Concentration in the very young child.
Is the young child capable of concentration? How about a child of one month? How long can they concentrate for?
I know that a young child, from birth, is capable of concentration. Sometimes we need to see it ourselves before we can believe it. A young child needs to be given the opportunity to concentrate. They need time and space. They need for us, the adult, to be patient, not to interrupt. We need to provide a home environment that is just right, not too much (stimulus) and not too little. It's what I love about the Montessori approach, it has taught me how to prepare our home environment, specifically for our child.
I didn't have a post written for you tonight but I wanted to share these pictures I took of Otto at seven weeks, concentrating and getting so much joy from his Octahedron mobile. The concentration, the visual tracking is real.
Otto is at first very still, then he gets a little excited and starts kicking his legs and waving his arms, he starts babbling (talking) but never takes his eyes off his mobile!
This response is different from when he used his black and white mobiles, the engagement is so much more obvious. Have you or did you use the Montessori mobiles, did you find it helped the child develop concentration or even independent play?