He can pick up the ball cylinder and give it a shake. He can bring his hands together, touch the bell then hold it with one hand. He can pick up, hold the bell cylinder then pass it from hand to hand. He can take his bell rattle and give it a shake (and be so pleased with his own efforts). It's amazing how fast they develop at this age. I'm having trouble keeping up! Read more →

I hope they always play this nicely together. More tummy time for Otis and what an incentive, to play with Caspar's trucks! Read more →

“In the second month of life, the muscles of the neck are brought under control, and the head can be supported without assistance. If the child who is already capable of directing his gaze is also allowed the freedom of observation, this new achievement will produce a notable change in his personal relationship with the environment. Controlling the head is the beginning of his mastering of the environment” - Understanding the Human Being by Silvana Quattrocchi Montanaro. Well he may be in his third month of life but he has gained enough strength to support his head unaided. This ability... Read more →

April, this is for you. Otis with his bell at three months (15 weeks). He gets really excited! Read more →

We started using the bell rattle when Otis was two months old. Now he is starting to put things in his mouth it is time to move onto other grasping materials. The interlocking discs are the most interesting looking of materials. They are designed to encourage the child to rotate their wrists and pass the discs from one hand to the other. Being made from natural materials these will take a bit of chewing when it comes teething time. Today at 15 weeks I noticed Otis bringing his hands together for the first time. It's his latest thing. He did... Read more →

Montessori mentioned that infants can move from birth. Otis never moved much until this week. He has started to do this slither thing where he pushes himself backwards sometimes at an angle. I wasn't sure if I could believe what I was seeing. On the weekend he slithered across the lounge room floor to reach a hairbrush that Caspar dropped after brushing his hair. This demonstrated to me that his movement was intentional and purposeful. Otis loves having his hair brushed and when he saw his brush on the floor he moved towards it. Today in his room I left... Read more →

What about this mobile? It's interesting isn't it. I think this will be our last mobile, Otis will soon be moving onto more in-hand materials. It is called the Primary Colours Mobile from Beginning Montessori, they recommend following it up with the interlocking disks. Otis isn't grasping it yet, he is just batting and doing lots of arm waving. He is still using his bell on a ribbon too. You can tell from the video that he really likes the mobile and it is highly interactive. Although he only connects with it a couple of times, you can see he... Read more →