Turn your playroom into a Montessori-inspired area free from clutter and full of organization!
Order and Child Development
As we’ve said many times before, Maria Montessori believed in consistency, organization, and order. The developing child thrives in an environment that is prepared, orderly and organized. The child is free to explore his or her environment with confidence and has the freedom to experiment in order to gain new skills. These concepts don’t have to end in the classroom, however. No matter what type of playroom you have in your home, following a Montessori philosophy can help create an organized play space that is exciting for your child and easy on your eyes!
Declutter with Montessori
A Montessori approach to your child’s playroom creates an environment for success! First, it is important to limit the number of toys available in the playroom. Children, similar to adults, can become overwhelmed with too many options. Free your child from this potential anxiety and give limited choices. This has the added benefit of fostering independence as your child is free to choose which toy to play with at any time. In addition, the child is able to explore every aspect of the toy, which allows for him or her to find new and creative ways to manipulate and use the toy. If you already have many toys, consider donating ones that aren’t used or, utilize our next option, rotation, to keep the toys interesting and engaging! Rotating the toys available every 1-3 months keeps activities interesting without you feeling like you need more toys to keep your child interested. Next, try and arrange the playroom so that every toy is at your child’s eye level. When preparing your playroom, see the room through a child’s eyes. Is your child able to reach every toy? Can your child see each piece of the toy to use it to its fullest? Can your child pick up and use the toy on his or her own, without your assistance? To keep toys accessible, consider giving every toy a home in the playroom. This has the added benefit of creating a consistent, orderly playroom. The energy of your child mimics the energy of the room. How can you expect your child to be cool, calm, and collected in a room that is chaotic, wild, and unpredictable?
An organized playroom helps YOU too…with cleaning! If the child knows exactly what to expect, it is easy for him or her to help clean, and even clean up toys without your assistance. To create a consistent playtime routine, consider including clean up as part of the experience. Give your child fair and accurate timelines for play time. Give a 5 minute warning when play time will be over and stick to it! Guide the transition from play time to another activity through a dedicated clean up time. This helps ease transition and allows your child to prepare for the next task ahead.
Don’t forget, an organized play area starts with YOU. An organized adult creates organized play spaces and organized children. When you are organized and have your own routine, you can easily create prepared environments even in the playroom!