys for as long as they want while doing our best to
5. Switch things up. Studies have shown that displaying a few toys rather than keeping a huge basket of toys for them to dig things through encourages them to become more imaginative with the toys they can have access to. It also sparks a certain sense of novelty when we rotate some of their toys to be displayed on the shelves again. So make those subtle changes in the shelves when you observe that your child seems to pay less attention to the toys being displayed. And bring out the toys that you think are what would feed the learning stage they’re at. You can also be creative with the materials you display by using what you have at home. Again, these are the things that usually spark interest even with my own kid.
There you have it. My five tips to help you prepare your environment as a Montessori beginner parent. Again, I claim no absolute authority over such tips. I’m simply a parent who likes to share what has worked with me and my child in this philosophy I’ve come to highly respect.
But more than anything else, you, as the parent, are the most important environment for your child. So find ways to reparent better every day, and if you’ve happened to stumble in this blog post, know that you’re not alone in this quest to become better parents. Remember dear Mamas and Dadas: progress, not perfection. There’s no such thing as perfect parenting, but being mindful of where our child is at and respecting them, is what our child would appreciate from us above all. We’re in this together!
