Prepared Environment

I'm in my third home since I took my course with Cornelia Lockitch and learned about the Montessori principle of the prepared environment.  In the first house, I did things like set up a "shoe basket" for Sam to put her shoes away in, but not much else since Sam was just starting to walk and we were moving in a few months.  In the second, I set up the basement as Sam's playroom, putting her toys on shelves at her level and buying some kid-sized furniture.  I put my office there too, so that we could both "work" at the same time.

This time, I'm trying something new.  I'm integrating Sam even more into our household set up.  We are in a three-level townhouse again, which really chops up the living area.  But instead of relegating Sam to the basement, I've made the dining room her main play area, with our dining table in the eat-in kitchen (much more convenient anyway).  Since I need to have access to my computer in small bursts as well as long stretches, I have to have it on the main level of the house where we spend most of our time.  The basement did not work for me in the last house - it was just too much trouble to go down there, and I ended up using an old laptop in the kitchen most of the time.  The need for an office on the main level sparked the idea to make our living room a "library" instead of primarily a TV room. 

Adam and I do like to watch TV and movies, but we do it almost exclusively after Samantha is asleep for the night.  We don't leave the TV on while we are doing other things - we decide to watch and we make an event of it.  It makes so much more sense to put the TV in the basement.  We even have an extra refrigerator and microwave down there.

Our living room now houses my office and all of our books.  Luckily it's a big room!  Adam has so many books and he loves to see them out on display.  Although we'll still keep most of Sam's books in her bedroom where we do most of our reading, we are setting aside one shelf of each bookcase for her in the living room.  I think this will become even more important as she gets older.  We plan to get some cozy reading chairs, which will also serve to make the room work for those rare times when we invite people over.  Still, it's not a formal living room because it is open to the playroom (or should I call it Sam's living room?) and there will be toys in view.  Oh, horror!  We have a child and there are toys in the house!  What about clutter and toy encroachment?  Well, part of the principle of the prepared environment is that the child should respect the order of the house and keep toys in their proper places.  Having them in the main area of the house forces that issue for all of us.  I'll be sure to post updates about how I set up the play area and how it is working.  Right now it's just full of boxes.

Sticking the child's area into a back room or basement may be necessary in some cases, but I think you need to be careful about why you are doing it.  Are you acting on the premise that your child is a less important member of the household?  Are you keeping the toys away from public areas so that you don't need to teach your child to clean up, or because of some idea that toys are unsightly?

I'm very excited about this new set up.  I think it will change the way we live.  I think it shows respect for Samantha.  I think it reflects my own family's values instead of some second-handed idea of what a house should look like.

And there is still an extra room that I can turn into a classroom when the time comes.  Yipee!