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Beginning Montessori with Infants and TotsBirth to 24 Months

(This book is the combination of two Kindle ebooks previously sold

under the titlesMontessori Unplugged: FAQs About Infants and

Toddlers; andAffordable Montessori Activities You Can Do With

Infants and Tots.)

by

Lisa Nolan

Monkey Star Presswww.MonkeyStarPress.com

Petaluma, California

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Also by Lisa Nolan

Montessori FAQs and Resources for Homeschooling ChildrenAges Three to Nine

Frogs and Flies and Blackberry Pies (A short fiction middlegrade reader)

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Beginning Montessori with Infants and Tots Birth to 24Monthsby Lisa Nolan

Copyright 2011 by Lisa Nolan

All rights reserved. Published 2012

Published by Monkey Star Press, P.O.B. 5343, Petaluma,

California, 94955. First edition.

Electronic Edition Published 05/16/2012 by Monkey Star

Press.

No part of this e-book may be reproduced or retransmitted inany form or by any means without permission of the publish-

er, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in areview or article.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9834995-0-3

Edited by Christine LePorteCover photo by Lisa Nolan

Photos in this book by Lisa Nolan and Yvonne Goodrich

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CONTENTS

{ABOUT THIS BOOK}{CHAPTER 1: Infant Tot Development}

{CHAPTER 2: Language Activities}

{CHAPTER 3: Sensory Activities}{CHAPTER 4: Large & Small Motor Movement Activities}

{CHAPTER 5: Practical Life Activities}{CHAPTER 6: Questions about Beahvior}

{CHAPTER 7: Questions about Sleep, Routines & Bedtime}{CHAPTER 8: Questions about Giving Lessons & Doing Activities}

{CHAPTER 9: Questions about Food & Mealtime}{CHAPTER 10: Questions about Special Needs & Developmental Delays}

{RECOMMENDED READING}{ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS}

{ABOUT THE AUTHOR}

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About This Book

In 1998 I started creating Montessori and homeschool onlineInternet programs with lesson activities and email consultingfor parents and educators of preschool and elementary

children at MontessorifortheEarth.com.In 2004 my son was born and I was anxious to begin

Montessori infant activities at home with him. I went on the

Internet and searched for a Montessori infant program, andmuch to my chagrin, I could only find very expensive Mon-

tessori infant teacher training programs and albums.I thought, there must be other parents like me who are

searching for Montessori infant activities and not findinganything practical and affordable!

So in 2005 I decided to create my own Montessori onlineInternet programs for infants and tots, based on my experienceas a Montessori-trained teacher and a mom. The result has

been dozens of infant and tot lessons created by me andavailable on my website, MontessorifortheEarth.com. Now I

have compiled them all in this book: 50 activities for lan-guage, motor development, sensory, and practical life! Hopeyou enjoy them with your infant and tot as much as I did with

mine!This bookwas also created out of the hundreds of email

questions I received from parents and educators of infants and

toddlers who joined my online Internet Montessori programsat my website, MontessorifortheEarth.com, and who needed

further help and guidance to incorporate the MontessoriMethod in their home or daycare.

Filled with real-life examples, this book is divided intoseveral chapters that address the many challenges parents andteachers face: Questions about Behavior; Questions about

Sleep, Routines, and Bedtime; Questions about Giving

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Lessons and Doing Activities; Questions about Food andMealtime; and Questions about Special Needs and Develop-

mental Delays.This book will be a valuable contribution to those parents

and educators who are searching for answers to their ques-tions in raising their very young children using the philoso-

phies of the Montessori Method.

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CHAPTER 1

INFANT TOT DEVELOPMENT

Children are not things to be molded,But are people to be unfolded.Jess Lair

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The Absorbent Mind and Sensitive

Periods From Birth to Six Months

In the first six years of a childs life her mind is like a sponge,an absorbent mind, taking in everything in the environmentwith energy and enthusiasm through sensorial explora-tion, touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing, and the use ofhands-on activities.

This absorbent mind creates a natural drive that sup-plies the infant (and child) with the focus and energy she

needs for her self-development. Maria Montessori called the

child from birth to six a sensorial explorer: We develop ourintelligence by learning through our five senses and particu-larly through the relationship between the hand and the brain[and earlier on, in infancy, between the mouth and the brain,creating] feedback loops of information from the hand to the

brain and back again-what is given to the hand [and mouth] is

given to the brain.These sensorial experiences aid in the process of the Sen-

sitive Periods: The learning period the child requires for

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gaining any new knowledge or skill. During a SensitivePeriod, the infant (and child) is having a spurt in her devel-

opment, a milestone, creating an optimal moment of self-formation.

Nature has created in the infant and child a window ofopportunity to reach a certain goal and learn a new skill.During this window of opportunity, which can vary in length,

the infant and child shows great interest and enthusiasm, somuch so that she will ignore other activities that were previ-

ously of tremendous interest to her, and vice versa.

During the Sensitive Period, the infant and childs energyis on the repetition and practice of the skill or activity, in

order for her to master it.During these extreme learning periods, we as new par-

ents want to help, not impede, the infants self-developmentby becoming aware, and being in tune, to her Sensitive

Periods and special energies of growth. We want to nurturethese tendencies by creating a home surrounding without toomuch excess and over stimulation, that encourages, supports,

and understands them, as well as by having objects specifi-cally placed in the room to more easily draw the babys

attention and encourage focus and exploration. At the sametime, we want the infant and child to be challenged by notgiving her a task that is too hard (and thus experience imme-

diate failure), or give her a task that is too easy (and thusexperience boredom or apathy) by balancing parent protec-

tion and encouragement to both support and challenge the

child, starting in infancy.

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Time Line for the Birth- to Six-Month-Old

1 Week:Hands can make a fist; flings arms and legs; wiggles,kicks, and twitches; moves head from side to side; lies ontummy like a frog (arms and legs tucked in); no head-neck

control when held or picked up; sees light and dark imageseight inches from eyes; becomes quiet when held, swaddled;

in a blanket, or allowed to suck on your finger or a pacifier;exhibits rooting behavior (search sucking with mouth for

breast); will feed 7-8 times in 24 hours; will take 5-6 naps and

sleep 18-20 hours a day.1-3 Weeks:Infant will grasp your finger.

1 Month: Makes eye-to-eye contact; may smile; is at-tracted to the human face and black and white contrastingimages up to 8 inches away; grasps onto you while beingheld, like a part of your shirt; stares at objects but doesntgrasp them; if grasping something, will not hold onto it.

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1-6 Weeks:Infant will lay on back with arms and handsabove head

2 Months: Awake up to ten hours a day with severalnaps during the day; may sleep 6-7 hours in the night; smiles;

begins mouthing objects; may begin sucking thumb; sees andis attracted to three-dimensional faces; can quiet himself withsucking pacifier or thumb; needs little or no swaddling; may

notice his hand(s); will mouth and suck objects placed in hishand; attempts to grab an object and grasp it, swipes; his

reflexes are becoming more voluntary versus reflexive; stares

at his surrounding environment; startles, especially loudsounds; may coo; head still bobs.

2-3 Months:Infant will be able to hold arms and handsacross his chest area

3 Months: Infant will be able to swat at objects; maysleep ten hours in the night; anticipates his feeding and acts

excited at the sight of his bib or bottle; may still need onenight feed (2 AM feed); watches hands and feet; repeatsactions; explores his mouth and face with hands; is becoming

aware of self; is beginning long-term memory; when present-ed with an object, clasps hands together on chest; reaches with

both arms for object; cooing; hearing well developed; re-sponds to image in mirror (of himself or mom); visionmaturing; can follow an object with his eyes while moving

head from side to side (when close to face); glances at oneobject, then another; tries to hold object in hand; exploring

objects with hands and mouth, gums them; cries less; recog-

nizes mother; more fascinated with faces; turns head to humanvoice; vocalizes or tries to mimic your voice when talked to.

3-4 Months: Infant will be able to roll over (from backto stomach, and later stomach to back); will be able to lift

head while on his stomach.4 Months: May show preference for one object over an-

other; clasps fingers and hands on objects; still swipes at

objects; turns head in all directions; holds head up; on

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stomach may put weight on arms; extends legs on stomach(less frog-like); reaches; may babble; sees color; follows

dangling or moving object or sound; pulls dangling objecttowards mouth; may notice a stranger as a stranger; knows

mother; laughs; shows anticipation (feeding, favorite toy,swing, car seat); may be ready for solid baby food; no longerneeds or should have pacifier; ready for crib (as permanent

sleeping area); slashes at bath time.5 Months:Plays with rattles; likes to shake objects (and

hear their sounds); will drop an object if offered another;

explores his clothes, ears, and feet; imitates sounds; wakes upat dawn; waves arms to be picked up, clings; prolonged play

(90 minutes); can express fear and anger; leans over at fallentoy to search with eyes; holds objects, turns, mouths, tastes

them; reaches with two hands; can stay awake up to twohours; notices new surroundings; utters vowel sounds, maybe

a few consonant-like sounds; reaches for and grasps rings;aim is better; sits supported; pulls to stand; rocks while ontummy, pushes on hands and legs, may slither or creep; limbs

more vigorously active; brings feet to mouth when on back.6 Months:Turns head in all directions; transfers object

from one hand to the other; notices third object; is aware ofhis manipulation of objects; grasps with fingers and examinesobjects; reaches for and explores objects nearby; holds bottle;

reaches with one arm; notices small objects; enjoys playingand interacting with people (singing to, peek-a-boo, stories

read, lap play, etc.); interested in fingering food; strong

preference for certain tastes; sleeps 12 hours in a 24 hourperiod; may start holding sippy cup; pats (you, another child,

a pet); stranger awareness strong, may show fear or anxietytoward unfamiliar people; recognizes his name; imitates facial

expressions; smiles in mirror, vocalizes at his image; wants tocrawl, may act frustrated while on tummy; reaches fordropped object; more deft at reaching, grasping, holding;

moves objects in different positions; pulls covers away from

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face; shows interest in containers and lifts them by handle,hits, throws, drops; shows object permanence; still mouths

objects; can turn head to familiar sound; complains, excites,giggles, frowns, gurgles, varies pitch and volume; may sleep

on side; may sit unsupported up to 30 minutes; can leanforward; bounces; pivots while on tummy; may get up onhands and knees and hurtle forward or backward and fling

limbs; creeps; may crawl.

Highlights and Considerations for the Infant

Security Objects: By six months of age, your baby may be

showing a preference for a certain object, like a favoriteblanket, stuffed animal, doll, or (in one moms case) a rattle

sock with a stuffed bug at the end. This object will becomeknown as your babys security object (or lovey). At the age of

three, four, and five months you can experiment with a fewsafe objects in the crib or sleep area (although someMontessorians do not believe objects of any kind should be in

the crib or sleep area).

For example: Place a very small blanket, a doll, astuffed animal, and perhaps one other safe object (like a rattle

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sock) in the crib, but do not change these objects (so chooseobjects that can be washed easily in the washing machine!).

You might even considering buying two of the same object incase one gets lost (and it happens to be the object that be-

comes your babys favorite!). Place these objects in the crib orsleep area and keep them there for several months and by agesix months your baby should choose between them a favorite:

he will hold it to fall asleep, when given this object he willstop crying or fussing, or he is just happy when he has this

object.

To quote from CaplansThe F ir st Twelve Months of

Li fe: The attachment of babies to such objects... helps in the

transition to independence from her [mother]. They give himanother way to cope with the necessary separation from you,

as well as the other frustrations of just plain growing up. Ahighly active baby needs a soft toy for a special reason.

Giving up action and play and comforting himself are difficulttasks for him.

Once the security object is established it will be used

to help your baby to fall asleep at nap time and bedtime, at theend of the day when he is tired, or at extreme fussy times. But

I do not recommend taking it out of the house, as it can geteasily lost. Also, you want your baby to be able to access theobject when he needs it. But for now, you will have to bring it

to him (from a location where he can get to it when he is olderand crawling, etc.). Once your baby has chosen his security

object, it should be used to replace the pacifier. (After age

three months, your baby goes from a sucking reflex to amouthing reflex so that he no longer needs a pacifier for

sucking/calming, he needs a security object and he can mouthit if need be.)

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From Sucking to Mouthing: After age three months yourbaby goes from a sucking reflex to a mouthing (gumming)

reflex, so that by age four months you can begin giving yourbaby objects he can safely mouth--objects you can place in thedishwasher or washing machine to clean. (Tracking objects is

an important activity for your baby at this time, as he cannotgrasp what he cannot see. Once he can see and grasp an

object, he will want to mouth and gum the object.) Interesting-ly, this is also the stage your baby will mouth his hands andfeet, as well as your fingers, nose, shoulder, etc. Body parts

are of great interest! (To entice your baby to grab and mouthhis feet, you can purchase rattle socks.) Age appropriate toys

and objects for the four to six month old include soft cloth

objects/toys, rattles, and teethers that are safe for him tomouth and gum.Finger Feeding in a Nutshell: Bits and pieces of food

for your baby to explore for finger feeding (exploring various

textures and tastes) is recommended at seven months of age,including teething biscuits. Babies begin to show an interest

in self feeding at around this time, a sensitive period, if youwill, for finger foods, which disappears after twelve months.Ask your doctor for his or her recommendations for various

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finger foods, as some can be choking hazards. And a greatbook to read is The First Twelve Months of Life, Your Babys

Growth Month by Monthby Caplan. After twelve months ofage, this sensitive period for finger feeding disappears, and a

baby who did not explore many types of food will often rejectsolids, various textures and tastes, and get stuck on jar foodand bottles. The finger food stage is fun but messy! And

remember to talk to your pediatrician!

Language Development for the First Twelve Months

Abstract thought is developed with the help of hand-eye-brain

coordination, interaction with the environment, and the babysfirst language experiences. Exposure to language early on in a

childs development is vital: through gestures, body language,facial expressions, and the sound of the human voice. In the

first few months the baby will babble vowel sounds; and bylistening to others, he will then try to reproduce soundshimself, and strengthen his capacity for speech later on. When

the adult mimics the baby, she reinforces the babys attemptsat vocalization, and the baby will babble more. This is why

pacifiers are not recommended past months four and five: itinhibits the babbling process and prolongs speech develop-ment.

Pacifiers allow for sucking but not for making sounds, animportant part of language development. When your baby

cries more because he no longer has a pacifier, he is strength-

ening his vocal cords, albeit putting a strain on mom anddads ears! A baby who is pacified is quieter, but it is to the

sacrifice of his oral motor development.By five months, the baby can make several consonant

sounds, and soon strings them together with vowel sounds, themost common being da-da: this is called canonical

babbling. Now he will be all ears!

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Parents can talk to the baby at every given opportunity,including the naming of objects in and around the babys

environment. By ten months the baby will begin understand-ing some of the language spoken around him. He begins to

comprehend that language can convey meaning. Bye-bye isnot just a sound mom makes when she leaves for work, it hasmeaning. Sounds have meanings.

He will understand more and more the meaning of wordsspoken, but will have a difficult time conveying words

himself; but he will try making up words, until one day, he

gets them right! In the meantime, at around the same age, hewill try to convey meaning through gestures, like pointing.

The adult can reinforce his language by responding backwith a few simple words. For example, the baby is pointing to

his Teddy bear, the adult can say, Teddy bear! And give itto the baby, repeating the word a few more times.

When a child is 12 months, he may master up to sixwords, and as many as fifty by age 15 months (and later for

pacifier babies). By the time the baby has learned fifty words,

an explosion happens, and he will learn several words PERDAY (as many as one every two waking hours) until the age

of five! It also is during this early language explosion (from15 to 24 months) that the brain is rapidly forming the cerebralcortex (the part of the brain where words or stored and

retrieved).

Infant Tot Fine Motor Development

In Montessori infant development, emphasis is placed on the

use of the hands as an extension of brain development (hand-eye coordination, hand-brain coordination) beginning in the

first few months of life and continuing on into infancy andwell into the toddler and preschool years, as the brain contin-ues to grow and develop.

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An infant, when grasping an object for example, is re-ceiving information about that object and sending it to the

brain, creating a continuous feedback loop of hand-to-brain-to-hand. And it is for this reason that the infant be allowed to

explore (safe) objects as soon as three-to-five months of age,when grasping for objects becomes intentional. Throughoutinfancy, the babys continuous reaching and grasping for

objects will also aid in his development of depth perception,the pincer grasp, and his own sense of self, apart from mother

and father.

The key, then, in Montessori infant development, is tofind the right balance between the hand and the mind, a unity:

the level of muscular skill and coordination [that] matchesthe level of mental development; otherwise, a mismatch, a

disunity, will occur.One way to keep the hand and brain development in sync

is to allow the infant enough time to repeat his exploration ofthe same objects, so as to allow lots of time for the hand and

brain to create those feedback loops, rather than to over-

whelm the infant with a continuous stream of new toys andobjects.

Rotation, then, is what is needed for the infant: a rotationof objects, activities, and toys each week, or each month, forthe infant to explore. We must limit the infants choice of

toys, activities, and objects so that he will 1) repeat hisinteractions with them, 2) gain knowledge of them, 3) develop

his fine motor skills, and 4) create those feedback loops to the

brain (so the knowledge sticks!).Secondly, we want his interactions with the objects in his

environment, and his toys and activities, to be challenging:not too easy so as to cause boredom but not too hard so as to

cause frustration; we want to match his mental abilities withhis fine motor abilities.

To know when an activity, toy, or object is just right for

your infant, spend a few moments each day observing him:

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which activity or area in the house does he go to first? Whichactivity or task does he seem to repeat the most?

What are his favorite objects or toys? If he continuouslyignores certain objects or toys, he could be bored with them.

If he throws certain toys and objects, or acts frustrated andcranky upon interacting with them, perhaps it is because theyare too challenging.

Our ultimate goal for the infant, when he reaches earlytoddler hood (15 months) is to stay with a focused task. We

therefore want to build his attention span, his focus, and his

concentration during his infancy, so that when he is a toddler,he will not flutter from one activity, toy, and object to the

other, unable to focus and concentrate on the task and skill athand.

Between the ages of 15 and 18 months of age, your newyoung toddler will begin to slow down a bit, he will stay with

certain toys and activities for longer periods of time and showa preference for certain ones. Perhaps he will spend more time

playing with his trucks and his balls (or chasing the cat around

the house!).After the infant reaches early toddler hood, he will in-

stinctively want to be involved in the daily chores and tasks(the fundamental needs) of the family, requiring a certainlevel of attention and focus: dressing and dressing as in care

of the self, food preparation like pouring and spooning, caringfor the environment like watering plants or feeding the pets,

as well as helping out with household chores. The infant-

turned-toddler wants to copy the adults in his environment intheir daily activities, doing what Montessori termed, practical

life activities, or the practical work of life. This is a transi-tion from the learning exploration by the infant to the doing

and working by the young toddler.