Forest Montessori

Montessori From Birth

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anika 5 months old

10 exciting ways to discover sounds with babies

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At 5 months old, Anika seems very aware of all the different sounds in the environment. She is obsessed with anything that makes sound and finds great joy in hearing it. Some of her favorites her banging her leg on different surfaces, listening to me singing lullaby’s and the sound of her bell chimes mobile.

Sounds are all around us but its great when we can help babies to understand the source and cause and effect of the sound + introduce them to some new ones. Here are some ways we have been discovering sounds at our home…

  • Allowing space, freedom and silence- This is first and foremost for any learning….Giving them silence from our side, so they have space and freedom to explore sounds in their environment. Giving children ‘their space’ gives them opportunities to discover sounds in the environment. I always remind myself to not overpower my presence around her, to wait, to observe and to follow.
  • Food jars– Our family loves anything to do with food and Anika is no different. Once during our “introduction to home environment” where I was describing the pantry to her…I started shaking all the food jars so she could hear how they sound and she loved it so much! We continue to do this often.
Sound boxes for babies- listening to the sound each food jar makes has been a favorite at 5 months old
  • Sounds in nature– Simple things like the pitter patter of raindrops or the songs of birds brings great joy to babies. Weather permitting we go outside everyday and this greatly increases Anika’s exposure to the world of sounds.
  • Water play- the ecstasy when babies discover that they can splash and hear that beautiful sound is something else. Anika loves splashing in the bath tub every night and we also do a small water play in the sink every morning after breakfast. Water is such a great medium for sensorial discovery.
  • Finding source of various sounds in nature- Narrating or showing the source of sound so babies can make sense of their world. Example- showing the dog when they hear a barking sound.
Showing them the source of sound helps them make sense of the world, Ex- barking sound comes from a dog
  • Toys that make sound- they learn cause and effect when they come in close contact with materials that make sound. Some of our favorites are willow rattle and bell chimes mobile.
Exploring various toys that make sound are a favorite with babies at 5 months old
  • Exploring various surfaces with legs- Anika is obsessed with her legs and toes and loves kicking different surfaces/ rugs/ play mats to see what sound it would make. So, I often let her explore things around home with her legs, example- she loves kicking the cardboard to hear the sound it makes and then her rug and alternating and making sense of different sounds. I hold the cardboard close to her legs.
Exploring various surfaces with legs
  • Sing for them- A no fail, all babies love to hear the voice of their parents sing. We currently love singing action songs and lullaby’s. Some of our favorite action songs are- wheels on the bus, hammer hammer, miss polly, incy wincy spider….
  • Play/ Listen to music- Listening to various genres of music aids in refining their listening skills. We tend to listen to music that we like as adults rather than children’s songs and Anika seems to recognize and express joy at some of her favorite songs.
  • Explore various sounds at home- Our home environment has so many interesting sounds like the water flushing, tap running, sound made by dryer, washing machine, kitchen exhaust…..Anika finds great joy in understanding where noises at home are coming from. At 4 months old, we use to introduce various parts of home environment to her but now she extends her arms and legs forward while we go around letting us know what she wants to see or touch next.
Exploring various sounds at home by listening and watching a dryer in action

I hope these gave you some ideas on exploring sounds in the environment, while making sense of the world for your little ones.

Three favorite lift-the-flap books

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My old flatmate and dear friend Katrina (also a Montessori teacher!) moved to Melbourne a few days back. On her last visit to see us, she got Anika “Dear Zoo” book. Thank you Kat, you are very much missed in Auckland! We remember you by reading this book every afternoon.

First few days, Anika could not really manage to lift the flap but as we continued to read each day, I was quite surprised that in a matter of few days she could easily lift each flap. I see her ‘lifting’ is getting more refined each day. In fact, she loves the below books so so much that she looks away (sometimes, mostly she screams :-)) if we read anything else! Lifting to see whats underneath a rug, sheet, pillow or lifting to see what’s under each flap is one of her favorite things to do at 5 months old. This has to do with a development phase, where she is understanding ‘the world of relationships’ and also making sense of object permanence.

So, here are her favorite lift-the-flap books that are perfect for an infant as well.

Anika lifting the flap to see an elephant in her favorite book ‘Dear Zoo‘

Dear Zoo- Lift the flap to find which animal the zoo has sent as a pet. So easy to read, beautiful pictures, perfect first lift-the-flap book. Highly recommended.

Oh Dear- Another classic by the same author (as Dear Zoo) Rod Campbell. His simplicity in words makes his books a favorite among young readers.

Where is Baby’s belly button– this book is so much fun for babies and toddlers. You have probably heard of it or read it already, its one of those classics not to be missed.

There are many lift-the-flap books in the bookstores but I love these especially for a baby under 1 year old, because they are so simple to read, understand and lift 🙂 Love to hear about your favorites, please leave a comment below.

Introducing solids- the Montessori Way

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Dr. Montessori spoke about it as “weaning” but this term could be mistaken for substituting the breast milk with solids so I prefer to call this blog “introducing solids”. I had no plans to introduce solids till Anika turned 6 months but here is what happened…

PRECURSOR- Anika has seen us eat for a while now. I often eat my meals, while she is doing tummy time and all her eyes are on how I hold the spoon, how my mouth chews and what I eat….Basically precursor to weaning is letting a baby observe how you eat since they learn through observation.

WHY- At 4 months something, Anika was in my lap cooing away while, I decided to eat a banana. She literally pounced on it, took a big bite and smiled. I let her eat a little more as a one-off thing but she had other plans. That night, she refused to feed and was crying and I knew why….she wanted to eat like us. As soon as I offered her something to eat she stopped crying and gave me her cheeky smile. So this was completely baby led but as pediatricians recommend its best to wait until 6 months.

SIGNS OF READINESS- Here are some signs to see for readiness, before introducing solids:

  • Has doubled birth weight. Anika did at 3 months old.
  • Has good head control.
  • Can sit easily when helped in that position.
  • Demonstrates the “chewing reflex” so baby is chewing on the food, instead of gulping and gagging.

MONTESSORI REMINDERS- Here are some reminders we follow while doing this the Montessori way:

  • Starting right– so we start this journey by making sure there are no distractions (no screen, no birdies) while we eat/ feed. This sets the right foundation and gives child a message that food is eaten for joy and nourishment.
  • Offer but never force- Dr. Montessori emphasized that food should be offered near the mouth but never forced, as it forms a bad relationship with food.Patience and trust that baby will eat when ready are important.

WHAT- Montessori way is mashed fruit and vegetable purees but if Dr. Montessori was here today, I am sure she would have supported Baby Led Weaning (BLW) that is offering whole ripe fruits and steamed/ boiled vegetable pieces. I let Anika try both the methods and she prefers BLW method so that’s what we mostly do. Here are the 2 most important reasons I advocate BLW:

  • Helps in establishing the chewing reflex- cause large pieces of fruits and steamed vegetables cant be swallowed.
  • Promotes independence- because babies can grasp the whole fruits/ vegetables and put it in their mouth much easier than feeding themselves with a spoon.

“During the weaning we should always remember to offer food that the child can take by himself, such as little pieces of bread, banana or vegetable, Of course, the child can also be given a fork and shown how to use it. Do not intervene if he uses his hands to help. The child watches carefully how we do things and, if we eat well, as soon as he is able to manage it, the child will be willing to copy us.”  – Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro in Understanding the Human Being.

FOOD- At present, Anika eats breakfast which is a mix of cucumbers + seasonal fruits. These days she eats all of the soft parts of the cucumber sticks + 1 quarter of kiwi fruit + 1 quarter of persimmon on average. She usually eats quarter of banana for afternoon tea. Dinner is big chunks of any 2 of the following vegetables- carrot, kumara, pumpkin, broccoli. I do sometimes make her mashed food with pumpkin + spinach.

“Cucumbers with skin on and cut in long thick strips are the SAFEST and our most favorite food for BLW.”

TODAY- Anika mainly nurses throughout the day and this food is not a replacement but an addition for her. We recently received our weaning chair + tables so I will set that up this weekend. Till then she has been feeding on my lap or on her high chair (triptrapp).

20 ways to encourage Tummy time from birth to 5 months

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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:

  1. Tummy time is hard work.
  2. Most babies dont like it much.
  3. It is essential to build neck and shoulder muscles for head control and all the future gross motor movements.
  4. 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…
  5. 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.
  6. The more tummy time and floor time a baby gets, the stronger and more physically active they will be. Minimize the time in contraptions.
  7. 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.

  1. 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…

Montessori Shelf at 5 Months Old

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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.