Since Montessori education considers the child as a creator of his own development and it is the task of adults to encourage independence from the beginning, to observe talents and gifts, they can also create a suitable environment at home, where a child can develop his senses. In a magazine there was a recommendation to apply the Montessori pedagogy also to the design of the child’s room. According to this, the height of the furniture should be based on the size of the child, so that he or she can reach everything easily and independently at all times. The adult should sit on the floor and look at the room from the child’s perspective. The child should also be able to turn the lights on and off independently.
The environment should be clear and tidy, as the external order serves as orientation for the child’s mind and leads to an inner calm. The free-play shelf is an open shelf that covers two principles of Montessori teaching at once in the child’s room: In an open shelf, the child can always see which toys are on it and can independently take them out to play. This also means that every item has a fixed place on this open shelf, which makes tidying up a playful and solvable task for children. There should be no more than six to eight items to play with on this shelf, which can be changed regularly, with toys that are not currently being used moving from a free play shelf to a closed cabinet or baskets.
Toys in Montessori education consist primarily of natural materials, i.e. building blocks, wooden or stuffed animals, dolls or marbles. A bookcase is also recommended, where books can be arranged with the cover facing the front and the child’s interest can be aroused individually, even if he or she cannot read yet. Reading and reading aloud plays a major role in Montessori education, as it stimulates imagination and curiosity.
Typical for a Montessori children’s room is the floor bed or the children’s mattress at a height of 15 to 20 centimeters, i.e. a bed that the toddler can use entirely without help. A canopy or bed canopy can provide additional security. From the age of about two, the child’s mattress can be supplemented by a slatted frame or bed frame close to the floor.
According to the Montessori education, even toddlers need a table and a chair in their room, and for a healthy sitting posture, the children’s furniture must be adapted to their age.
Since dressing oneself is also important, the child should be able to find its clothes as easily as possible, i.e., the clothes are sorted by type and placed in boxes or drawers, with only the seasonally appropriate clothes in the closet. A clothes rail or small wardrobe is also helpful here.