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July 10, 2015

Mixed Age Montessori Play Shelves

I've been meaning to share our mixed aged play shelves for awhile now and Kylie at How We Montessori has finally kicked me in the butt and got me to do it. Check out her beautiful shelves! This shelf is our main play shelf in our home right now. These are toys that I consider Montessori friendly and appropriate for Nora (1-year-old) and Henry (4-years-old).

So, here is what is on our shelf right now! 

Montessori toys, Montessori baby, Montessori child

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Top Shelf - These are intended for Henry, yet not dangerous for Nora

Lightsabers -- These are intended for Henry. These are not Montessori friendly but I'll save the role of fantasy in our house for another post. 

Sensory Bin -- Sand and Magnets -- I try to offer Henry sensory experiences. Here is a simple bin combining science and sensory. 


Guidecraft Magneatos -- These are a lot of fun and allow Hen to build. Nora will use these too, but just to put the pieces together. 

Pattern Blocks -- Ideally, I hoped to include a mirror with these, but I can't find my mirror anywhere. So, they are just loose parts at the moment.


Middle Shelf - These are still mostly intended for Henry, but Nora can enjoy too. 


Basket of vehicles -- Nora loves cars so these work great for her and for Henry. 

Homemade playdoh and craft sticks -- This one is actually for Nora. She can place the sticks into the dough and pull them out again. 


Color wheel puzzle -- Puzzle for Henry, from the Target dollar spot.


Stacking house blocks -- Another building puzzle for Henry, the blocks only stack in a certain order. I wish I knew the source for this, but found at a thrift store and its unmarked.


 Bottom Shelf -- These are intended for Nora only, Henry may use them but is fairly uninterested. 


Square stacking cups -- A favorite. I love the square twist on traditional stacking cups.

Wooden push turtle -- another thrift store find.


Sensory balls -- another all time favorite baby toy. See my other favorite Montessori baby toys.


Handmade fabric blocks -- I made these!


And, that's it! The children do have other play areas in the house, but for now, this is the main area. The area also includes Nora's walker wagon, a couple baby dolls and wooden crib and a bilibo chair



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Comments

Kylie
Kylie said…
It's lovely to see your shelves! Thank you for joining in on the link-up!
csp
csp said…
Love your blog! Your photographs are stunning too, makes it very inviting and inspiring to check out what you all are up to! Where is your white shelf from? - Carly
Unknown
Unknown said…
This is so simple and perfect! Can you tell me where the shelving unit is from? I love the size and shape of the cubbies! Thank you.
Erin Hayes
Erin Hayes said…
Looks so lovely!!
Nicole @ The Kavanaugh Report
Its from IKEA, its an Expedit, which was replaced with the Kallax system
Nicole @ The Kavanaugh Report
It's an Expedit from IKEA. Expedits were replaced with the Kallax line so I''m not sure they make this exact model anymore,
Kristina
Kristina said…
Love all the play ideas on your shelf. Just curious how often you switch out the activities. I am so drawn to this type of set up, I just don't know how to implement it!
Randy and April
Randy and April said…
This is lovely! Do they have free access to it, or are they always supervised? I ask because my almost 2 year old and almost 4 year old would have every single piece ripped off the shelf and scattered all over the floor if I left the room for even a few minutes. I have tried and tried to implement something like this, and to teach them to get out one thing at a time and put it back when they're done, to no avail. I don't really expect it from the 2 year old, but the 4 year old...sigh. Can you sense my frustration? I want them to have the freedom to have access to their things but I can't be constantly picking up pieces up off the floor. Did I mention I'm also 30 weeks pregnant? Would love some advice! :)