Salem's Room

After months of letting Salem sleep in my bed (because in all honesty I was too tired to care where he slept), I realized that I needed my space back.  On the nights Miguel was home (he works nights), he would end up on the couch in order for Salem to sleep in our bed.  Um, yeah, no.  My husband and I needed to be close to one another without a toddler foot in our backs.  So one day I decided enough was enough and a change was needed! Salem had been sleeping in his toddler bed for naps but just didn't want to sleep there at night. Some research and racking of my brain to remember things I learned in my education classes in college, led me to the decision of implementing some Montessori and Waldorf principles into our home.

I am not an expert on these types of education nor do I plan to be, I just simply took some ideas from the two styles (simplicity, fostering independence, a natural approach to learning, etc.) and added them into our life. When I looked into Salem's room, I always felt overwhelmed by the amount of toys and books we had packed into his space.  If I was overwhelmed, surely Salem was too.  His toddler bed was more of a trampoline than a bed and I thought maybe he needed a bed more suited for relaxation and rest.  The drawers of his dresser were packed with all of his clothing options and I dared to wonder why he always brought me more than one of each item when I asked him to pick out his clothes. His room was decorated for an adults perspective and I thought he might want more stuff at his level.  There was an oversized rocking chair that I used to nurse him in, that had become a toy as well.

After really examining and assessing the situation, I came up with a plan to reorganize, simplify and update his quarters in order to foster his budding independence.  Here is his room now:

Our plants love the light in Salem's room.  He has taken on the responsibility of watering and does it on his own (ish)!

Simplified his toy and book choices.  Organized the rest of his things into three different sets to rotate in when he tires of the current set and hid them in my closet. With limited choices he is able to focus on each thing rather than switching quickly (and making a huge mess) like he did before.

A twin size Ikea foam mattress on the floor replaced his toddler bed.  This opens up his space quite a bit and allows room to grow.  Salem has really taken to this new bed and stays in it much more than he did before.

A kid sized table and chairs replaced the big rocker.  Salem now has a place to work on and hang his art (as well as play with cars and whatever else)

The changes were easy and Salem has really taken to his new digs.  He especially likes the photos and art work at his level; he beamed with pride when he first saw it all.  I didn't show the dresser drawers which now house only a few clothing options in order to assist Salem in making decisions (when there are too many choices, it's too hard to decide) or the closet which has his shirt and shoe choices at his level.

Salem has slept through the night in his new bed twice since we changed things up a week ago. The other nights,  he came into our room and fell back asleep on our floor, which I could handle since his feet were no where near me.  We then decided to put his old crib mattress underneath our bed for him to pull out when he wants to sleep in our room. I figure every step towards independence is a win and for those nights that he still wants to be close to me, well, that's a victory too.  After all, I am now getting more sleep which means we all win!