Daddy's craftsmanship*

Daddy built a frame for Rye's Montessori floor bed, and it's gorgeous! Here are some shots of Rye testing it out at nap time today. It's solid oak with box joints at the corners.

Usually the floor bed goes in a corner, but our corners are all near (drafty!) windows, which isn't too earthquake-smart. So Rye's frame has a headboard that should help keep him from going off the end in his sleep. He sometimes rolls around in his sleep, and he's loving to crawl and climb, so the pillows protect him from too much adventure when we can't get there quick enough to catch him.

"As you go through the process of preparing baby's room before birth, lie down on the floor in the middle of the room and look around, listen. Will it be safe? interesting? beautiful? calming? Will it allow for as much freedom of movement possible?

This visual, followed by tactile, exploration is very important for many aspects of human development. If we provide a floor bed or mattress on the floor in a completely safe room—rather than a crib or playpen with bars—the child has a clear view of the surroundings and freedom to explore.

A bed should be one which the baby can get in and out of on his own as soon as he is ready to crawl. The first choice is an adult twin bed mattress on the floor. Besides being an aid to development, this arrangement does a lot to prevent the common problem of crying because of boredom or exhaustion.

It helps to think of this as a whole-room playpen with a baby gate at the doorway and to examine every nook and cranny for interest and safety."

Snippets reprinted from: The Joyful Child, Essential Montessori for Birth to Three

*When Rye woke up from his nap, he started really exploring his bed, so these photos were added later in the afternoon.

Finally a very long and drawn-out video of Rye exploring the new bed. We thought some of the out-of-towners might be interested, but it's sort of average stuff, to be honest.