Almost half a year old, we now understand more of what our munchkin tries to communicate. She is quite a talker! It was her first Eid and she had a simple, quiet celebration at home.
We have learnt so much in these few months and still have along way to go. Even though I have a professional training in Montessori (3-6 years), I research in the free time I have, read article, other’s blogs, Maria Montessori’s books and more. The fundamental is the same for all age groups but I like to know of the various materials and toys recommended for Birth to 3 years and then see what works for my munchkin and what replicas can be made or procured.
She is beginning to sit unsupported (still sometime to go) and seems to enjoy it as she looks at things from a different angle now. We have recently started her on solids and water so she is still understanding their tastes. Though it is recommended to start weaning (will cover this later) them, we have opted to wait for some time. She uses a sipper to drink water and manages to drink by herself with supervision. We were gifted a bouncer and currently use that when feeding her as she still does not still completely unsupported.
We have not yet set up her Montessori shelves and give her things to explore during her playtime. This is a good time to introduce your munchkins to treasure baskets – no they aren’t too young for it.
First treasure basket
Treasure baskets offer a lot of sensorial opportunities apart from hand eye coordination. Things of various textures, smells, weight, sizes and so on can be introduced over time.
For the first few baskets, introduce things that are familiar to them like keys, bangles, spoon, hairbrush, clothes peg. Always check that none of the object have sharp edges or are too small or dangerous in any way for the baby.
You can rotate and add new objects if you feel your baby needs variations. You can initially mix things and later do them in categories like bathroom objects, bedroom objects, kitchen objects, balls, etc.
My munchkin’s first basket included a spatula, a strainer, empty baby bath bottle, empty moisturizer bottle and detergent measurer.
I later had a separate basket of different types of balls. She enjoys this till date at 15 months.
Apart from this, there are some more recommended baskets for 6 months:
Basket with Textured Fabrics
A basket with 3-4 fabrics of different textures cut into a square. Fabrics like jute, cotton, towel, linen would work well. You can cut them up into 6 x6 inch squares and keep them in a basket or small open box for your baby to explore. They look at it, touch and feel it, put it in their mouth (this goes for everything these days).
This is a simple basket you can make yourself with cloth available at home.
Basket with Rattles
Similar to the above, take 3-4 different looking rattles and put it in a box/basket for them to explore. Avoid using the extremely noisy plastic ones available in the market.
Knitted or crocheted ball
Someone in the family generally knows how to knit so these are relatively easy to source. A knitted / crocheted ball is something they enjoy playing with. It is easy for them to grasp as when they hold it, their fingers can go into it. Place this ball in close reach of your baby to encourage movement.
Basket of Animals
Basket with farm animals like horse, cow, goat, sheep, etc. This can be given at a later stage once your baby sits unaided so as to be able to explore further.
Themed Baskets
At a later stage, you can have themed baskets and use themes like kitchen, a specific colour, rings, brushes, different sounds, colour, brushes and so on.
There are various ways of making treasure baskets but most important is to observe what your baby enjoys and work on the baskets accordingly.
Have just one basket out at a time and rotate the things in them every few days, weekly, as you feel works for your baby. These baskets can be used and explored for the next few months.
Do you use Treasure Baskets for your baby? Which is your favourite one?