Prepared Environment

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

September 5, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

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….

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…

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.
Octahedron Mobile– introduced at 6 weeks old. Babies eye sight develops at rapid pace. This mobile introduced primary colors in 3 dimensions.
Gobbi Mobile– introduced at 8 weeks old. Gobbi introduced gradation of colors from the darkest to the lightest.
Rainbow mobile– introduced at 9 weeks old. Introduces secondary colors and was Anika’s favorite mobile.
Dancers mobile– introduced at 11 weeks old. It shows realistic shapes, movements and bodily expressions.
Wooden figure/ whale mobile– introduced at 13 weeks old. Represents concrete and realistic form which aids in visual development and tracking.
Ring on ribbon or bell chimes mobile– introduced at 15 weeks old. Strengthens grasping skills that is developing at around this time.

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.

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

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).
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.

Montessori Shelf at 6 Months Old

August 23, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

I love preparing Anika’s Montessori work shelf every month depending on her skills and interest. Here is a brief description of each work on the shelf at 6 Months old…

Diffraction Mirror Paddles- We are so so lucky to receive beautiful gifts from Every Educaid. Thank you Sarah! Anika enjoys swiping the paddles clockwise and anticlockwise to build her hand strength and muscle control. The reflection in the mirror is enticing. I cant wait to take it outside so Anika can really enjoy its diffraction properties.
Basket with objects that roll away slowly- Anika is slithering! These objects that roll away slowly encourage her to crawl. We have been using all of these materials again and again for different purposes from early months. We have our black and white puzzle ball (part of Lovevery gym), teething ball, bell rattle and a soft ball. To be honest, an avocado or a lemon would work just as well too 🙂
Treasure Baskets- Anika LOVES treasure baskets. Just random things from around the house with different texture, made up of natural material and that are safe to mouth. We have 2 treasure baskets on this shelf (bottom left), one has different kind of brushes and other one has various wooden objects.
Tissue box with playsilks– Anika loves pulling everything! So I did a DIY (video on Instgram) with a tissue box and placed a few playsilks inside that she could pull. Its one of her favorites.
Sound shakers- We got these glitter shaker bottles from Every Educaid that are perfect size for little hands. I filled them up with various beans. Anika loves to shake and hear the sound each bean makes.

20 ways to encourage Tummy time from birth to 5 months

July 7, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

At the end of 4 months, Anika started rolling from her tummy to her back. I never helped her learn the skill because I did’nt want to take away her joy of being able to do it herself. So, instead of ‘pushing’ her to gain a skill earlier, I just gave her lots of ‘time and opportunity’ to be able to do it when she was ready. I sincerely believe these milestones are not a competition or a race. Whenever my inner voice tells me to help her do it, I remind myself to STOP and TRUST her because Einstein spoke his first word at 3 years and that didn’t define his potential. In terms of giving opportunities for physical growth, we all know the answer is tummy time. I get most number of messages on Instagram asking me when to start tummy time and how to encourage it. Since I have not written about the “encouraging” part yet, here we go…..

Let’s start with some facts:

Tummy time is hard work.
Most babies dont like it much.
It is essential to build neck and shoulder muscles for head control and all the future gross motor movements.
All babies have different level of strength, so its best to ease and motivate the child but never force them to do tummy time. Increase the duration gradually…
Make tummy time a “routine” from birth, so babies know what to expect and will resist it less. Our routine is as soon as Anika wakes from any day nap, we change nappy and do tummy time. Duration differs but the routine stays the same.
The more tummy time and floor time a baby gets, the stronger and more physically active they will be. Minimize the time in contraptions.
Most children need “incentives” to do tummy time. These incentives were different each month depending on her capability and interest. So here is how we encouraged tummy time during Anika’s first 5 months of life….

Birth and First Month- We started tummy time on Day 4 on my tummy! Mumma’s body feels like the safest and the most known place to little one’s and this is the best + easiest place to start. We put Anika on the floor on Day.10 when she seemed OK to lie on her tummy and occasionally try very hard to lift her head. The most important thing was to place her on soft/ thick rug or floor mat.

Start tummy time on mum or dad’s tummy

For the first few weeks best place to start tummy time is on dad or mum’s tummy

Place on thick rug once they can lift their head, while lying on tummy. Anika on Day 12..

2. Mum’s (primary caregiver) presence is comforting during tummy time for at least the first 2 months– I stayed with her throughout and often did tummy time with her, so she could see me and this got me the few extra minutes from her.

Mum’s presence and voice is very comforting
during tummy time, esp in the first few weeks…

3. Tummy time in different places around the house– encourages babies to engage for longer and try their best to lift their heads up since this ‘new world’ is fascinating!

Tummy time in different places at home is a great incentive for them to try very hard to lift their head!

4. Make it a part of your routine from the start- this way babies will know what to expect and resist it less.

A way to least resistance for tummy time is to make it a part of your “routine” as soon as possible. After every nap, we changed nappy and did tummy time.

Second Month- From Week 5 onward, she particularly enjoyed seeing ‘the baby’ in the mirror. Babies visual sense is limited in the first few weeks of life so high contrast images are perfect for getting their attention + developing their visual sense. We have absolutely loved these black and white flash cards. I printed these on 250 gsm paper and used corner punch to trim the edges.

5. Black and white images/ mats are visually stimulating- Babies can only see high contrast images during the first few weeks of life. Anika has absolutely loved these black and white cards and her brolly sheet, which we use as an extra layer under a carpet or rug during tummy time.

Mirror + black and white flash cards are a great aid for tummy time + concentration

Black and white brolly sheet was a great incentive to lift up and concentrate

6. Tummy time is always better when babies can interact with people

Interaction with an adult is the best tummy time incentive at ANY month old!

7. Montessori Mobiles are wonderful tummy time incentives from Week 4 onward

Montessori mobiles are great for tummy time as well

Tummy time watching the dancers mobile at 10 weeks old

Third Month- Anika became increasingly aware of her surroundings at 3 months. She was earlier very sensitive to many people and especially noise! Introducing her to the “outside world” was done while on tummy 🙂

8. Trees make THE best mobiles- and a great tummy time motivation + introduction to the outside world, once babies are settled in their home environment.

Babies love watching the natural environment once they have settled in at home-usually 3 months

9. Various ‘sensorial’ materials that they can grasp- At 3 months old, babies have discovered their hands and are busy practicing their grasp. Combine this into something exciting during tummy time and they wont complain! Anika loved grasping the sand, grass, bark, leaves etc while she was on her tummy time (on my thighs) outdoors. At 3 months, their hand to mouth reflex is still developing so you can stop them (just in time :-)) from putting things in their mouth.

3 months onward, they also love to “grasp” and “feel” everything in their environment.

This whale mobiles represents concrete wooden form and worked great for tummy time and back time

10. Follow the child and observe to find their interest and continue to motivate them during tummy time- Following the child and observation is the backbone of Montessori philosophy. Its also where all these ideas are derived from 🙂 At 3 months old, Anika went through a phase where toys during tummy time would annoy her! All she wanted to do is put all her energy to lift up into a push up.

When babies learn new skills like this push up at 3 months, they are intrinsically motivated to repeat it till they master the lift…

11. Pictures of other babies- Babies are fascinated and love to watch other babies at around 3 months. Printing some pictures from the internet and displaying them on their eye level is a great incentive for tummy time.

Pictures of other babies are very exciting to watch during tummy time

12. Let them explore books with various textures- At around 3 or 4 months, many babies can comfortably balance on their forearms. Giving them books with various textures to feel keeps them reading on their tummies for longer.

We LOVE this touch and feel playbook for tummy time!

13. Let them explore teethers- Most babies start teething anytime between 3-6 months. Teethers are exciting to gnaw on during tummy time and require less effort to hold compared to when babies are on their back. We love Sophie the giraffe.

Teethers are exciting to grasp and gnaw on while on tummy

Fourth Month- At four months old, babies have developed good shoulder and neck strength and almost ‘demand’ to be entertained during tummy time. This is also the time when they have a great interest in ‘motion’ and seeing things pass by. So we often did our afternoon tummy time at our local reserve where Anika could see people and cars pass by…

14. Show them “Smooth Transitions”– Babies go through a growth spurt around 4 months old, where smooth transitions fascinate them. Some examples are- cars passing by, people passing by…

At 4 months old babies love seeing things passing by in ‘smooth transitions’ watching cars and people pass by are great incentives to be on tummy…

Continue placing them in random places at home at 4 months old! Here Anika discovered that her hand could go “under” the mat and enjoyed practicing it on repeat…at 4 months old

15. Give them various sensorial textures to explore- Babies are sensorial learners. Giving them different kinds of sensory textures helps their brain development and keeps them motivated to do tummy time.

Babies can usually balance on their forearms at 4 months, this felt ball is a great sensory experience at 4 months old…

16. Give them real-life objects to explore– More than any ‘toy’, babies want to be and do what the other adults do. Anika loves to see how my fingers hold the brush, how I hold a spoon etc. Giving them these experiences during tummy time keeps them motivated to explore on their tummies for longer.

More than any ‘toy’ babies want to do all the ‘real-life’ things that they see adults around them do. Here Anika explores how to ‘hold’ and mouth a toothbrush (new + eco friendly).

Babies love watching what adults hands and fingers do at all times including while eating. Exploring another real-life object during tummy time!

17. Let them ‘feel’ some raw fruits and vegetables (with hard skin)– Many babies start developing a real interest in food at around 4-5 months old and letting them explore some real fruits and vegetables with hard skin is a great way to keep them on their tummies for longer.

Babies also develop great interest in what adults are eating at 4 months old. Letting them explore real-life sensorial unripe fruit and vegetable sustains their concentration + tummy time for a while. We use washed pumpkin, lemons, oranges etc anything with hard skin that she cant eat 🙂

18. Let them see “real life”- Babies are fascinated with watching what a vacuum cleaner or a mop does and enjoy tracking their movement too! Tummy time hardly feels like a chore when they can see all these exciting things.

Seeing real-life chores is so fascinating for babies. Tracking + tummy time incentive all in one.

19. Batting and grasping mobiles– I just DIY’ed this black and white ball which a part of our Lovevery playgym into a batting mobile (sewn with elastic on top + satin ribbon). At 4 and 5 months old, its a great and exciting challenge to balance on one arm and bat it with another. At 4 months old, babies are also refining their grasp, so a grasping mobile is a great challenge for babies during tummy time.

Batting a ball hanging from the ceiling hook is so much fun at 4 months old

Grasping the bell chimes mobile is challenging + exciting at 5 months old

FIFTH MONTH- Babies are now more or less comfortable with tummy time. Many are rolling or will be rolling soon. Babies are getting increasingly mobile at around this time. Read this post for details on how to support this mobility.

20. We love objects that roll- at 5 months old, which encourages movement for babies.

Anika rolling over in an attempt to get the cage rattle

Figuring out how to reach the Hugg-a-planet ball which has just rolled away…

Observations at 4 Months Old

July 4, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

Anika turned 5 months on Tuesday and I love to do these observation post just to record the memories because time seems to be passing so fast! Hey 5 months already??

“I observe little children; I sensed their needs; I tried to fulfill them; they call that the Montessori method.”- Dr. Montessori

I will be honest, 4th month has been challenging for me in many ways. Little miss went through her 19th week growth spurt + sleep regression + object permanence at the same time. I have spoken in details about the 19th week growth spurt and 4th month sleep regression on Instagram. I will talk about object permanence here….its when babies are still learning that objects can exist even when they can’t see them. It meant a lot of screaming for every minute, I moved away from her eyesight. So we have been baby wearing a LOT and my back is a bit stuffed…But challenges are a part of life just like the good times and each day, I am immensely grateful for my daughter. So I am not complaining but sharing cause I want to be honest in my journey as a mum…. I should record observations every week cause I dont seem to remember much but here are a few things I remember….

Obsession with hands and feet has been intense this whole month.
Loves grabbing her left toes and taking both her socks out. Right toe seems a bit more challenging to grasp. It’s amazing to see minor muscular differences in both sides of the body from such a young age.
From week 18 onward, she was constantly ‘arching her back’ while feeding, playing etc. Well its a preparation for rolling! I supported her upper back while carrying her so she was safe.
Towards the end of 4th month she started rolling from her tummy to her back. It was done obsessively like 30 times a day at least. It was almost like she could not help but had to roll over 5 times before her body stopped arching back and she could sleep.
Rolling on her right is much easier than her left.
She hardly misses grasping anything now. Her grasp has come a longgg way this month.
She has always been a very alert baby but this month her personality has shown even more. She is super happy, giggly, chatty and also very strong willed 🙂
She now responds to her name.
She watches my every move and wants to imitate me all the time. I have been eating on the floor so she could see how I eat. This resulted in some serious tantrums if I didn’t give her something to eat, so yes at 4 months she started chomping on solids like a pro. More on this later…
We have some new sounds this month, my favorite is when she says ‘ayeee’.
She seems to be imitating me every minute. Every evening, we dance and this is her (and my) most favorite part of the day! I dance and sing songs and she vigorously moves her hands and legs with big smile trying to match my moves 😀
She “demands” lullaby before each nap time. I have been singing her Annie’s song (John Denver), You are my sunshine, Top of the world, I just called to say I love you (Stevie Wonder) from when she was in my tummy and its fascinating to see how much she loves listening to me sing these tunes(probably the only one who does ;-)). She kicks her legs hard attempting to dance, while I sing.
She can sit unaided and arches forward for about 10-15 seconds.
She absolutely loves watching trees and feeling all the world around her. I take her around the house and let her feel whatever she looks at. Some favorites are door knobs and taps.
Turns out she is a tummy sleeper! We still co-sleep at night and use carrier during day naps.
Our routine at the start of 4th month, looked like this. Towards the end of 4th month, her awake time increased to 2-2.5 hours and our routines have completely changed. I will post our new routine soon.
We loved doing heaps of work/ play together. Check out 20 Montessori inspired activities she loved at 4 months old.
This month, she seemed increasingly restless and demanding of my attention, which in turn decreased her ‘work’ and time for ‘concentration’. Although I know this is a developmental thing and I am doing all in my will to make her feel secure, I wonder if there is something else I could do…..
She can pick up toys from her side.
Teething continues and tends to get more intense at night time.
Oh wait, did I mention she loves water? Apart from splashing in bath tub every night we do a small water play in our bathroom sink after breakfast.

All in all she grew up heaps this month, physically (check out those thighs :-)) and with her skills. I love my life as mumma to this precious ray of sunshine.

Montessori Shelf at 5 Months Old

July 3, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

Anika is 5 months old already! It reminds me to savor moments like these….

Love cuddling her when she is asleep and awake!

Anika is rolling over and has got a lot more mobile on her tummy and her back. So it was time to make some important changes in the room. While Anika slept in the stroller this morning, I quickly re organised her room and shelf. The final look for this month is…

The 2 most important changes in the room are:

We replaced our much loved rainbow wool rug with this large thick play mat (PVC and phthalate free). So she now has more space to explore her movements. We found this rug at Baby Show in Auckland last year, but you can find similar one here.
I have placed my breastfeeding pillow, near the shelf. We now spend 5-10 minutes every work cycle doing assisted sitting practice. Sitting is the only gross motor skill that babies need to “practice” with help before they can master it on their own and 5 months is the perfect time to start this. To be honest, 2 pillows joined at an angle will work just fine.

For a few more days, her favorite bell chimes mobile stays because she absolutely loves working with it. I am always in the room with her, so it’s ok but generally as soon as babies start to roll over its safer to take all the mobiles out.

Practicing assisted sitting with pillow and my hand

Now time for our exciting shelfie!!

We were very happy to receive some amazing rattles from Sarah at Every Educaid. I love this company and all their beautiful natural and hands-on educational resources. Anika has come a long way with her grasp this last month, so these beautiful rattles are just perfect for 5th month to further refine her grasp.

Thank you Sarah (Every Educaid) for these beautiful rattles + wooden spiky balls for heuristic basket

Top shelf Details:

Wooden bowls- are from flea markets in Bali.

First bowl– Playsilk since Anika is REALLY into peekaboo atm. She is trying to make sense of order permanence.

Second bowl– Interlocking discs. During 5th month a very important thing happens with hands- TRANSFER FROM ONE HAND TO ANOTHER. So if there is only 1 resource I recommend for this age, it would be this beautiful discs designed ideally for hand to hand transfer.

Third, fourth, fifth and sixth bowls- are all rattles from Every Educaid. Anika hardly misses grasping what she wants now. These rattles are much more trickier to hold than her previous ones, which will further refine her grasp.

First box- has willow rattle (from Every Educaid) and wooden rattle from Essential Montessori.

Hug a Planet– We LOVE this cloth ball. It gives a great height and support to work with specially when Anika is practicing sitting.

Skwish Toy– Still a favorite at 5 months!

Montessori Perfect Pacifier– we use it as a teether and its easy to hold and great to gnaw on.

We have another basket with toys in the living room. That includes her all time favorite teether- Sophie the Giraffe and lots of books! Happy Wednesday everyone.

3 Most Loved Montessori materials in the first 3 months

June 12, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

I have written a detailed post about ‘Preparing a Montessori Newborn Space‘ earlier. Here is a quick guide to Montessori playroom furniture and three materials we have loved in the first three months.

A Montessori playroom for babies has 2 main pieces of furniture, which are used daily for many years:

Horizontal mirror– Easily our most loved and used piece of furniture. Anika has loved looking in this safe acrylic mirror since the first few days after birth. Some uses of the mirror for a baby are: it helps the child to have an extended view of their environment, Anika enjoys the mirror image of the mobiles, she watches her face and tries out facial expressions, she watches her hands and feet move, she enjoys interacting with others through the mirror, she prefers to be held (by a new person) while looking in the mirror so she knows whats happening with her body. Basically I cant recommend it enough 🙂 I love this particular mirror because we can easily move it, does not damage the walls and it can be reconfigured vertically when she starts walking.
An infant shelf- Babies are sensitive to order. So having this piece of furniture to store their play materials neatly in trays adheres to this sense of order and they learn from start and things belong to and have to be put back in their place. We got a wooden infant shelf from a local woodsman in Auckland , which will be used for years to come. But a shelf from Ikea or Kmart works well too.

As far as Montessori materials go, here are top 3 that we have used heaps and absolutely loved….

Montessori mobiles have been the most loved in these first 3 months

Montessori mobiles– We have had so much fun with these! They have been marvelous to develop Anika’s concentration. This being our main ‘toy’ for the first 3 months (and even now!) these mobiles have been totally worth its use.

Baby books and these black and white flash cards have been loved!

Baby books– Reading books has been a great way to bond and also form concrete routines for us. Anika loves these books and they are Montessori (real-life images) approved. We also love using these books and the black and white flashcards as our tummy time incentive.

Lovevery Play gym-this Montessori inspired playgym has been a big hit for us. Anika loved the black and white images, mirror, mobiles…I love that the little guide book that comes with it and tells you how to change the material every few months according to their development stage. It can be used right till she is a toddler.

Highly Recommended Montessori + other Parenting Books

June 6, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

Words by some incredible educators/scientists/ philosophers have opened up not just the horizons of my mind but also completely changed the way I parent. There is so much to say about how I have loved each of these books but I will keep it short for the sake of simplicity. Let’s start with if you only want to read 1 Montessori baby book, it would be…

My most highly recommended Montessori book from birth to three years

Montessori from the start– comprehensive, easy to read, easy to understand and easy to implement Montessori curriculum from birth to three years.

Some of my other favorite Montessori baby books are:

Understanding the Human Being– this is “the Montessori baby book” written by Dr. Montanaro who worked closely with Dr.Montessori and established what Montessori should look like from birth to three years. I LOVE this book! Its written in Montessori language, so a bit more scientific to read. Highly recommended!

The Joyful Child- Another Montessori bible from birth to three years. I love how it is so easy to read and understand.

The Absorbent Mind– written by Dr.Montessori this is for me the best “Montessori read” for an overall idea of this philosophy. She has also given many insights into the early years.

Other books that greatly influence my parenting…I will talk about authors/philosophies and their best work rather than just books here..

RIE– known as “resources for infant educarers” was founded by Magda Gerber who worked with Dr. Emmi Pikkler, a pediatriacian. To put it in brief “respecting the baby” forms the basis of this method and my favorite book is “Your self confident baby” by Magda Gerber. I also love Janet Lansbury’s blog!

The conscious parent– this book (and even the awakened family) by Dr. Shefali Tsabary wiped a bit of the fog of my ‘childhood conditioning’ and gave me an insight into my patterns and ways of being. Reflection is the first step in parenting, I think! Just can’t recommend these books and this lady enough.

Osho/ Sadhguru– I have listened to both of these mystics regularly for past few years on YouTube and love reading their books. I have loved their methods/ meditations too. Osho is not for the soft hearted! His words are powerful, bare and authentic. I love “the book of children“, which gives a great insight if you wish to raise a child not conditioned by the society but who is just truly themselves.

Montessori Shelf at 15 weeks old

May 31, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

Here is our shelf at 15 weeks. We mainly hope to work on- grasping and teething in the fine motor skills area in the next month. Here is a brief description of the material:

Top left tray- has a wooden rattle, crochet rattle and bell roller cylinder. We have continued this from last month. Please note, I have put away the bell rattle and silver rattle because currently everything goes in the mouth and they have sharp edges.

Tray to practice grasping and for some teething relief. Our favorite here is Sophie, the giraffe.

Top right tray– other rattles + cuddlies + teethers. They are being currently used for grasping and teething. Most of the items on the tray have been gift’s except Sophie, the giraffe which is a teething favorite.

Basket with balls to practice holding with both hands

Bottom shelf left tray– Anika loves bringing her hands together and she does it all the time! I put together a basket with balls etc to provide her an additional challenge. She loves trying to hold them during tummy time and it also encourages her to move. These have been collected over the years from $2 shops and random markets. The grey and white puzzle ball is a part of our Lovevery playgym.

Skwish toy– A favorite Montessori rattle + teether. I cannot recommend it enough.

Basket with baby paper and play silks for grasping and teething.

Bottom shelf right tray- Basket with playsilks and baby paper. I knot the play silk on the edge and it makes an amazing teething material that is easy to grasp! We also love playing peekaboo with playsilk.

A note on materials– Most of the materials I have collected are “open-ended” like the play silk, various play balls, sensorial rattles (later used in heuristic basket etc) so we use them again and again for different purposes. Even though we love exploring all these materials, the most important “material/ thing” a baby loves is YOU (the adult in the environment). These are just some extra’s…

Montessori mobile sequence

May 17, 2019 by jayabalar 3 Comments

Montessori mobiles are elegant in its simplicity and don’t have music or brightly colored cartoon images. The purpose of each is clear and developmentally appropriate to a child’s growing visual sense. I am a big fan of Montessori’s scientific approach from birth. Below is the suggested timeline we followed to introduce Montessori mobiles.

First few weeks- child lies on floor mat to observe the environment. While this continues over the next few months, we introduce mobiles as an aid to developing their concentration. Here is the sequence we followed:

Week 3– Anika seemed comfortable in the new environment, so we introduced the Munari mobile. She spent a lot of her wake time concentrating on it.

Week. 5 introduced the Octahedron mobile- introduction to primary colors in 3 dimensions

Week 5– Octahedron mobile replaced the Munari. Octahedron introduces the primary colours in 3 dimensions.

Week 6- set up the rainbow mobile, introduction to secondary colours

Week 6- We set up another mobile station near the kitchen in the living room. Anika wanted to be able to see me, esp in the evenings. We introduced the Rainbow mobile, which is the introduction of secondary colours. She thoroughly loved this mobile for many a weeks.

Week 7- We introduced the Gobbi mobile at week 7, which refines the visual sense through the gradation of colors from the lightest to the darkest.

Week 9– We introduced the Dancer’s mobile at week 11. This is the last in the series of visual mobiles and introduces realistic shapes and represents movement, flexibility, bodily expression and potency and human interactions.

Important notes:

We changed approximately every 2 weeks or she got bored.
After week 11 when she was bored of the dancers mobile and not yet ready for grasping mobiles, we rotated and went back to Munari mobile and started the sequence all over again. She loved them all once again. I also introduced a series of my own batting mobiles.
We didn’t want to drill and used the Fealkira Adhesive hooks as our ceiling hooks and they were perfect!
These mobiles are followed by batting and grasping mobiles.

Products that we have used

Munari mobile

Double sided mirror

Fealkira Adhesive

Our favorite everyday home items for grasping

May 17, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

“The first step in movement is grasping…and soon as the hands grasp something, consciousness is called to the hand….”- Maria Montessori, Education for a New World.

Work of intentional grasping started around week 10 for Anika. Check the signs of readiness on this post. Apart from some of her favorite rattles, I observed she loved grasping my clothes, her clothes, my jewelry and my hair 😀 I would classify the below items as beginning grasping tools as most are easier to grasp than a rattle too. So, here are some common everyday items she enjoys refining her grasping skills with….

My necklace 🙂 PS-supervision is essential

My wooden bangle has been her absolute favorite during tummy time. She is fascinated when it gets in her arms and she is wearing it 🙂

Silk scarf has been another favorite since its easy to grasp due to more surface area. We use it for back and tummy time. She loves to chew on it as well.

Highly recommend this baby paper from amazon. She loves the crinkly noise, it promotes freedom (place it on tummy and she uses it when she is ready) and promotes independence (wider surface area makes it easier to grasp even if fallen to the side)

We also love grasping grass/bark/leaves while outdoors

So today at week 13 here are all the items we have been working on to refine her grasp. She loves them and everyday I see her grasping is becoming more refined. I did introduce ‘ring on ribbon’ mobile as well but she batted it more than grasp it. I put it away, perhaps she will be ready for it in few more weeks. We are currently rotating our old mobiles, which she now loves to bat 🙂

Materials that we have used:

Rattles

Silk scarf

Baby paper

Prepared Environment

Products that we have used

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