As a Montessori parent, one of the most important aspects of Montessori is the Prepared Environment.

The prepared environment encompasses a number of things, but at its most essential level it means setting up your environment for the children’s independence and success. This is not only to allow your child(ten) to access and do things independently, but also to avoid needing unnecessary adult intervention. Both in helping the children when they could do it themselves, and preventing them from doing things they shouldn’t have access to.

This is why I personally feel that the prepared environment, not only for the independence it allows my children (which is truly amazing) but also because it saves a ton of time and energy that would otherwise be spent keeping children out of things they don’t belong in, and helping them with things they don’t really need help with.

Truth be told, I decided to rearrange our house the living room, and move our learning shelves from our dining room hallway to the living room, just this weekend and so in many ways it isn’t a very prepared environment at the moment. There are boxes and bits of things in places the children can easily access. It reminds me why I find the prepared environment so crucial.

But I also remember being a young Mom, with a toddler, and being completely overwhelmed by the idea of the prepared environment. It seemed like an endless task! In some ways it is, it never ends really as our children (and families) continue to grow and change, moves happen, and needs evolve. Really though, the prepared environment isn’t one large monumental task, but a series of little things. Tweaks and alterations, a little here and a little there. Most doesn’t require any special Montessori equipment, and a lot of it can be done with things you already have (or can find at a thrift store, or garage sale or borrow from a friend).

Today, instead of sharing one specific prepared environment, I’ve decided to share a bunch of small ways we’ve made our home more accessible for our kids. They’re not perfect, most aren’t glamorous or stylish, but most importantly… they work.

A bath rug and small wooden crate under our Ikea kitchen. The rug helps catch any spills, and the crate boosts Noodle up just enough so he can reach the faucet on/off button independently. It fits perfectly underneath when he doesn’t need it.

A mirror near our door so the children can check themselves before leaving the house.

A low hook for storing the kids helmets.

Inexpensive bins from Target that we use on open shelves to store Apple’s clothes (we could use another few for pajamas, but we haven’t got that far yet).

Our mealtime routine cards to help the children independently through the various steps of mealtime.

A suction adapter to make the shower head lower.

A rolling card to store diapers so Noodle can help during diaper changes.

One of our many locked cabinets. The kids have access to some cabinets, especially their things, but they don’t need access to everything, nor do I want things taken out to the mud kitchen!

A faucet extender to make hand washing easier.

A boot tray near the door for putting our shoes.