School Room Renovation Update

We've gone from this:

To this:

It's gonna be great, stay tuned!

Bumblebee and the Rest of the House

I often feel like my little Bumblebee gets neglected.  Link and I tend to do school activities while he is sleeping.  I've not been brave enough to allow him in the school room.  Part of it is that I'm not at a point where I trust Link to use the materials in the room appropriately without my supervision.  And, more than likely, if I were to try bringing Bumblebee to the school room, my attention would be primarily focused on keeping him from messing in things that aren't appropriate.  I'm just not ready!

BUT, he sort of is :)  He is at least ready to start drawing with us.  Today I finally brought him down to the basement and moved the little table out of the school room.  He had a ton of fun!  However, he was finished quickly and since this part of the house isn't baby-proof yet, we had to return upstairs.  I am really not sure at what point I should start bringing him into the school room.  I don't want to hold him back, but I also don't want for him to spend the entire time getting into things and taking so much of my attention that Link is left hanging....

Poor child also stays in his PJs most of the day :)

I want to talk about how the rest of the house is set up for the boys.  We essentially have three floors.  Upstairs we have two bedrooms, one for the boys and one for guests.  The boys' room is huge!  I think you could put six kids in there if they wouldn't drive each other crazy :)  The main floor has the kitchen, dining room, a small living room and the master bedroom.  In the basement we have what will one day be the family room (when we get some furniture) and the school room.

The boys' room is mainly Bumblebee's territory.  I have toys in here that are for both boys, but some of Link's toys wouldn't be safe in here, so they are in the guest room. (There aren't many, mainly some legos that are not Duplo)

This is our reading chair.  Books in the basket are board books only.
Paper paged books are on the dresser.

There is a little activity center in the corner.

And the play table in the middle, against the wall.
I try to keep vehicles under the table, or in the closet :)

I also try, unsuccessfully, to keep Bumblebee off of the table.

He can reach just fine, I don't know why he likes it up there so much.

Then across the room, in the middle is Bumblebee's toy shelf.  To each side of the shelf is a closet for each boy.  I will not be taking pictures of those!  Try as I might, they stay a mess.

I have found that Bumblebee is much more content in his room when he has just a few toys out.  I also found that storing them in the closet meant they rarely got switched out.  Having them out where I can see them helps me to rotate them when I see that something isn't getting used much.

Honestly, Link doesn't have a whole lot of toys out right now.  In his closet I have some boxes on the floor for sorting toys.  He has one for his fireman gear, one for tools and one for vehicles.  These are all okay if Bumblebee gets into them, it just helps keep the room from being too full of clutter.  He used to have a ton of Duplo Legos, but they weren't getting a lot of use, so I put them all away.

I try to keep most of the boys' toys in their room.  However, they usually want to be on the same floor as me, so this doesn't happen.  In an effort (mostly failed) to keep the toys out of the living room, dining room and kitchen, I have designated an area in the master bedroom for them to have some toys.

Again, these are mainly for Bumblebee.

We bought the boys some massive construction equipment, which is parked to the right of all of this.  Its too messy to take a picture of.  There are also a few things for cooking and some tools.  That area is mainly for Link.  The boys play in our bedroom in the mornings, while I cook, clean, and do other uninteresting things on the main floor.

Link used to play in the basement by himself, but has since developed a little bit of separation anxiety, or something....  I don't know what you call it, but he has to be on the same floor as me and has to know where I am at all times.  Anyways, we have some shelves in the basement where I put his books and a few toys so that we could play down there and have access to his books during Bumblebee's nap.

You've seen the school room - its kinda narrow, a little crowded, and has no natural light.  Since we don't have furniture in the "family room" it seems like a natural place to do school work.  There is great natural light and plenty of space.  You may have noticed above that both tables are out there now.  I am still trying to figure out how to best use this space.  I don't want the shelves out in the family room and it is just next door... so I'm hoping that he'll be able to flow from one activity to the next since he has to take them back to the shelves when he is finished.  Moving the table out will also give me some more space for shelves, since for some reason I seem to be running low.  Does it make sense to have the shelves in one room and the table in the next room?  Will Link be less likely to choose works if he is not surrounded by them? I guess we'll see!

Our Home Environment

I thought I'd make a post for my family with some information about why I do some "weird" things. (They aren't really weird, just not the norm for most families.)

One of the biggest things about Montessori, which is more than just a teaching philosophy, is that it also describes ways to prepare your home for a little one and make the entire environment welcoming to him.

I'll start with the crib vs. floor bed thing. I used a crib for Link up until he was able to stand, then became so frustrated with nap time and bed time that I took his mattress out of the crib and put it on the floor. It really helped with getting him to sleep and Link always woke up happier. Take a look at this quote:

A bed should be one which the baby can get in and out of on his own as soon as he is ready to crawl. The first choice is an adult twin bed mattress on the floor. Besides being an aid to development, this arrangement does a lot to prevent the common problem of crying because of boredom or exhaustion. 

It helps to think of this as a whole-room playpen with a baby gate at the doorway and to examine every nook and cranny for interest and safety. If the newborn is going to share a room with parents or siblings we can still provide a large, safe, and interesting environment.

We put a baby gate on his door and it worked pretty well. So, with the new baby coming in June, we've decided to start out with the floor bed and see how it goes. Well, for the first few months he'll be in the cradle by the bed; we'll move him to the floor bed when he outgrows the cradle. I really like the idea of his room being a 'play-pen' so that he's free to move about. Again, we'll see how it goes :) Especially since we're not sure we'll be out of this 2 bedroom apartment by then...

The next thing that stands out a bit was our use of child-sized glasses instead of sippy-cups. Link took very well to his glasses (which were a mixture of shot glasses and small juice glasses). He went straight from nursing to using a glass. He did (and still does) spill things, but he is also very careful. I think he has an awareness of the liquid in his cup much more than kids who use sippy cups. As a matter of fact, we run into the most problems with bottles that have tops. He knows that when the lid is on, he can do whatever he wants with the container, and tends to play. This does not go well when the lid is not on, as he still wants to play. That is why I always try to stress to others not to let him play with things he drinks out of :) 

Link also has a set of plates and bowls and flatware, just like ours. He is two years old and has only ever broken one dish. He helps me take them to the kitchen when he is finished eating and is very careful with them. Eventually, I'll have them in a cabinet that he can reach so that he can also help me set the table. It takes a little more effort on my part to make sure he isn't breaking his plates or drinking glasses, but I think it was worth the effort to see him treat his things so well. Here's a good quote:

Whenever it is possible and safe, we give beautiful, breakable materials to the child, respectfully sharing with him what the rest of the family uses—pottery, glass, metal, real tools. There is a great increase in the self-respect of the child when she is allowed to use our things, instead of being given plastic substitutes. There is also a corresponding respect for, and caring for, the materials when they are beautiful and breakable. 

Speaking of setting the table, we don't follow the Montessori rule about not strapping your child down in a high chair. I just didn't have the patience for this one. We do have a child sized table, which my dad cut the legs off of so that it is at just the right height for Link. We eat snacks here and do lots of activities. For dinner, Link sits with us at the table in his highchair and is not allowed down until dinner is over. During snacks, I do a lot of reminding Link that once he gets up from his table, he is all done and mommy will help him put his food away. It takes so much patience for both of us, that we don't do it a whole lot. But we do it enough (I think) that eventually he'll understand and as he gets older will know that we don't eat and run around the house.

One of my favorite Montessori ideas is 'letting' your little one help with household tasks. Link loves this!! I actually feel guilty when I unload the dishwasher without him! And I have to say, it is pretty stinkin cute to see him getting his little vacuum cleaner or sweeper out to clean under his little table. He'll vacuum right beside me, or sometimes just get it out to clean up; he's the best! He also likes to help cook, though I'll admit I don't do this one as much as I should. He helps with things like muffins and fruit smoothies. Again, it takes a lot of patience, but it is worth it. He also of course helps water the plants. Some things I'd like to get him helping with is hanging his diapers to dry, though I'm not sure how well he'll be able to use the clothes pins, and sweeping. He has a broom, but can't use it correctly. I really need to work on teaching him how, but he has so far been a little resistant to taking lessons in that area. This is a long quote, but here it is:

A child learns self-control, and develops a healthy self-image if the work is real—washing fruits and vegetables, setting or clearing a table, washing dishes, watering plants, watering the garden, sorting, folding, and putting away laundry, sweeping, dusting, helping in the garden, any of the daily work of her family.

Family work, known as Practical Life in Montessori schools, is the single most important area of a Montessori education at any age. Allowing the child to participate in the life he sees going on around him is an act of great respect for, and confidence in, the child. It helps him to feel important to himself and to those around him. He is needed. We can empathize if we think of the difference in our feelings for a dinner guest in our home who is completely served and waited on, or for one who is welcomed in our kitchen to talk and to laugh while we prepare the meal together. In the first instance the guest is separate, the relationship formal. In the second we share our life and the relationship is intimate—a true friendship.

A good bit of the Montessori 'education' at Link's age (under 3) falls in this Practical Life category. I wish I did more of it with Link. I think once the new baby comes, he'll be a great helper, so we'll get to improve in this area.

I should mention that all of my quotes come from the Michael Olaf website, which is a great resource for understanding (and buying) Montessori stuff. (Though its pretty expensive)

Reading back through my post I realize that I didn't make it clear that there is a big difference between preparing the environment and baby-proofing the entire house. I am NOT into turning my entire home into one big play area dominated by toys, padding, child locks, etc. When I say 'welcome' I mean that I have taken his needs into account and made adjustments (especially for safety), but I have not given my home over to him :) Does that make sense? His things are included with ours, in non-obtrusive ways... 

Another thing I'd really like to work on his making Link's environment more beautiful. We have always moved so much that I never decorate and it has become a habit to not hang anything on the walls. Since we'll be here for a while, I'd really like to hang some photos at Link's level for him to enjoy. (Well, I'd like to hang some at my level for us to enjoy too). Here comes another quote:

Pictures on the wall, hung at the eye-level of the child, can be beautiful, framed art prints, or simple posters. All of us have been influenced by our first environment, and nothing helps create beauty in the world as much as giving beauty to the very young. 

I'll work on this one some when I have a chance.... or when we move the next time :)

I hope this post helps to shine some light on why we do some things the way we do. If you have questions about anything else, feel free to ask :)