The Ultimate Montessori Home Setup for New Parents (0-12 month essentials)

Usually when people think “Montessori”, they immediately think of expensive wooden toys before they think about their Montessori home setup. Toys are important but only one piece of the pie. The home setup is what actually lays the foundation for a Montessori home and learning.

This post is all about creating a Montessori home setup for 0-12+ months.

As you are planning your Montessori set up ideas, remember that it doesn’t have to be black and white. You can choose what works best for you and your home. I’m going to go share some Montessori basics at home that I adapted for my family’s lifestyle and reasoning behind them. As you read, you’ll see that I consciously made some decisions specific to our home and in some cases altered them.

But why Montessori?

When thinking about your home setup, remember why you’re doing it. When I was first learning about different parenting approaches and styles, I was immediately drawn to Montessori for a few reasons: 

• An emphasis on following the child: This means learning to read and follow a child’s cues/interests, meeting them where they are, and supporting them only when they need it. 
• Fostering independence: For a first time parent, it can be easy to assume babies and young children need help with everything from feeding, playing, to dressing themselves but this couldn’t be further from the truth!
  • Having a Montessori home setup enables babies even as young as 6 months old to do so much on their own! I was truly shocked and blown away at how capable a baby at 6 months could be! 
  • Instill independence starts to set the groundwork for independent play in the future.
• Practical Life: Montessori focuses on teaching children basic, purposeful motor control.
  • These activities can happen within our everyday lives via cooking, cleaning, and learning to button clothes. Again, a really simple concept but in our current environment of screens, likely two working parents, hustle and bustle, this concept can be forgotten.
  • Finding opportunities for practical life activities can help young kids with increased concentration, responsibility and independence.
  • Practical life activities can also be set up through different types of ‘work’ (Dr. Montessori’s way of describing the process of children learning or playing).  
• Absorbent mind: This is one of the more well-known principles of Montessori which says that babies and children are like sponges which soak up everything around them.
  • Even in the womb, studies have shown babies can hear and recognize their mother’s voice.
  • Knowing that a newborn was soaking in the words they were hearing despite not being able to communicate back was a huge mindset shift for me.
  • This inspired me to increase purposeful and intentional speaking instead of the standard baby-talk ‘goo-goo-ga-ga’ sounds. 

Note: This isn’t to say that other philosophies or styles don’t also encourage those same principles in their own way. These values are what resonated with me personally and what I chose to implement when thinking about Montessori set up ideas in my home.

How Montessori has helped me be a more mindful parent

• Montessori has taught me to be more mindful as a parent through setting up a prepared environment and following my child’s cues.
• By following my child’s cues and interests, I’m able to slow down and appreciate the beauty that is childhood.
• It has taught me to pause and take a step back instead of always trying to “help” (which in some cases is actually intervening in a child’s learning process).

What is the best age to start Montessori?

• You can start Montessori at nearly any age, keeping in mind Dr. Maria Montessori talks about different ‘planes’ and ‘sensitive periods’ to consider. 
• The wonderful thing about Montessori is that you can start the Montessori home set up as early as birth. If you can start early, it sets up a strong foundation for Montessori learning.
• Remember you’ll have to switch up your Montessori home setup at major developmental milestones: 5 months, 12 months, 3 years.
• My tips below are focused on 0-12 months. More to come on 12+ months. 

How do I set up a Montessori style house? 

• A “Montessori style house” is a home that is set up with a young child in mind. This concept is called a “preparing the environment” or a “prepared home environment” which means the space allows for very young children to develop, function, and do things on their own.
• Basically this means that things in the house are set up in a way that is easy for them to access: whether it’s a bathroom, kitchen, living room, or bedroom.
• If you ever get down to the level of a child and look around the room. You’ll notice how tall the shelves feel and how the artwork is at eye level for adults. This is a really simple philosophy but often forgotten.
• We tend to do a lot of research on best strollers, best high chairs, chic and minimalist nursery set ups (I’m guilty on all counts) but not the actual functional space for the baby. 

The main Montessori principles to keep in mind when putting together or rethinking the space are: consistency, independence, order, and safety. 

1. Consistency: According to Montessori, providing consistency and routine makes things predictable for a child. This is especially important for newborns and infants as they transition into the world and older toddlers as big emotions and feelings begin to develop.
2. Independence: Allowing for independence in a Montessori home setup means thinking through an infant or toddler’s routine and setting up opportunities for them to be independent. This also means minimizing distractions when the child is exploring something new. Surprisingly enough, this also applies to infants. We’re constantly picking them up, making sounds at them, moving them from one room to another. 
3. Order: Keeping environments minimalistic and tidy is supposed to help build a sense of ‘trust’ and ‘predictability.’ I live in a small space and following this principle really encouraged me to not impulsively buy expensive kids toys marketed as “montessori toys” or things we didn’t really need. 
4. Safety:
   • It’s really important that any Montessori home setup is safe for babies, toddlers, young children, etc especially because most of the things are easily accessible or at their eye level.
   • This doesn’t mean “baby proofing” in the sense that everything is locked up or behind plastic baby gates.
   • This means that safety hazards like cords are properly tucked away, outlets are covered, anything within their reach is safe for them to mouth or explore.
   • The environment should also be set up in a way that grows with the child. 

Now that you know about the philosophies behind a Montessori home setup, here’s a breakdown of Montessori setup ideas. 

0-6 months

This phase can be tough for a new parent adjusting to parenthood. For better or worse, it goes by quickly. While there are some basic Montessori home setup ideas below, it’s important to remember to focus on the baby’s transition into the world, caring + feeding, and parental well being. 

• ROOM
  • During the newborn stage, a Montessori home set up can be pretty simple: a floor bed for your baby to sleep on/do tummy time on or use to look up at a mobile. For tummy time periods, make sure they are on a surface where they can’t roll or fall, and cover any outlets, cords, etc.
  • You can also consider adding some baby-safe, non-toxic plants to the room to add some color and calmness. Keep in mind that your baby will be mobile at some point, so you should either hang plants, put them on shelves where your baby can see but not quite access them, or get plants big enough that they are sturdy, safe, and will not tip over. 
  • Topponcinos are a quintessential hallmark of Montessori. They are basically soft flat pillows that can be used to cradle your newborn while feeding or holding them wherever they are. These are supposed to provide a sense of safety and consistency for babies and act as their ‘security blanket’. I did not use one of these though many people who follow Montessori do. 

• BED & SLEEPING AREA
  • Floorbeds are also another familiar Montessori home setup. They are often known as “Montessori beds” but they aren’t exclusively Montessori. 
  • Floorbeds are exactly what it sounds like…  beds that are either on the ground or extremely low to the ground with rails. This kind of bed is supposed to encourage movement, sleep independence. Many people with a Montessori home setup choose a floor bed instead of a crib. Some people literally just have mattresses on the ground, some have fancy looking house frames for the mattress. This is going to be completely up to you.
  • The guidance is that the baby should sleep on the floor bed during naps and bedtime. High five if you can get your babe to do that, I know I couldn’t! I personally chose a crib because that’s what I decided would work for us.
  • The science and art of baby sleep in itself is a topic that deserves its own post.

• WORK & PLAY
  • Mobiles encourage babies to develop eye control and concentration. Montessori recommends abstract black and white mobiles from 0-3 months, then natural objects that move. Examples: birds, leaves, dancers, fish, boats, ocean animals.
  • Back when I was pregnant, the Montessori options were very slim. I ended up attempting to make different mobiles on my own. Oh boy, it was definitely a labor of love since I am not craft or artsy by any means.
  • Now there are lots of minimalistic, aesthetic, trendy mobiles that you can buy from Etsy, Lovevery, and MontiKids. 
  • Mirrors are also a great addition to the room to encourage visual exploration, just make sure they are mounted and sturdy.
  • Put the mirror in a designated area of the room to play and movement and away from wherever they are sleeping. Mirrors can be exciting and signal playtime which is the opposite of sleep!
  • They won’t be able to recognize themselves until much later but they will be curious about the reflection.
  • You can also start putting out a few things for your baby to grab, mouth, and encourage movement. Anything within grabbing distance needs to be safe for them to play with. 
  • While babies this age aren’t able to speak, it’s never too early to start talking to them.
  • Talk to them about everything from when you are changing them, to what they see, the environment around them, etc. They are absorbing all the words and sounds around them.

Important: Do not interrupt when your baby is focused on the mirror or mobiles. Do not make funny sounds, do not narrate what they see.

Let them focus.

This could take some getting used to (I know I had to restrain myself from interrupting my kiddo’s concentration) but this in itself can start to set the foundation for independent play in the future, increased ability to focus, and longer attention spans. 

• DRESSING
  • Dress young babies in soft natural fabrics and textures. The thinking behind this is allowing for comfort and easy movement.
  • Pro Tip: Stay away from onesies with lots of tiny buttons. Forget the velcro onesies too — way too noisy. Exclusively go straight for the zippered onesies.
  • My favorite are these zippered onesies here.

• EATING
  • 0-6 months is focused on feeding the baby (and caregiver) either on demand or on a schedule.
  • Some people like to start feeding purees at 4 months, some like to wait until 6 months to start solids/baby led weaning.
  • We went down the baby led weaning path because it aligned with building independence and self-feeding. More on that in the next section. 

Now let’s talk about some ways to switch up your newborn Montessori home setup for a 6-12+ month old

6+ months is a big developmental milestone and phase of development for babies. Your child is likely mobile, rolling around, sitting up on their own (or starting to), and maybe even starting to grow a few teeth. Your baby may also be starting to focus and play for longer periods of time. 

• ROOM
  • The room set up doesn’t change much, assuming it’s a safe place to encourage movement. Make sure mobiles are high enough that they can’t reach them or pull them down. 
  • At 6 months, they are sitting up so mobiles can still be interesting but as soon as they start crawling and standing, they may start pulling them down.
  • You could include a Montessori pull up bar in your home to encourage them to pull themselves up. 

• BED / SLEEPING AREA: This area also doesn’t change much whether you have a floor bed or a crib. Now could be a good time to start thinking about a loose schedule/routine/rhythm for eating and sleeping if you haven’t already done so. 

• WORK & PLAY 
  • Note that in the world of Montessori, “work” is the child’s learning process / play. Essentially a child’s play is their work, just like adults have jobs and work.
  • You can start to set up low, simple shelves with age appropriate work for your baby (either in the bedroom or elsewhere in your home). We started with 8 shelves in the bedroom, then increased to another 8 in our family den.
  • The Montessori principles for setting up shelves: work materials that allows the child to focus and master one single action.
  • Lay or separate the work in a way that maintains a sense of ‘order’ on shelves.
  • Lastly, it’s important to set up the work in a way that is ‘inviting’ (meaning assembled in a way that is easy for your baby to access on their own and clean up on their own).
  • Go here if you want to learn more about how to introduce shelf work to babies and here (amazing PDF) if you want to learn more about age appropriate toys to buy.

• DRESSING
  • Closer to 10-12 months they become more independent with their movement and could be crawling or standing. This is when you can begin preparing the environment for your baby to go through the motions of choosing their own clothes (with your help of course).
  • Some people like to add additional kid sized closets and Montessori wardrobes [boho style closet, Alba wardrobe from Sprout Kids]. This is can be a great option if you have the space.
  • I didn’t have the space but wanted to set up an area where my kiddo could start to get an understanding of the process of choosing her clothing, getting dressed, etc. So I bought one of these closet rod extender and it has served us well over the years. It doubled the closet space and made clothes accessible to her. We still use it to this day.
  • If you are limited in space, I’d recommend the closet rod as a space saver and cost effective solution. Add a hamper to the room (or wherever your family hampers are) to place dirty clothing

• EATING
  • At around 6 months, babies will start to sit up on their own which is one of the signs of readiness for solid foods.
  • At this stage, you can set up a small Montessori weaning table with chairs and/or incorporate a high chair at the family table.
  • Both of these options have benefits in that, sitting at a small table independently starts to set up good eating habits and routines.
  • If eating as a family is important to you, sitting at the table with the family in a high chair helps your child be a part of the family and socialize during meal times.
  • We did a combination of both: breakfast, lunch, and snacks at the weaning table then dinner time in a highchair with the rest of the family. There are lots of options for weaning table and chair sets. We used a combo of ECR4Kids weaning chairs (very sturdy and secure for young babies who are just learning to sit up) and shortened the legs on an Ikea LACK side table.
  • Remember that they are sponges even at 6 months so include them during family meals!

• A NOTE ON LEARNING TOWERS
  • At about 8-9 months, when your baby starts to stand, it’s the perfect age to add a learning tower. These are also known as “kitchen helpers” or “Montessori learning towers” (though they aren’t exclusive to Montessori).
  • There are so many benefits to adding a learning tower to your home including letting them observe kitchen activities.
  • Cooking is a “practical life” opportunity for a child to learn to scoop, pour, and mix – all things that young babies and toddlers love to do.
• Learning Tower Options: There are many different options to consider depending on how much space you have, what features are important to you, and budget.
  • LEARNING TOWER DIY
    • There are lots of different IKEA hacks to build learning towers. I’ve also heard that these are very easy to build if you are handy.
    • Instructions are easily available through Google. I’m not, so this wasn’t an option for us. Etsy also has DIY learning towers.
  • TRADITIONAL/CLASSIC LEARNING TOWERS
    • Guidecraft and Little Partners are the most well known brands. They come in different designs, are extremely sturdy and reliable.
    • There are even foldable versions and some learning towers that convert into weaning tables.
    • Learning towers that are foldable are big plus if you are in a tight space.
    • We have the Guidecraft Contemporary in white. I would highly recommend this particular Guidecraft learning tower because it’s extremely safe and sturdy. There’s almost no chance of a child tipping over or falling out of it and this was the most important factor for me (more so than the ability to fold it) 
  • STOOL VS LEARNING TOWER
    • Some people opt to use a stool in place of a learning tower. This could work if your child is older and can keep themselves stable. However if you are starting at 8-9 months, most babies are still learning to stand so they need a stable and enclosed space to keep them safe.

We still our learning tower to this day and will continue to use it for a while. If you are starting as soon as your child can climb or stand, I highly recommend getting the safety net.

That was my Montessori home setup for ages 0-12 months.

Learning about Montessori completely changed my parenting philosophies and has taught me to slow down in my life. I’m still learning and will continue to implement Montessori basics in our home. I only included an overview of what I think are the essentials for a Montessori home. There’s so much more you can do depending on your space and lifestyle.

Hopefully you’ll see it’s not so much about the expensive wooden toys, it’s more about the mindset and environment. Will you be setting up Montessori basics at home? Or if you have a Montessori home set up, what were your favorite things to include or lessons that you’ve learned?