A Montessori Home Tour: Gabrielle of Plenty of Trays

If you are on Instagram looking for Montessori ideas, you might have already found Gabrielle of Plenty of Trays. If you haven't yet, you should definitely follow her. Her bio reads: "helping parents reach their child's full potential one Montessori tray at a time." Have I convinced you yet? I have signed up for her newsletter and I just love the positivity and realness that comes across in her writing. She promotes Montessori companies (big and small) and offers so many valuable resources for free. The genuine love of Montessori is very apparent in all that she does (along with her sister...see below). I was so happy that she agreed to do an interview and home tour, especially because she has three children, home schools and runs a business. I enjoyed getting to know her better this week...I hope you do too!

Tell me about yourself...

My name is Gabrielle and I grew up in a small town southeast of Winnipeg, Manitoba. I have been married for over 6 years and we have 3 young children. My husband and I both come from large families and we both love Jesus, sushi, traveling, and wine.

How old is are your children?

My children are 5.5 years old, 4 years old, and 14 months.

When did you first learn about Montessori?

My sister Cat introduced me to the Montessori Method in 2017. She is an early childhood educator and has worked in different daycares for over 10 years before landing a job with a Montessori school. She was amazed. She shared her experience with me and I began researching the Montessori Method and I’ve been hooked ever since!

How have you created a Prepared Environment in your home?

I started small and one area at a time to avoid getting overwhelmed. I knew I was going to homeschool, so I started with a small classroom area. After that, I moved to the entrance and added a few low hooks and a small shelf. Some time passed and I bought a different shelf for their closet to make their clothes more accessible. A little while ago, I noticed they would always leave their towels all over the place after their bath because they had nowhere to hang them. So, I bought a few more hooks and stuck them on a wall in the bathroom where they could reach. My most recent projects have been a peace table, music area to learn the piano and the kitchen.

Once my youngest is a bit older, I will have to set up a few areas for her too.

Kitchen

What are your favourite activities to do with your children or to watch your children do?

Learning piano is a new favourite for all of us. My 4 year old loves all things practical life. My 5 year old loves art and anything to do with animals.

How do you deal with toy/activity/material storage and rotation?

I am fortunate to have a lots of storage space in my home. I try to stay organized with bins and boxes separated by theme but I definitely don’t have this part all figured out yet!