A Look Inside Our Purposeful Nursery

Throughout my studies of child development, there has been a consistent message about the importance of the first three years of a child’s life. It is during these years where a child’s brain experiences the most amount of growth it ever will—babies are actually born with all of the neurons they will ever have and they are discarded over the initial years as they are not fired or used.

You can think of these neurons as seeds, and the child’s environment and experiences as the nutrients. As their senses are stimulated, these neurons grow roots, stems, and even sprout branches. These neurons then develop pathways and make connections in the brain. After these connections are continuously activated, they then become hardwired and begin setting the foundations for the rest of a child’s life. Neurons that aren’t fired, do not get hardwired, and they are discarded.

With that being said, birth to age three is a delicate time in a child’s life and can best be met with conscious learning and conscious loving. For my partner and I, a part of that looks like curating a purposeful environment where our daughter can grow, learn, and love in— starting with her Montessori inspired nursery.

Her current nursery is fit for the first six months of her life. At that point we will reevaluate where she is developmentally and reorganize appropriately. While most of our nursery is Montessori inspired, not all of it is. A traditional newborn Montessori environment has mostly neutral or high contrast colors and simple decor— with everything (including the decor) at the level of the child. The high contrast allows for newborns to better distinguish materials in their environment, as they cannot make out their first color until sometime around two to three months. The simple decor is so that the child is not overstimulated or overwhelmed in a world that is very new to them.

Even with this information, I still chose to place some decor higher up on the walls. In writing this, I am noticing that there is some guilt that I created a space that was not fully designed for our daughter. But, I think that us mama’s should keep in mind that we will be spending time in this environment too, so it is important that we also feel comfort in this space. While I believe that a Montessori classroom should cater to children and children only, a Montessori home setting should leave room for the family. With that, I encourage you to ask yourself “what space can I best teach and love in?” A part of conscious learning and conscious loving is giving yourself permission to be a human being. So while some of my decor is unnecessary— it is simple, meaningful, natural, and creates a feeling for me that is calming. Will being calm allow me to better serve her? Absolutely— and there are an array of things in the rooms that serve her best.

In her space you can find a floor bed, a Moses basket, low book shelves with age appropriate books, baseboard mirrors, developmentally appropriate activities, and a free movement space.

Even though we plan to co-sleep at night for the first several months, we have a Moses basket and a floor bed prepared for her nap times. During the first two to three months she will nap during the daytime in the Moses basket which will be placed on her floor bed in her nursery. We chose the Moses basket because is important to us that she feel the comfort of a womb-like environment without the use of a sleep sack— but also that it provide a view of her room, so that she can get used to being in her own space. We currently have a mirror next to her bed, but will likely move or cover it, as we want little to no sensory stimulation above or around her bed. This is so that she is not distracted and can more easily fall asleep.

After the Moses basket, we feel best avoiding the crib and moving our daughter to a floor bed. We chose this because we want her to have freedom of movement in her space. This is one of our first steps in creating a sense of independence. She will not be restricted in any way, nor will she have to rely on us to release her from a crib (or a sleep sack). This can be unnerving for some parents, but we’ve made sure that everything in the room is well-secured and safe. If she were to roll, she will simply fall one and a half inches onto the floor, and for us that seemed rather minor compared to some of the hazards of sleeping in a crib.

Next to her bed, you can find two low book shelves. One of them she will be able to reach within her first six months, and the other she will be able to reach after six months— both with developmentally appropriate reads that include messages that align with our values.

These books include:

In front of her book shelves is a free movement space. Here you can find her high contrast mobile. This is used to promote visual tracking and concentration during her first two months. Around week eight, we will replace it with the Octahedron mobile— three Octahedron shapes colored red, yellow, and blue. These are the next three colors she will be able to notice.

In this space she will also have mirrors that line the baseboards. We loved this idea because it is a simple way to help her:

  • Visually track and coordinate her movements/ expressions.
  • Exercise her concentration.
  • Create a deeper sense of independence— She will be spend much time entertaining herself here during her first year.
  • Gain a new perspective on her environment— Its helpful for her to see other aspects of her room, especially when she can’t move or crawl yet.
  • Develop her proprioception skills including body awareness, balance, and strength. 

Next to the the free movement space is a low shelf. Currently, the large whicker baskets hold her clothes, but that will change once she has the ability to reach those shelves. Below that, are small whicker baskets with developmentally appropriate activities that she can eventually crawl to and access herself.

Those baskets include:

  • Crocheted high contrast rattle— promotes motor development such as grasping, as well as allows the child to make connections between the sound of the bell and the motion of their hand.
  • Wooden grasping beans—promotes motor development, such as grasping. It is developed so that it can gently roll away from babies. When this happens they are encouraged to crawl, scoot, and shimmy their way towards the disk!
  • Wooden interlocking disk– promotes hand movement and wrist development. Babies eventually will learn to transfer the disk from hand to hand. It is also developed so that it can gently roll away from babies. When this happens they are encouraged to crawl, scoot, and shimmy their way towards the disk!
  • High contrast baby paper— promotes grasping. Babies love the crinkle sound that it makes, and it’s high contrast lines hold their attention.
  • Wooden egg with cup & wooden peg with cup— used for fine motor development and hand eye coordination. This is actually a progressed activities, usually for babies around six to twelve months. Though, I figured I’d put it out now so I can model how they are used by pulling the egg and peg out of their holders and placing them back inside.

On the wall are some dessert themed photos and a quote by Maria Montessori that reads “Play is the work of a child”. As someone who has worked with developing children in many capacities, it’s easy to get caught up in checking every developmental milestone off of the list— forgetting to make space for play. Our utmost hope in creating a purposeful environment for our little girl is that we make room for work and play; That play is her work.

 

Back to Top