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Montessori From Birth

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Prepared Environment 17
Montessori At Birth 5
Montessori at 1 month 1
Montessori at 2 months 2
Montessori at 3 months 9
Montessori at 4 months 6
Montessori at 5 months 7
Montessori at 6 months 5
Montessori at 7 months 2
Montessori at 8 months 2

prepared environment

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.

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 6 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori shelf, anika 6 months

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!!

Shelfie at 5 months old

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

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.

Bottom shelf view

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.

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 5 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori baby, montessori shelf, anika 5 months old

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.

The much loved Lovevery playgym

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.

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 4 months Tagged With: prepared environment, newborn, montessori baby, montessori materials

Montessori Shelf at 15 weeks old

May 31, 2019 by jayabalar Leave a Comment

Montessori shelf at 15 weeks old

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:

Rattle tray

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…

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 3 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori baby, shelf

Montessori mobile sequence

May 17, 2019 by jayabalar 3 Comments

Introduce the Munari mobile at week. 3


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

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 2 months, Montessori at 3 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori baby, montessori mobiles, Anika 1 month old, anika at birth, anika 2 months old, anika 3 months old

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….

Her clothes during tummy time
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

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 3 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori baby, grasping

Montessori inspired Batting mobiles

May 4, 2019 by jayabalar 1 Comment

If you are new around here, I highly recommend you first read about the Montessori mobiles in the visual series. From week 9 onward, Anika was batting all her visual mobiles. At week 11, I set up the bell on ribbon mobile but she batted it and was not ready for grasping yet. So along with rotating the visual mobiles once again, we also used experimented with my DIY bell batting mobile from the ceiling hook. Alas, it oscillated too far and after a while Anika got frustrated tracking it. So then we placed all her batting mobiles on her Lovevery Play gym, which has Velcro hooks to replace mobiles.

We prefer batting at the play gym because the mobiles don’t oscillate as much, which sustains concentration and interest. I think any sphere shaped ball is ideal as a batting mobile. We used some open- ended sphere items that we already had at home…

  • Bunch of bells- bought at spotlight during Christmas. I love open-ended objects like these! Mobile today, part of heuristic basket in few months, part of Christmas decoration again in few months and just so much more year after year.
  • Felt ball sphere- bought by my mum from Nepal. Another open-ended item, I just happened to have and works perfectly for batting. It can be used as sensory ball, to study shapes in a few years, as a cards and counters extension and on and on! 
  • We also used the black and white ball, which is a part of Lovevery gym.

In this transition phase, where we are still working on our grasping skills and not yet ready for bell on ribbon or ring on ribbon; these batting mobiles have been heaps of fun! 

I reckon any sphere shaped (safe surface)  item works well or maybe even a soft toy? Would love to hear more ideas….

Filed Under: Montessori at 3 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori mobiles

Top 10 Montessori approved baby books

April 5, 2019 by jayabalar 2 Comments

“Fantasy is very interesting to the older child, but only confusing to the very young. A rich foundation of stories about the real world is the best preparation for creative imagination. We should check that books present reality, since at this age children are trying to make sense of the environment and the life around them. There is nothing more extraordinary and interesting than our own daily life. Fantasy can come later- after reality has been experienced and absorbed.”- Dr. Montanaro

So Montessori friendly baby books have realistic images and don’t have fictional or fairy tales. I am not very strict about this and do have classics like Goodnight Moon in our library. Here are my top 10 favorites for the first year…

PS- I originally posted this on instagram and heard back from heaps of other Montessori mamas. Here are some other suggestions- ”The big book of beautiful babies” by David Ellwand, “The seasons series” by Gerda Muller, Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney series of boardbooks. Any more to add to the list?

Books that we have used:

Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes padded board book

Baby Touch and Feel: Animals

Indestructibles: Baby Faces

Global Babies

I See (Baby Beginner Board Books)

Everywhere Babies

Goodnight Moon

Filed Under: Prepared Environment Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori books

Montessori shelf at 2 months old

April 3, 2019 by jayabalar 1 Comment

Anika has just started learning to grasp, so I have re-arranged our shelf to include rattles. Top shelf has rattles for grasping. They are arranged and will be introduced from the easiest to the most challenging. Bottom shelf has my DIY sensory bottles and black and white flash cards we use for tummy time, along with skwish toy and bell roller. Our first rattle was the black and white crochet rattle. It fit perfectly in the little hands and Anika loved it. here is a sneak peak…

First black and white crochet rattle at 10 weeks old

The other favorites and easy to grasp rattles have been the Bell Rattle and Wooden Rattle.

I always remember my Montessori mentor, Joy saying “never set a child up for failure.” So here are some signs I looked out for before introducing the rattle:

  • Could hold my little finger for more than a minute at a stretch.
  • Garbs my hair/ cloth with ease.
  • Palms are open more often and the grasp reflex is diminishing.
  • Trying to grab the mat during tummy time.
  • Easily finds her hands to self soothe.
  • Has been observing her hands for a few days.
  • Has been seen practicing the open/ close movements of the hands.
  • Has been consciously batting the mobiles.

Hope you found this useful. Leave a comment with your the signs you observed before you introduced the rattle.

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori at 2 months Tagged With: prepared environment, montessori baby, montessori shelf, anika 2 months old

Preparing a Montessori Newborn Space

January 25, 2019 by jayabalar 2 Comments

Prepared Environment is a crucial part of the Montessori philosophy and setting up your newborn’s nursery room is exciting yet can be confusing. Today research has proven what Montessori said over 100 years ago that the first three years are the most crucial in a child’s brain and personality development and so their prepared environment plays a crucial role in their growth through information received in the early years.

“Babies absorb everything that surrounds them in their environment. They are acutely aware of colors, patterns, sounds, textures and aromas.” – How to Raise an Amazing child the Montessori Way by Tim Seldin.

As I spent time planning and setting up my soon to arrive babies Montessori nursery and playroom, I have tried to inculcate features of Montessori classroom such as, child-size furnishings, use of natural material, tranquillity, non-clutter, filled with natural light, plants and art. Montessori designed a bedroom for the young child that has four specific well-defined areas for setting up a new-borns room:

Area for rest Montessori perspective– Montessori recommends to use a “floor bed” from birth. Compared to a crib; the floor bed provides freedom to observe the surroundings for newborn, freedom of movement, serves as long-term sleeping area and hence no transition required from crib to bed, long-term investment, safer option as children climb over the sides of crib resulting in accidents and gives freedom for crawlers to independently crawl in and out of bed and hence promoting independence. Many parents question that newborns are likely to fall from the bed, but as Dr.Montanaro confirms “He will never reach the edge of the bed with his whole body because as soon as he finds that small part of his body is not being supported, he retreats to the center of the bed.” In first few months, one could add cushions/ bolsters on the open side of the bed for added safety. How we did it– We got a double size mattress in the corner of the room and covered it with a fitted sheet (no flat sheet). We placed a nest (could also use a moses basket) where baby will spend her first few weeks. It is best to use mattresses with natural material, such as futon or latex. The mattress could easily be placed on the floor, we choose a very low slat bed base so it’s regularly aired. Please note, a single size mattress could also be used but I plan to co-sleep hence the double size.

Area for feeding Montessori perspective- A specific area for feeding gives the child the sense of order and the mother a sense of comfort in the first few months. Some Montessori recommends for feeding are- breastmilk as it’s the most optimum and complete food for an infant, presence and eye contact with baby while feeding for a sense of emotional fulfillment and bonding, giving the freedom to the child to latch and detach by themselves and observations to understand the cues/cries for when they are hungry compared to uncomfortable, sleeping or gassy. How we did it- We got a comfortable rocking chair for nursing, which has been conveniently placed between the bed and the changing table. The walls of the room are bare except for a black and white picture which the newborn can see while she is being patted and burped after feeding. There is a small wooden table placed across, which has water carafe/jug, lamp and room thermometer. We also placed a small bookshelf from IKEA with some Montessori baby books for some reading time before sleep.

Area for activity Montessori perspective-A mirror is a common feature of a Montessori activity area, as it helps babies to see how they move and also gives them an overall view of their surroundings. Plexiglas/ acrylic mirror bolted to the wall low enough so that the baby can see themselves is recommended. A ceiling hook can be placed above so that mobiles can be hung and changed as per their interest. A sturdy low-shelf is recommended to hold their toys, which change as baby grows. Some examples of Montessori infant material are-rattles, cloth ball, black and white flash cards and Skwish toy.

If there is limited space available in the room, the mirror could be placed on the wall next to baby’s bed and the ceiling hook over the bed for the mobiles. Once the environment for activity is provided, it is essential that an infant is not disturbed/ interrupted for periods while “concentrating”. This concentration is a crucial building block for future self-formation.

How we did it– We got a free standing mirror from Grocare/LSG. I personally preferred this as it can be moved to various room (if needed) and also this particular one could be placed vertical once baby grows up to toddler years and further. But a 3 mm acrylic mirror cut to the approximate size of 69*127 cms with its edges sanded and attached to the wall with heavy-duty command velcro would work equally well. There is a ceiling hook on the roof next to the mirror for the mobiles and an infant wooden shelf for displaying toys/ activities.

Area for getting changed Montessori perspective- Infant nappy change area can be set up either on the floor or on set of drawers/ change table. The change area is free of distractions, mobiles and pictures and is considered a time for one on one interaction and involvement with the child. Change area on a table is better when primary caregiver has back/ knee issues.  How we did it- We kept a changing mat on the floor along with a basket for laundry and another basket for all the changing needs, like nappies, cloth wipes, bowl for water, balm, elimination communication potty and a round container with thermometer, hairbrush, nail clippers etc. We have placed a simple plastic basket with a lid just outside her room for her dirty nappies. Changing table on floor means no need to buy a specific table for changing/ set of drawers and most importantly it protects baby from falling off once she can wriggle around. Few months down the line, a crawling baby can independently crawl to the change table when it’s time.

Other features of Montessori infant room are:

  • Everything in child’s room is low to the ground.
  • Each item will adjust to her changing needs as she grows.
  • The wooden shelf is sturdy enough so she can pull herself up while learning to walk.
  • The safety aspect of the room will continuously evolve as she becomes more mobile, e.g.- taping the electric wire to the wall, cushions around the bed, moving the change table to the bathroom and changing supplies to a locked bathroom drawer in few months, edges of table covered with tape etc.
  • ‘Freedom of movement’ is considered crucial for children’s development and this is done by making the layout as spacious as possible. Montessori recommends not using any containers (such as walkers, bouncers, swings), no pacifiers, no swaddles, appropriate clothing (light, comfortable, warm and natural fibres) and leaving them on the ground for as long as possible.

Montessori room for baby looks plain and simple, especially when compared to the brightly coloured and decorated nurseries we normally see. But this plainer nursery has an atmosphere of calm and order that is soothing to the child.

Products that we have used

Acrylic mirror

Skwish toy

Cloth ball

Black and white flash cards

Black and white cards

Change pad

Filed Under: Prepared Environment, Montessori At Birth Tagged With: montessori newborn, prepared environment, montessori nursery

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Settling a newborn- the Montessori way (Montessori Voices magazine version)

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