So I wanted this blog to not only be a place where I could offer information, advice and guidance but somewhere that I could also share some of my experiences of being a mum. As a busy working mum I had to make the tricky decision of placing my youngest son Theo in a nursery when he was 10 months old. I was very lucky that in my local town we have a Montessori School and Nursery and even luckier that I was able to get him a place there.

The Montessori method of learning is different to anything that I had ever experienced with my eldest son. The Montessori approach is holistic and aims to develop the whole child. Fundamental to the approach is the belief that a child's early years from birth to six are the period when they have the greatest capacity to learn. Dr. Montessori was a true pioneer of child-centred education. Her innovative classroom practices and ideas have had a profound influence on the education of young children all over the world.

The whole ethos and philosophy of this system of learning appealed to me especially with my chose, so since Theo started at Lincolnshire Montessori I have spent a lot of time researching the learning methods, systems and beliefs and looking into how I could apply them at home. 

The first principle I applied was ensuring that all of Theo's toys and books were at his height and easy for him to access so that he could choose what he wanted to play with. From here I began to research the principles behind the nursery's sleep baskets (low baskets on the floor so that the babies can crawl in when tired and out again once they have woken up). And discovered the intriguing idea of a floor bed the idea is that a low mattress on the floor provides the child with a better view of his room and surroundings and more freedom to move about, which in turn makes for a calmer and happier child. 

At first I was conflicted about whether I wanted to take such a radical step as I knew there would be plenty of raised eyebrows as this is far from the standard way of doing things with babies / toddlers. But as Theo approached 15 months I could see that he was unhappy in his cot and as I researched and read stories about  babies whose arms or legs had gotten caught between the crib slats, or of climbing over the rail and falling several feet down onto the floor, and then of the tragic story of a baby who died after climbing out of his cot. I decided that I was no longer happy with our current situation and wanted to make that change.

So just over two weeks ago we ditched the crib and put a single mattress on his floor I set about baby proofing his room, after a very busy day I put Theo to bed as normal and prepared myself for a mischievous baby getting out of bed constantly and not settling, but I didn't hear a peep! I went and peeked in his room 5 minutes after putting him to bed and he was sound asleep. Now I am not saying that he has settled this easily every night but on the nights where he hasn't gone straight to sleep he has played for 10-15 minutes and then crawled onto his mattress before nodding off. I am so happy that I have taken this step as not only is he settling easier but he is also sleeping longer making for one very happy mummy!

If you would like to find out more about how you can apply Montessori principles within your home and family I thoroughly recommend that you read Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three by Lynn Lillard Jensen &  Paula Polk Lillard.