Today I am going to show our shared Montessori bedroom for our baby and toddler.
Our little fella is now just under 2 and a half and little bub is 5 months. We live in a small, older home so sharing a bedroom is the only option for the boys.
After some reading, furniture tetris, and love we ended up with this shared Montessori bedroom for them. This also acts as a shared Montessori playroom for our toddler and baby.
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Shared Montessori Bedroom | Baby
This side of the Montessori shared bedroom has been arranged for our 5 month old.
A rocking chair for me for breastfeeding in place of bed for the moment. Bub is in an Arm’s Reach Co-sleeper in our room still for a bit longer. I find this makes night feeds easier on me and for the family’s sleep routine as a whole.
The baby play space in the Montessori shared bedroom is where bub does the most focused activity time.
The baby’s area consists of:
- Floor mirror
- Exploration basket
- 6 Toys in basket
- Activity Cube
- Giraffe from Grandma
I realize that an activity cube is often not considered “Montessori” , but as mentioned in our experience with Montessori at home with 6 month old (our first child) it was a gift and was used often.
There is no such thing as a “perfect” way to Montessori at home. Follow the child and use what is accessible to you.
You don’t need all the “right toys” you might see on instagram. It’s about the method behind using materials with your child. A great book for guiding you through this is The Montessori Toddler if you need some guidance and step-by-step help. (Reviewed my Top 3 Montessori Parenting Book picks here if interested).
5 Month Old Montessori Exploration Basket
Toy’s in Exploration Basket
- Large Soft Pom Pom
- Rubber Fish for Teething
- Helicopter Rattle (my childhood rattle)
- Soft Giraffe with Textured Ribbon
- Sensory Ball (pink)
- Grasping Ball (green/blue)
Soft Woven Basket is from Kmart
Shared Montessori Bedroom | Toddler
This is the toddler side of our shared Montessori bedroom.
My 2 year old loves his own toddler bed for independence. He gets up each morning when he’s ready.
The bed is faced this way due to the morning light that sneaks in from edge of curtain in the morning. Having bed this way keeps early light off his face in the morning.
Next to his bed is his work shelf.
We have his work shelf here, as there is a different shelf in the living room for work activities.
Montessori Wardrobe for 2 Year Old
This is another angle of our toddler side of Montessori shared bedroom.
You can see the Montessori wardrobe we have set-up for our 2 year old.
We hang out 2 outfit options for him to pick from each day, and in the morning he swaps out his pj’s for one of the outfits.
At the end of the day he will put those pj’s back on, and we [us parents] hang up of new set of clothes for him to select from for next day.
One pair of underwear and one pair of socks are in the basket below.
Interactions in Shared Montessori Bedroom
Our 2 year old is very interested in helping however he can.
In this instance I gave him the work to wipe the floor mirror for his baby brother.
Doesn’t take long for finger prints to cover the floor mirror with a scooting around baby.
Often both children are in the room at the same time and I sit on the floor and observe from the middle.
Sometimes the 2 year old will build blocks which will fascinate the 5 month old, and keep baby’s attention for long periods.
Other times the baby will focus on his basket items to explore and the 2 year old will work on his own.
Things to Keep in Mind
I try to keep all items on the 2 year olds shelf in this space baby “safe”. So, anything that could be a choking hazard only comes out when I bring it out.
At times when I need to step out to use the restroom, grab the phone, or get a drink of water I know that the baby should be safe for that moment.
When you have a shared space, keeping the safety aspects in mind is important.
This is one of the other reasons we have not transitioned the baby to a floor bed in the kid’s bedroom yet.
Positives of a Shared Montessori Play Space
Observing them interact together has been so beautiful.
The baby has often been captivated watching his older brother play. Whether watching directly, or catching a view from the reflection in the floor mirror.
Now that baby is getting more mobile and scooting himself over to join his brother they sometimes share an activity. This often looks like big brother handing baby brother a block to grasp and explore (teeth, touch, wave around).
As a parent this allows me to observe both at once and see their interests. At the end of some days I will do toy rotation accordingly.
Montessori Toy & Clothes Storage
In the photo above I have shown the inside of the wardrobe next to the 2 year olds wardrobe.
This is where I store extra bedding, toys, and current clothes. He does not access this space.
Bedding is in the tubs at the bottom. Quilts and blankets are in one and sheets and sleep suits are in the other. The extra tub has toys for when he is much older but they need to be in a climate controlled space for storage.
The middles shelf has toys for current toy rotation and books for book rotation.
Top shelf is filled with folded clothes in his current size. We select from here outfits to hang in his wardrobe depending on the weather and activities for the next day.
This allows his choice in the morning to always be appropriate for the day. As our toddler gets older this will shift to him having more selection.
Our home as no closets (joys of concrete walls) as it’s an older home. Storage is very limited, so this means I have to store things in their bedroom.
As I mentioned before, Instagram Montessori looks great but is often not accessible to many. So don’t feel like you have to do anything a certain way, do the best with what you have and follow the main Montessori principles.
If you are interested in learning more about Montessori Parenting check out my reviews on Top 3 Montessori Parenting Books.
Save for Later
What do you do with diapers and changing table?
I have the change table in our room, as it’s in the middle of our small heritage home. I use a change table because it saves my back and creates the storage space I need for cloth nappies/diapers. I find changing on the floor really hurts my back, so use a conventional change table. It didn’t hinder us at all with toilet learning at 1 1/2yrs , so I would say don’t get too hung up on the little details. Do what works for your family and home 🙂 I plan to do an article with out set-up soon.
Your shared bedroom is beautiful! Well done on creating such a functional space for both of your Bubba’s to play in. I look forward to seeing how the room develops into a dual sleeping bedroom. Thanks so much for sharing
When did you move your youngest into the room with the toddler? I currently have a 2.5yo and 4month old and am trying to figure when it will be safe for them to room share. Thanks!
I moved my youngest into sharing a room at 18 months. We actually swapped our 2 year old into our room for awhile when we had some bad dream issues and the 18 month old had a room to himself for a bit. Then we brought 2 year old back in when the youngest was 26 months. So things did shift a few times due to childhood phases, but they happily have shared room ever since and now actually want their beds to touch side by side haha.