Fostering Toddler Independence: Our New Setup

Busily washing dishes
in the kitchen. A chair
is currently our stand on
for the Learning Tower.

Last Monday, I wrote about our toddler Annabelle's newly designed Montessori closet, but I also alluded to some other things that have been changed and reorganized around here to accommodate her ever-increasing independence. There is still much that I plan to do, and much that I would totally do if we had unlimited funds, owned our house, or both, but I'll give you the rundown of what we've done so far.

If you're currently expecting or parenting your very first Montessori infant, my advice to you is to start considering changes you can make to foster his or her independence now. I kept thinking I had time, but I swear this child has transformed into a toddler overnight and I woke up one day and realized that our home simply was not meeting her needs. Being a Montessori teacher, I felt a bit embarrassed and disappointed over my lack of foresight. Life feels so much slower than it actually is sometimes!

Annabelle's shelf in the
living room

Anyway, the biggest thing that had to go was Annabelle's old shelves. They were perfect for a crawling infant, or a petite new walker, but now that crawling is a distant memory, they simply aren't practical any longer. I replaced them with two new shelves - one for Annabelle's bedroom and one for our living room/sitting area. I did not replace the kitchen shelf, as Annabelle is only interested in three things in the kitchen: whatever I'm doing, snacks, and art. All of these things are considered in the organization of our kitchen, and none currently require a shelf of their own, so we have instead opened up space for the Learning Tower, which is currently on a ship somewhere, headed this direction.

The items on each shelf are rotated in and out to keep up with what Annabelle seems to need and be interested in. For example, the small basket on the top shelf has a Master Lock with its key. I took something she was not using off the shelf and stored it for later use to make room for the lock and key when Annabelle started asking for my keys every time I took them out, and wanting to use them on our door. Since the keyholes on the door are too high for her to reach without help, and are outside where she can't have access to them all the time, I set the lock and key out to allow her to practice with keys and keyholes to her heart's content.

...and her bedroom

This system seems to work really well, and makes it easy for us to keep things organized and neatly displayed. On top of the bedroom shelf are two items that are very precious to me, as they were given to me when I "graduated" from my Montessori internship. The white rose in a vase is my "Peace Rose," which is a beautiful tool for conflict resolution that Annabelle and I don't need just yet. For now, we both love to admire it. Annabelle smiles at it and signs "flower" every time she enters her room. Next to it is my small peace totem, something that was given to every graduating kindergardener at my internship site. The school is an International Peace Site and one of its annual family events is a "Peace Picnic," during which children gather around the (much larger) peace totem and sing together before sharing a meal. But then I'm going off on a nostalgic tangent. I miss my old schools sometimes!

At any rate, these are the new shelves as they look today, and I'm quite happy with them.

the most toddler-friendly shelf in the
pantry

The old shelves have found second lives as tools for organization elsewhere around the house. One has made it possible for Annabelle to easily access healthy snacks anytime throughout the day, and she loves it! She has learned the words "cashew" and "date" recently and loves to say them aloud as she walks to the pantry.

walking the line

She has also taken a much greater interest in helping set the table and in cleaning up her own spills, so I have moved all of our placemats, napkins, and cleaning cloths to a low cabinet that Annabelle can access at any time. We have added a two step stool to the bathroom, to make it easier for her to reach the sink on her own. I'm embarrassed that this is a new development! Previously we only had a one step stool and it barely brought her high enough and she had to strain to wash her hands, and could not see in the mirror. Now she can easily see and do everything she needs to do. I have been impressed by how well she washes her face after breakfast each morning!

The only other new Montessori activity is very loosely related to independence, but I'll show you anyway. I used electrical tape to make a line for walking in our kitchen. Annabelle likes to watch me do it as much as she likes doing it herself! She finds it quite amusing and signs "more" each time I finish.

I'm linking up with Montessori Monday at One Hook Wonder and Living Montessori Now.