The feeling of giving birth to a baby is an unmatched one. Siyana is my first child and she has brought so much joy in our lives!
We have tried our best to bring up our daughter on the Montessori principals. Belonging to a traditional Indian family, I was at my mother’s for the ‘40-day period’ and once I came back home, it took sometime till we settled in; hence we did not get a chance to start Siyana on Montessori from birth. We did however incorporate a few basics and kept adding more in during the course of time.
It’s been an amazing journey so far, each day giving more to learn and experience. My daughter is currently 13 months old and I am going to share things I have done with her for her development from the beginning. I will also additionally add some more suggestions on what can be done as each child is unique and not everyone has the same way of growth.
Today, I will mainly cover the basics of a Montessori Room for an Infant. Contrary to baby rooms, in a Montessori environment, you will not find flashy, noisy baby toys. Instead, you will find a soothing, peaceful, natural environment.
A list of things that are recommended to have for your baby’s development:
Floor Bed
A basic mattress on the floor. The idea of the floor bed is to encourage independence, allow the development of the child’s will, and support their need for movement. The floor bed allows the child the freedom to get in and out of bed on their own, thereby reducing dependence on adults.
The right time to start a baby on the floor bed, is generally when they are a few weeks old. We, however, were not ready and used a crib for Siyana for a long time before we started her off on the floor bed. I will have to admit though that I did delay this and should have done it much earlier. The crib is not something supported by Montessori as it restraints the child’s movements and they are stuck there till we do not get them out. This works well for us but is not the best thing for our baby’s development.
Montessori Infant Mobile
One of the first recommended mobile’s for babies is the Munari Mobile which can be introduced to your baby when he is about two weeks old.
The Munari is a black and white mobile made from 2 dimensional geometrical shapes. The newborn is unable to see colour so the Munari is black and white in order to give the child the greatest contrast in shades. It encourages focus and uninterrupted viewing time builds concentration
One of the special key factors about the Montessori mobiles is that we offer them to the child when he or she is awake and alert. The purpose is to help the child learn to focus, track, and develop his or her visual senseso he or she needs to be actively engaged and not in the process of falling asleep.
Black and White Images
As mentioned earlier, when babies are born, they are unable to see colour. Hence, in a Montessori baby environment, you would often find simple high contrast black and white. These images provide some visual stimulation for the newborn and provide and opportunity to concentrate and focus.
Wall Mirror
A mirror placed low on the ground; underneath the mirror a soft blanket/mat for the baby to lie on. This is generally a place where the baby spends most of their awake time. You can add the Black and White images here and also the mobile (you can rotate them too).
The wall mirror gives the baby an opportunity to observe themselves, their movements and learn how to control them. It also helps to provide a full view of the environment (room).
These are some of the basic essentials of a Montessori Infant Room. What we try to achieve from the room is:
·Provide the child with a sense of order;
·Give the child an environment to facilitate their movement;
·Things to provide support for the child’s development;
·A separate sleep and play area;
·Provide a room that the child enjoys being in.
I personally did not manage to do most of these from the time Siyana was born and do hope I can with my next baby. This area does not always remain this way. As your baby will grow, you can keep adding in things in the room that will assist with their growth and development.
** Images used are from the internet and only for representative purposes.**