Annabelle's Montessori Setup

Before we had Annabelle, I had of course heard of Montessori schools, but didn't know a whole lot about them or the theory behind them. I still don't know a ton and have a lot of work to do to learn more. Since we have talked about home schooling, I have started to look into the style more, and it really feels like something we would fall into easily in our home. We want to encourage our kids from a young age to learn how to learn, and be involved in every aspect of their lives from a young a possible.

As you obviously know if you read this blog, Annabelle's sleep had been a constant struggle. She has been doing leaps and bounds better the past couple of months overall, but bedtime is still a stress and a struggle most nights. Cue my friend Laura, who posted about her son's floor bed on her blog (if I weren't on my iPad I would link to it, sorry Laura!!) I had here about the concept, so I started looking into it more. It basically gives lots more freedom and decision making ability to the child about their sleep environment. I also leaned that my friend Amy uses a floor bed with her son, and talked to her quite a bit about it. So, we decided to go for it.

I took apart the crib and put the mattress on the floor, cleaned out the closet and moved her dopers and diaper pale into there, removed her night stand from the room, and added a low, heavy (non tippable) bookshelf. I moved her books into the shelf, and cleaned out her toys to leave only some blocks, a puzzle, and stuffed animals in her room. Then I moved the video monitor to another outlet so she couldn't reach it, and made sure all other outlets were covered. One problem was the cable jack sticking out of the wall right by where her head was going to be. That would be very dangerous to fall into in the middle of the night! I got a solid switch plate cover at lowes and replaced it easily. Lastly, I spray painted a black mirror turquoise and hung it by her bed, along with some animal wall decals. I am very happy with how it turned out! Annabelle now has the freedom to get up and get a book, or a stuffed animal, or just get UP. She seems to love it...she was playing on her bed all day, pointing to the animals and laughing at herself in the mirror.

Sooo sleep. Tonight is our first night with it, and Jason said that bedtime was MUCH less stressful, and felt so much more friendly not putting her down "behind bars," lol. Annabelle brought a book back to bed, and laid down, and fell asleep pretty quickly without much fuss at all. She has woken up a couple of times, but I am chalking that up to just her new environment. We are really excited about this change, though, and can't wit to see how the next few nights go!

If you are looking for more, google the blog "how we Montessori..."great info!