This Week's Foci: Movement
Interactions with Materials
- As yesterday's pictures show, Q-ball loved sorting through her materials this week. I first noticed this trend when she was playing with what turned out to be her favorite found objects this week- panty liners (don't judge me- I have to shower too!) She loved emptying the box, then then carefully placing each one on the ground like she was dealing cards.
- So, I tried to introduce materials other than panty liners- an actual deck of cards (Bible 8's, anyone?) and a basket of wooden shapes. She loved moving these objects around as well.
- Lots of use of the walking wagon again this week- she loved loading it up and circling it around and around. Also using it to push other baskets around the room.
- My question for Montessori folks or any experts in early development: Do you think that this behavior is a display for a need for order? Or, do you think that she was working to master releasing objects (i.e. learning to let go of stuff)? I'm leaning towards that later.
- Favorite materials: walking wagon, empty baskets, panty liners, blocks
Interactions with Others
- She continued to practice waving. Watching a baby learn to wave might be one of the cutest things ever.
- Still hesitant to move out of Mama-zone around others- especially if it is in the direction of her swim coach (we've been swimming for 3 weeks now.) His approach makes her whimper and use a death grip on Mama!
Interactions with Space
- Getting closer to mastering independent standing.
- She is trying to take some tentative first steps- even attempting to step up a step while supporting herself with the wall.
Interactions with Life
- We made an effort this week to ensure she had more interaction with nature- feeling grass, leaves, and dirt in her toes and hands. Even rain on her face and a crawling rolly-polly. Watching the wonder on a baby's face makes me appreciate the beauty in many of life's "normal" things.
It seems like she's working on a number of things at once! If she was moving things around, not necessarily to put them back in the places she is used to seeing them, I'd think it's a gross motor thing, including the release of objects, like you say. I'm no expert when it comes to infant development, though! I love how carefully observe and consider what's going on at a deeper level so that you can foster it. Q-ball is such a lucky girl with you as her mama.
ReplyDeleteOh my! Thank you for the compliment. You know, I meet another SAHM of a young baby yesterday, and she said, "what do you do all day???" It can be boring at times, yes, but there's so much to do as a SAHM if you are truly watching your child! I can't imagine what it's like to have more than one!!
ReplyDeleteShe's so cute!! One thing that might work well with swimming is to let her swim to you from the coach rather than trying to encourage the opposite, lol. We haven't done any swim lessons, but we found at that age our son was even more interested in swimming from dad to mom than vice versa!
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