This has been such a hard task! We moved 2 months ago and I just found the almost best way to organize Pinky’s bedroom. Oh well, she has way too many stuffs!
I love the point behind the Montessori method: beauty, to follow the child’s interests, child friendly environment, simplicity, etc. However, it is hard to find a Montessori bedroom example for older kids!
If you follow Pinterest, (if you don’t…you are missing wonderful ideas and more stress into your life!) you can find plenty of Montessori bedrooms or Montessori-inspired bedrooms for infants and toddlers. But, what about preschoolers, and bigger kids that are very brain washed with princesses, fairies, My little pony (OMG! we are in this stage right now), Dora, Hello Kitty, etc? I bet, you got the idea that I have a girl at home!
Well, now you understand why it is so hard for me to organize Pinky’s things. Did I day she has too many stuffs? My fault!
Since, I couldn’t find any example to follow (If you have any, let me know PLEASE!!!)….here is my attempt again!….(here is our first post about the same issue when Pinky was a preschooler) to incorporate the Montessori ideas into our brain washed space:
This is Pinky’s bedroom seen from the door. It is her bedroom and playroom since we live in a 2 bedroom apartment, yet.
I tried my very best fitting all her things as organized and available for a kid as I could!
As you can see, bookshelves are a great way to displace toys. We don’t rotate them because of the lack of storage available, so all her toys are always on sight. Actually (as a 5 years old), she is in love with all miniature houses, toys, ponies, princesses, ponies, animals, cars, ponies, etc. Everything tiny and small!!!
Behind the door, we have her bed. It is a wood twin bed, not a floor bed like the one you always see related to a Montessori room. The reasons are:
- I didn’t get to know about the Montessori method until Pinky was around 18 months old.
- We bought a regular crib (well, it was a gift!) that we could change into a toddler bed.
- Pinky really never liked her crib/toddler bed, so we were co-sleeping until almost her first 2 years of life.
- Finally she got to use her “big girl” bedroom and toddler bed until her 3 birthday when she was outgrowing her bed.
- Mommy found a great deal $20 for this kind of vintage wood twin bed. Mattress was bought new with the money the store gave me for my I-didn’t-know-my-baby-crib-had-a-recall!
There you have our bed story…..let me tell you that Pinky loves it and the bed height is suitable.
The decals on the wall are from her 3 birthday Tinker bell and fairies obsession love.
She doesn’t want to get rid of them and I just, well, followed my child’s desire! At the end of the day, it’s her bedroom, yes?
Besides the bed there’s a night table holding books (in need of some TLC!), and a bookshelf holding her houses. (Did I say she loves all mini toys?)
Frames. Pictures from her 2 past schools, a dance writing, and a drawing made by her best friend with their photo.
Her Princesses/Barbie’s house.
Toy box holding pretty much every thing that doesn’t have a place like her market/kitchen stuffs, musical instruments, balls, etc.
The basket contains level books she can read by herself.
The night table holds mini dollies in the first drawer and all the toy houses parts in the second drawer.
The two green baskets are theme/seasonal books. Right now we have books about community helpers inside one and books about going back to school in the other.
Next to the night table, there is another bookshelf with baskets for toys by themes like: cars, pets, ocean, pond, farm, mixed-up toys.
The 2 big purple baskets contains fruits, vegetables and food for her toy kitchen.
The chest contains Pinky’s clothes. I still need to print-out a few labels I made for her in order to know what’s in each drawer.
As you can see, she also has princesses decals.
Got to love little girly girls!!!
Then, there’s a small table/desk which I had to put another house (it was a gift from a family friend and Pinky uses to complete her pretend “Ponyville”.)
Next, is her toy kitchen which sincerely I don’t know why I keep it. She doesn’t use it anymore that much. We will keep it for a bit longer and see if she gets another pretend cooking sensorial period or something like that!
On the wall you can see our bows frame holder. I made it with a piece of wood, a recycled receiving baby blanket and ribbons using my glue gun. It’s amazing!
It saves time in the morning!!!
Next to the toy kitchen and behind the closet door, we have the puppet theater and puppet’s basket.
Just like the kitchen, I am holding into this one for a few more months and see if she gets her attention into it again.
We also, double use it as our market counter.
Behind the closet door we have a shoe holder which it has been holding our princesses and Barbie for quiet a time now and it is the most amazing idea ever! Not mine!
Inside the walking closet we have a reading nook with her old crib mattress on the floor with stuffed animals and a bookshelf full of awesome books waiting to be read.
We A.D.O.R.E books at this house and they are always read many many times with the same excitement as the first time!
Small stuffed animals are organized into wired baskets from Target (I think!)
Here dresses, skirts and dressed-up customs at a child friendly level.
This girl LOVES dresses!!!
In the middle of the room there’s her favorite rug (from Ikea) which she uses every-single-day to play “Ponyville”.
Before that she used to play with her cars.
That’s It! My hard attempt into a functional, organized, child friendly and brain washed modern kindergartner bedroom.
I know it is not a TRUE Montessori room but it is the most approximated one we could get at our home using the amazing idea behind the method!
Plus this is what my little princess told me as soon as she got from school and saw her room:
Thank you, thank you thank you mommy!!! You really did a good job in my bedroom. I love it!!!!
Aaaahhh! It melts my heart!
Until the next moving experience!!!
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