transforming the traditional nursery into a more kid friendly room your child will love
So now that you may have a little more confidence in transitioning your little sweet pea from a crib to bed sooner rather than later let’s talk room set up…
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| {image via Pinterest} |
I’m a big fan of Maria Montessori’s vision for a child’s room which you may have figured out by now. In a nut shell, it’s basically about putting everything on your child’s level. Is it very convenient for even my short, little self? Absolutely not. But why should it be? It’s not my room. Connor deserves to have a safe, easily accessible room to occupy just as much as I do.
So here’s how I made that happen:
1. Crib – GONE! Mattress on the floor.
2. Changing table- GONE! We said adios to that a long time ago. We change Connor’s diaps downstairs anyway so there was no need for it. I’m so glad we never decided to buy one specifically for that purpose. We had originally just used a desk we had in the spare room.
3. Low Shelving - A while back while we were redo-ing our kitchen we took cabinets down. I reused those as shelves for C’s room. Just cleaned ‘em up and laid them on their sides. REUSE, REUSE,REUSE!
4. Pictures hung at C’s eye level- Notice all those UNC prints? Yeah, my husband is fanatical about the Tarheels. I plan to keep an eye out for some more kid friendly, colorful prints to replace those. As well as hanging his artwork as he makes it.
5. Low Mirror – This is Connor’s fave. He sticks his tongue out at himself and kisses himself! It was hanging on the back of our bedroom door when we moved in but we never used it. (We already had a self standing one)So it found a new, more useful home across the hall.
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We still have some left over chalkboard paint from our chalkboard wall project in the kitchen so I’m considering finding a spot to make one in his room at some point as well. I’m also on a hunt for a comfier rug & table and chairs like the ones in the pic below too! Remember to look back at tips for making the nursery safe here.
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| {image via Pinterest} |
Onto the reasons why this mini sized room is going to benefit Connor in the long run:
Having a low bed presents Connor with the respect of having his own space. He is able to wake up and fall asleep on his own time with the opportunity to explore if so desired.
Think about it like this… Do you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow? Inmost cases no and neither will your child. Yet we expect them to? No way, it’s hard to do!
Letting them have their own space provides them with the opportunity to fine tune their own sleep routines and patterns. Maybe it’s play for 5-10 minutes, crawl back to the bed and sleep. Or read a few books,play with stuffed animals, you get the idea… Just like some of us big people read or watch tv. In due time, Connor will master this new found freedom and he’ll be free to wake up, crawl off to his toys, concentrate on his play and let me sleep in a little longer! (Did I sell you on it right then and there?)
The idea is let Connor develop to his full potential through freedom to experience his environment and gain knowledge from it while learning to be at ease alone.Of course, on the flip side of that, I also reassure him that I am always close if he lets me know he’s done playing aka crying.
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buckwheat waffles {vegan + gluten free}
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my mother’s day
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i had it coming. my daughter hates sleeping…
{DIY} faux roman shade – no sewing required!
{recipe} ayurvedic curry powder
Hi, I just found your blog and love it! I practice AP parenting because it’s what feels right/natural to me. I’m inspired by this post to rearrange my older boy’s room (I have 2 boys, 4 years old and 18 months old.) I just redid their play space and without thinking it follows montessori philosophy. The boys love it and easily play/look at books in this new space. Thank you for sharing your redesign
Kristen, I’m so glad you found me!:) I was just telling my husband the other night that I thought the redesign was one of the best things we’ve done so far. He loves being in his room and you can see the confidence and excitement in his eyes since he’s now able to get to everything! It makes a HUGE difference in their self confidence, I think! You should go for it:) Keep me posted!
I just found your blog as well (via bloglovin’). I love this idea. I definitely want to reorganize my son’s room now! He doesn’t sleep in there yet, but I’d love it set up like this when we transition! Great blog, definitely my style! : )
Amy, I’m glad you found me! I’ll have to check out yours as well.
I LOVE having Connor’s room this way and so does he. It really made a huge difference in the way he plays in it now.