Forest Montessori

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Archives for September 2019

Observations at 7 Months Old

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Babies are amazing! Everyday, they seem to be doing something new. Below are just few things that I can remember for what Anika got upto at 7 months old….

  • First intentional word was Tasha (Sasha whole patting our dog). She does make sounds like mama and dada but they are not intentional yet.
  • Loves giving cuddles.
  • Directs her day by pointing to what she wants to do next. Ex- points to CD player when she wants music on!
  • She has started showing a very cheeky side! She bites and then gives big cuddles. She offers food and then takes it away!
  • She recognizes many words and points at them correctly. Some of them are- stars, light, daddy, Sasha, dog, cat, birdie, mama….
  • She lifts on all her fours. Tummy crawls backwards and in circles. 
  • She spends a lot of time doing push ups.
  • Anika absolutely loves social interactions with babies and adults. 
  • She shows a clear preference for wanting to go outside at all times.
  • Recognizes people she sees every week and extends her arms out when she wants to be carried by them. 
  • Loves to throw everything, including her food!
  • Hates wearing a bib! Loves feeling the food while eating it.
  • Got her first tooth and the second one is on the way.
  • Loves small things like a speck of dirt! Loves to play with hoodie strings, labels, zips and clothes.
  • Recognizes herself in the mirror and pictures and loves it!  
  • Loves holding things in one hand and manipulating it with the other hand.
  • Dancing is her all time favorite thing to do.
  • Recognizes all her favorite rhymes.
  • Enjoys putting the ball in the hole, in object permanence box. 
  • Loves taking out rings from a stacker. 
  • Plays peekaboo by herself and invites others to join in…
  • Loves taking out all the tissues from the tissue box and tearing it into pieces.
  • Flip fingers was her all time favorite Montessori inspired toy. We are so grateful for this amazing gift from Every Educaid.
  • She also explored a whole lot of treasure baskets.

Why sitting baby up did not work for us and transitioning back to floor time

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Most websites on google will tell you that ‘sitting’ is a developmental milestone that comes before crawling and babies generally start sitting independently once they turn 7 months old. I knew, I would never prop my baby to sit but at the end of 5 months, Anika could sit independently (without propping) and she loved it, so I helped her to sit up from supine position whenever she requested (extending hands and arching back).

I knew something wasn’t right. But I told myself it’s just a phase, she does not like floor time and it will get better soon. Like this few weeks past by, no signs of wanting to go back to floor time. Sure her sitting posture improved and she wanted to sit for even longer each day. But having to put her up in a posture that she couldn’t get into or out of, just didn’t feel right. What was I doing wrong? Many books and most sites on google say, sitting comes first before crawling….but my heart was aching and I knew I was doing something wrong. It was a light bulb moment for me, when i joined all the dots and realized…Anika started disliking tummy time only once she could sit. There was a direct link! Sitting wasn’t helping her get more mobile or independent, which meant it was a bad move. I started researching this and found this article by RIE expert Janet Lansbury, please read it.

  • Sitting is much easier than back time and also better view, so why will a baby want to go back on their tummy or back? I wouldn’t either.
  • Anika needed to depend on me to sit her up, which does not encourage independent play.
  • I always have a pillow behind, “just in case” she falls back, which takes away her and my confidence in her sitting ability.
  • She has been tummy crawling backwards since last month but things have not moved forward from there because she is not getting substantial tummy/ back time (prerequisite to crawling) to progress.
  • She moves 360 degrees while sitting and she can get into crawling position from sitting but if done organically it should happen the other way around. That is, she should crawl before being able to put herself into the seated position.

Decision was made it took me 4 days to undo her sitting habit. This is how I went about it…Firstly, hubby and I were convinced as could be that we had to stop seating her. There was no 2 ways about that…

Day 1– was the hardest day. On an average she would spend 30% play time (not counting meal times as sitting is a given) on floor and 70% seated. We pretty much did a 50% seated and 50% floor time on Day 1. She complained and every time she did, I would just lie down and put her on my tummy and start interacting with her. This was the only way we were getting through this…Anika never complains because she honestly believes that mama makes the best mattress 😀

Day 2– 60% floor time and 40% seated time. I continued putting her on my tummy when she complained. I also started going down to her level (on my tummy) and interacting with her. I got some new work material out to keep her interested and busy.

Day 3- 80% floor time and 20% seated time. Babies are creatures of habit! It’s amazing how quickly they adjust! Very few complaints and I continued to engage on her eye level when she did fuss.

Day 4- today was 100% floor time while playing. Not too many complaints. So happy it’s progressed well. 

It might not be a 4 day transition for every baby. They all are so different but here is a blog I wrote few weeks back on “20 ways to Encourage Tummy Time“, which will also be helpful. Here is another great read to go about the transitioning back to sitting by Janet Lansbury.

My aim of wanting to transition her back to floor time is not so she can crawl faster but I would love for my daughter to have graceful, organic movements which come when a baby is allowed to develop at their own pace.

What next? A very clear focus on NEVER putting her in any position, she cant get into by herself. This means not standing her or walking her either. Hubby and I have been pulling her to stand (naughty, naughty!) while we dance with her. Last 4 days, I go on my tummy/ back and dance with her she does not seem to mind. I think I might look like a drowning octopus though haha. I also plan to share these articles on why I wont walk, sit or stand my child with my in-laws because they spend time with her every week. Its important everyone is on the same page. Hope this blog helps someone <3

Montessori Baby Timeline- Our favorite Montessori Mobiles, Rattles and Books for the first 6 Months

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I recently had the opportunity to work together on Instagram with some amazing Montessori mum’s who shared lots of fantastic information for our miniseries called ‘#themontessoribaby’. Check it out if you haven’t already! I enjoyed sharing timelines for most topics as a way of reflecting back on past 6 months depending on what has been Anika’s favorite and how each book, mobile and rattle has worked for her developmentally. Montessori mobiles, rattles and books are baby’s “main toys” for the first 6 months and here is our timeline for each….

Montessori mobiles timeline

Babies have an immense capacity to concentrate for long periods of time and these early years are a sensitive period to build concentration. Montessori mobiles are scientific in the sense that they are developmentally appropriate to a child’s growing visual sense. Here is the sequence we introduced the Montessori mobiles in…

  1. Munari mobile– We introduced this to her when she a month old. Since babies can see only high contrast colors in early days, this black and white mobile was perfect for developing tracking skills and concentration.
  2. Octahedron Mobile– introduced at 6 weeks old. Babies eye sight develops at rapid pace. This mobile introduced primary colors in 3 dimensions.
  3. Gobbi Mobile– introduced at 8 weeks old. Gobbi introduced gradation of colors from the darkest to the lightest.
  4. Rainbow mobile– introduced at 9 weeks old. Introduces secondary colors and was Anika’s favorite mobile.
  5. Dancers mobile– introduced at 11 weeks old. It shows realistic shapes, movements and bodily expressions.
  6. Wooden figure/ whale mobile– introduced at 13 weeks old. Represents concrete and realistic form which aids in visual development and tracking.
  7. Ring on ribbon or bell chimes mobile– introduced at 15 weeks old. Strengthens grasping skills that is developing at around this time.
Baby Books Timeline

We have read heaps of baby books from day. 1 and we have read lots. Anika showed a preference for the following during each month….

  • 1 Month Old and 2 Months Old– We loved reading black and white books as she could only see in high contrast. She also enjoyed concentrating on high contrast flash cards. She enjoyed the visual aspect more than the oratory, so we spoke little and watched more.
  • 3 Months Old- She could see primary colors well and we loved reading small simple books with 1 picture per page and no words. We started talking a wee bit more about each page.
  • 4 Months Old– She started grasping everything. We loved reading the ‘indestructible series‘ for grasping and chewing. Instead of constantly saying No, we choose books that were safe for her to mouth and chew on.
  • 5 Months Old– She was fascinated with ‘lift the flap books’ which made her an active participant in our reading time. For the first few weeks, she watched me open the flaps and slowly she started trying to do it herself. I have written about our top 3 favorite lift the flap books here. She also enjoyed visual as much as oratory, so we talk heaps. I also added a lot of synonyms and actions into each page; example- elephant was too big is described as he was huge, gigantic, humongous, massive (with actions) etc. She seemed to understand some words and many actions, even if not she enjoys the description.
  • 6 Months Old- She was fascinated with body parts and loved to stare and play with my eyes, nose, ears etc. So we loved reading “My first Body” book along with some other favorites from the Indestructible series and Lift the flap series.
Montessori Rattle timeline

Rattles help in strengthening hand muscles and developing baby’s grasp. 2 Montessori concepts we always follow with any material are:

  1. Are they ready for it?- Never set them up for failure! It should be doable, not too easy (results in boredom) and nor too difficult (results in low self esteem).
  2. Order of introduction- Every material is introduced in order from the easiest to the most difficult, when they are ready for it. So here is the rattle timeline that we followed with Anika…
  • 2 Months old- We introduced the soft crochet black and white rattle. This soft and light weight (and safe!) bell rattle perfectly fit in small hands.
  • 3 Months old– We introduced the stick rattle. We love this willow rattle and also the wooden rattle. The stick is a firmer texture for a babies growing hand control and excellent for grasp refinement.
  • 4 Months old- We introduced circular rattles, which gave her a different grasp to work with. It also gave her an opportunity to practice hand to hand transfer.
  • 5 Months old- Anika could grasp and hold things with both her hands and the egg rattle was great to practice that skill.
  • 6 Months old– Anika was slithering and the rolling rattle encouraged her to move more.

Observations at 6 Months old

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My little girl is growing too fast! I miss all the cuddles in the carrier all afternoon already! Well, she is happy to sleep in bed now. My cuddle time is replaced with lots of food preps and cleaning time cause little Anika loves to eat by herself and I love to cook for her. Its a way to love her, if you know what I mean?

Here are some observations at 6 months old:

PHYSICAL

  • She rolls both ways swiftly and can roll all the way across the room.
  • At the start of this month she could sit independently for 5-10 minutes. At the end of this month, she hardly ever falls back for long periods of time. I still do place my breastfeeding pillow behind her just in case.
  • She has started staying in push ups (while on tummy) for lot longer and also comes on to her knees. She can slither if she wants to but its a very frustrating experience for her.
  • Anika can stand when supported for few seconds. Loves playing sit and stand game.

OTHERS

  • She is obsessed with dots and moles.
  • She seems really fascinated with body parts. We read lots of books and sang songs for the same.
  • Her favorite hangout changed from her Montessori room to our bathroom! She can stay playing there all day.
  • She takes all her day naps in bed, unless unwell then she wants to go back in the carrier.
  • First few months, people really intimidated her and she preferred to stay with me and my husband. This month, she has loved interacting with people. So we have had lots of outdoor adventures.
  • She absolutely loves her food and feeds herself during all the three meals.
  • Shows that she understands some words. Ex- Sasha (family dog, looks around for her), scream (responds by screaming when we row row row the boat), trees, lift, pull, push (does all the actions correctly), come……
  • Shows that she has a good memory. Ex- searches for the converter in the wall socket that was there yesterday. 
  • Reading books, dancing, gnawing in her teethers, exploring treasure baskets and understanding the cause/effect of everything at home were her favorites this month. 
  • She loves action songs and her favorite for the month was ‘wheels on the bus’.
  • Shows strong logic/ reasoning and keen interest in making sense of the world. She looks below the basin to see where the water goes. She cries if we put music on our phone without showing her where the voice is actually coming from.
  • Pulls the neckline of my tops towards her when she wants to feed.
  • Loves playing with strings, zips, labels and keys.
  • She directs me towards where she wants to go with her arms and legs (extended out or flexed back) and her eyes. 
  • She loves discovering every little detail at home. She has learnt to pull and push most doors at home! Her current favorites are watching me manipulate the pedal to open and close our rubbish bin, pulling out the toilet paper roll and watching the shower water disappear in the drain! She guides me to these favorites and demands I show her or let her do it 😀

She is shown her personality more and more this month. She feels so aware, so happy and so strong-willed. I am sure there are heaps more which I cannot recollect at the moment…but all in all time is passing by too fast and I am trying to make the most of the days, when I can still call her my ‘baby’.