06/08/2026
More stuff isn't the answer.
Over stimulation is a problem everywhere.
One thing (of many) I love about the Montessori environment is that we have more time and less clutter. We allow children time to think and just BE. We don't FILL the shelves with every good thing we find. Everything we choose is intentional and multipurposed, leaving more empty space to enjoy. Come feel the difference!
A few years ago, I was carrying out a consultancy visit in a beautiful classroom.
Everything looked perfect.
The shelves were full of resources.
The activities were beautifully presented.
The environment had clearly been created with love, care and good intentions.
But as I observed the children, something caught my attention.
They were drifting.
Moving from one area to another.
Picking things up and putting them down.
Rarely staying with anything for long.
The practitioners were working incredibly hard, yet the deep engagement they were hoping for just wasn’t happening.
At first glance, it would have been easy to assume the children needed more.
More invitations.
More activities.
More excitement.
But as we reflected together, we realised the answer wasn’t more at all.
It was less.
Less clutter.
Less noise.
Less interruption.
Less pressure to constantly provide something new.
Over time, as the provision became simpler and children were given longer periods of uninterrupted play, everything changed.
Children began returning to their ideas day after day.
Their play became deeper.
Their conversations became richer.
Their creativity flourished.
It’s something I’ve seen time and time again through my consultancy work.
When children aren’t deeply engaged, it often isn’t because there isn’t enough available to them.
It’s because there is so much that they never get the opportunity to truly connect with anything.
One of the greatest gifts we can give children is not more resources.
It’s more time.
More space.
More trust.
❤️ Childhood isn’t a race.
If this resonates with you, I’ve created a free 30-minute training where I share 3 simple shifts that can help bring more calm, connection and deep engagement into your provision—without adding more to your already busy day.
Thousands of early years educators have already watched it and discovered how small changes can transform the atmosphere of their setting.
✨ Watch the free training via the link in my bio or at https://www.hyggeintheearlyyears.co.uk/blank-page-c59b8933-2688-43eb-8483-215520b9c3ac
👇 Does this resonate with your own experience of provision and engagement?