Following a wonderful summer at home with all of my kids it's really become apparent how big a lot of my children are getting. Their days as young children are far behind them and they are all really coming into their own. Watching my big second plane kids play and explore, though, has really led to me to one conclusion - they don't need a Montessori playroom anymore. No, our Montessori home needs a makerspace. On my Instagram stories, I said, "if I only had bigs I would get rid of our playroom and make it into a makerspace."
And while I would love to just give up the playroom for them, I still have some really little first plane children at home too. They need and use the play space, so for now I'm just dreaming of a makerspace. I'm starting to store away a few ideas for when this will become a reality in our home.
A Montessori Friendly Makerspace At Home
Of course makerspaces are really popular in museum, library and school settings so specific furniture for these kinds of spaces tends to be really expensive. So I tried to pick things that I would realistically consider for a home that wouldn't be unreasonably expensive. Here are the things I've been dreaming about adding to a makerspace for my Montessori children.
- Sliding Storage Drawers: These come in a bunch of different sizes and I just love the basket drawers. I can imagine all sorts of things in these baskets - toilet paper rolls, cardboard scraps, wood scraps and more!
- Drawer System: This one I actually saw in a makers space and it is perfect! I've actually considered it even without a whole makerspace here. It's great for larger sheets of cardboard, poster board, and paper. The space I saw, used to organize different sizes of paper.
- Peg Board: There are a lot of these types of options on the market, but I love the idea of using a wall to organize tools, papers, and hang completed work. If I had the budget, I would seriously consider this real wood version.
- White Board: I love the idea of a long and low white board or two for planning, mapping, and designing projects. Pair with washable dry erase markers so your kids clothes aren't all ruined!
- Small Storage: Perfect system for storing little things like washi tape, makedo screws, beads, or even clay.
- Flexible Desk: This made the list because my kids loved it when we were actually at IKEA. It seems like a great art table for older kids that have moved past needing a kid's easel. A large work table would also be a must, but this would be another great addition to a makers space.
- Wooden Box: This was another one that I almost bought the other day. A great space for holding half done projects, a sensory bin of sorts, or a place to store nature items to study. I can see this being used for some many reasons.
- Drying Rack: The perfect place to let art dry, I love that this could be hung on the wall and out of the way. Plus its not as big or expensive as those made for classrooms.
We'll this post did not help me not want to create this type of space in my home! Now, I want it more than ever. I will have to keep brain storming how we can incorporate some of these ideas in our home with our large group of ages.
Do you have a makerspace in your home or school?
