“Where did she go? She was just here!” This is something you’ll ear quite often in our house these days. My Munchkin has mastered her crawling skills and moves fast. Apart from that, she pulls up to stand as well at most places she gets a grip. This is a time to be careful that they do not hurt themselves a lot. She is moving around the entre time she is awake and it’s quite difficult to get her to stop.

So we decided to finally setup her Montessori shelf. We put a shelf in her room with a few activities on them. She developed and instant interest in it and moved to explore what all was there. She now spends quite a bit of time throughout the day working with things on her shelf. Unfortunately, I do not have an image of her first shelf but below are the things we put out for her.

Bead Mover

The Bead Mover is a good toy for fine motor skills and developing concentration. My Munchkin seemed to enjoy working with it immediately and I must admit she had a fair amount of concentration while working with it.

There are various designs available in the market and online. I selected something that is not very complex and preferred the wooden ones. The one I am using is a Skillofun Bead Shuttle I purchased online.

Basket of balls

We continued with the same basket used earlier which was a basket with 5 to 6 balls of different sizes and textures.

She still has a lot of fun playing with these. It also develops gross motor movements.

Ring Stacker

This is another one she enjoyed. Although she was unable to put the rings initially, she would remove them and put 1 or 2 back. A few months later, she did the whole thing well.

A stacker with 5 to 7 colourful rings. In the beginning, give them only the large ring and maybe one smaller one. Slowly, keep adding in more rings. This activity is good for hand-eye coordination and also discrimination of sizes.

I purchased mine online. There are many options available online.

Books

She had four hardbound books on her shelf. Two were touch and feel ones and two were images of animals and birds.

We have been reading to her earlier as well and she has been looking at picture books so this was not new to her.

Music

We opted to put a Xylophone on her shelf for music.  This was purchased online too. Very simple to use and she picked up only with showing her how to use it once. We do supervise her when she uses this as she tends to put the stick into her mouth a lot.

There was a lot of fun and discoveries we had this month as well.

Bubbles

A very simple toy that most children loved and my Munchkin loved too.

We took out the bubble wand and kept blowing them into the air. Initially she was confused but two to three attempts later she got a huge smile on her face and started to try catching them (and eat them!).

Eating herself

We have been giving her a lot of finger food for the past few months but she now is eating better on her own. Most things dry, we let her eat by herself now.

She does use a highchair most of the time. Traditionally, in Montessori we would use a small table and chair for meal times but we have been more comfortable with the highchair so are using it.

Outdoor Play

We generally go for a stroll everyday and look at the plants, people, pets and most things around. This month we used the park for the first time. My Munchkin had her first go on the slide and the swing. Yes, you guessed it right she loved it! So now it is the beginning of using the park, which is a great way to develop their gross motor skills.

Peekaboo

There were a few times when my munchkin threw things down from her highchair and gasped, when she realized it had fallen down, and then on after she threw it, she would look for it. This was the time she started to enjoy playing ‘Peekaboo’ as well.

When something is gone from sight, it no longer exists for a child. Thus, with games like ‘Peekaboo’ a child begins to understand that things exist even when they are not seen.

I captured my munchkin playing ‘Peekaboo’ with her grandma which is when I thought this would be a good time to introduce her to the Imbucare Box.

My next article will have a great DIY for the Imbucare box – an extremely good developmental activity for your munchkin. Do come back next week and read it.

Till then, what is your Munchkin doing this month?

My Munchkin as you are aware started crawling last month. She loves the fact that she can move around all by herself. She moves a lot quicker as well now.  She has in fact started pulling to stand as well. 

Achieving a new step towards independence, she has a great urge to fulfill her needs of movement and so is on and about at all times. We try our best to help her with this by giving her the freedom to move on her own and also providing her with different opportunities.

Environment to Support Movement

It is very important to have your environment (house) setup in a way to support the movements of your Munchkin. Childproofing, as we commonly know it, is required in every household. However, when I say childproofing, I mean it in a slightly different manner.

Typically, in childproofing we lock away doors, cabinets, refrigerators, put barriers/fences and a lot more. In Montessori, we want to try and give the child access to most things (as long as they are not dangerous), hence, we suggest moving things away that are not child friendly. Our home has a very simple set up, and our Munchkin has the freedom to explore every corner without any restrictions. Things that are not safe for her are put away and everything in her reach are safe things.

For example, in the kitchen, I do not keep the knives in the draw anymore and they are kept up where she cannot access them. I have just 1 draw locked that has cleaning products, which are not safe for her. Apart from this she has full access to all the drawers that include the glassware as well. I overlook her when she is exploring the drawers with glass but I do not stop her from doing it. To answer your concern, she has not broken anything so far, they are actually very careful when they handle things.

Low Heavy Table

When your Munchkin is crawling, try and have a low heavy table around. Alternately, you can have an ottoman, low sofa, even dining chairs (sturdy). This is to give them access to objects they can use to help pull themselves up to stand.  My Munchkin used to use our sofa, her highchair, dining chairs and the Montessori shelves to pull herself up. When we used to take her out on the balcony, she would use the ledge there as well to pull herself up (as shown in the image above).

“There is really no need to buy objects but only a need to understand the value of free movement and how important it is for children always to feel their bodies free to move and work in a space.” - Understanding the Human Being by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro

Stairs

Once they start crawling, they want to practice their gross motor movements. They really enjoy climbing up and down the stairs. There are products you can have at home for your Munchkin to use. The most common in Montessori is the Pickler’s Triangle, which allows the baby to climb up and down. We were not able to arrange for this and used the building common staircase for this. My Munchkin would love climbing up the stairs and did this practically everyday (sometimes she climbed 2 floors at a stretch!). The only drawback here was that because there were always more steps to go up, she would not really climb down.

Tunnel

We used our Caterpillar Tunnel for her and she loved it. She kept crawling through the tunnel and enjoyed herself. we had to make sure we held the tunnel firm from outside so that it did not overturn as she is still too small to balance it yet.

How have you planned to support your Munchkin’s movements?

9 months in… 9 months out… Once they are out, they are growing so fast you don’t even realize it. Before you know it, they are recognizing, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking and time does not stop.

My Munchkin has started crawling and sitting by herself around the same time. Crawling came first and a few days later she started sitting unaided as well. She has been on the go from the time she started crawling, exited about being able to explore things on her own. You can tell she is enjoying being able to move about independently.

We have moved her to a highchair for her meals. Though, Montessori encourages the use of a Weaning table we decided to use a highchair gifted to her for sometime before moving her to the table.

With each passing month, there is more that we can do with our Munchkins.

Pincer Movements

Around this time, children start their pincer movements (index finger and thumb). We can provide them with things like finger food, thin slices of bread, thin slices of fruit and anything your Munchkin likes which is easy for them to pick up and hold.  The pincer movement is one of the foundation for preparation to writing.

Bar on wall

Once your Munchkin is sitting / crawling, you can sit a bar into the ball. This should be about 2 to 3 cm from the wall so that they can hold it. It should be around the chest height of your Munchkin. You can also put a mirror behind the bar. This encourages the baby to pull himself to stand and also develops gross motor movements. We, unfortunately, did not have the space to do this but I do highly recommend it.

Ottoman / Small Stool

This is another option that can be used to encourage standing. A small stool or ottoman, around the stomach height of your Munchkin can be kept in their play area. It is important to make sure that the stool / ottoman is heavy and stable so that it does not turn over when they try pulling themselves up with it.

Basket of balls

A basket with 5 to 6 balls of different sizes and textures. This should be given to the to explore. They can kick, roll them, chase it, feel with their hands, anything as they wish.  This again develops gross motor movements.

Music box

Children love music so any kind of music box is recommended. When I say any kind, I mean more related to instrumental music and soft soothing sounds.

Books

Books should be a part of your Munchkin’s life from birth (or pregnancy). At this stage, have a basket of books that he can choose from. Soft cloth books are the best at this age. Alternately, hardbound books that do not have sharp edges should be used,

DIY Colourful Soft Blocks

These are very simple to make and your Munchkin will love using them. My Munckin has been playing with them for more than 6 months. These are good to give as first blocks to your baby. The commercial ones can be given a little later.

To make the Soft Blocks, cut out sponge in square / rectangle shapes – try keeping them around the same size. Then, cover each one and stitch cloth over each of them in your primary, secondary and tertiary colours. If you can arrange cloth of material, that would be even better. Give these to your Munchkin to play with, they can observe them, build with them, chew on them and do lots more.

Colours – Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple, Pink, Brown, Orange, Grey, Black and White.

Have you tried making Soft Blocks for your Munchkin? Did he / she enjoy playing with them? Share your experience with us.

My munchkin’s progress from Month 7 to Month 8 shows that she may crawl before sitting by herself. She has been showing a lot of pre-crawling signs. As mentioned earlier, she has always enjoyed tummy time. She now picks her bottom up and pretty much goes on to all fours, moving back and forth in one place. It is only a matter of time that she will jet set go!

As per doctors, most babies crawl between 7 to 10 months, some earlier and some later. My husband and I do not intend on pushing our munchkin to be an early crawler or walker. She can take her own time, we are in no hurry! Children need to develop certain muscles and gain some amount of strength before they start crawling, standing and then walking and as parents and family we should not push them to do it before they are ready.

So what should we do then? It’s quite simple, we need to prepare the house and surroundings to encourage them, be ready for them and then just wait.

Some tips to prepare the environment / house:

Provide opportunity

The easiest and best way to provide opportunity is to give them sufficient tummy time and time on the floor. The best place for them to be at this point is on a mat on the floor – the more time they spend there, the better. Try and use mats/carpets that are not slippery so that you do not deter them from moving.

Comfortable clothing

The clothes babies’ wear at times can restrict them from moving freely. At this stage, try avoiding dresses, tight pants, socks, long tops. Let them be in clothing that does not come under their knees when trying to crawl/move. In cold weathers, try giving a certain amount of time each day in comfortable clothing that allows free movement.

Childproof the house

When I say childproof, I do not mean to restrict your child to a small playpen. Rather, move away things that are not safe for them. Once your Munchkin starts crawling, standing and then walking, they are not going to stop. They are curious by nature and will want to see, feel and know what things are so if it is not safe for them, move it away instead of stopping them from touching it later on. This applies to most things around the house. We need to understand there is a baby seeing things and learning what they are and hence it is not right of us to stop them from touching everything. Only places like a balcony, bathroom, should be fenced or kept shut so they are out of reach.

Positive reinforcement

Should we clap and cheer and say “very good” for everything they do? No, we should avoid doing these things. This does not mean we are not encouraging them, rather we are not limiting them for moving ahead. Generally, ‘very good’ means you have achieved something and do not necessarily need to go further. Instead, we should try and use phrases like “you did it!”, “you reached it!, “you managed to get on your knees”, and more.

Things to do

We should have some activities and toys for our munchkins to keep them entertained during tummy time. Some of my earlier posts will have many ideas that can be used for this.

Things to reach

As mentioned in Month 7, we put a toy our munchkin likes in front of her at a little distance encouraging her to reach for it. When they like a particular toy or object, they will give their best to move forward and reach it. Sometimes the object may be your mobile phone! But do make sure it is not very far away from them and at an achievable distance.

Has your Munchkin started crawling or is about to yet? Do you have any ideas to share? Would love to hear them.