What’s on our Play Shelf at 13 Months?

At 13 months we have had a big shift in interest and R and P are loving the new activities I have put out for them.

Here is our play area – no more movement mat and mirror (since about 10 months):

Stacking Rings/Cubes:
I first introduced these activities many months ago with the series of ring stackers I have from Beginning Montessori Materials. They worked for months on just taking the rings off, then finally figured out how to put them back on. Around a year, their hand-eye coordination seemed to improve dramatically and all of a sudden they were able to work with more challenging wooden rings and cubes and take them off AND put them on.

Puzzles:
I have the shape puzzles out and they are just starting to get interested in them (as well as other simple ones that are small in size and have larger knobs).

Push Balls:
There is a fantastic one by Sapienza that I have in my classroom and it is honestly one of the children’s favourite activities for years. I tried to find one similar locally and settled on the Melissa and Doug 4 ball tower and took away the hammer. I wanted the boys to learn to exert effort with the strength of their own hand and showed them how to push the balls through.

Slotted Box with Chips:
I had an old box from Michaels Craft Store that I made into a make-shift slotted box by pulling off one of the wooden slabs and they love it. I also got the wooden chips from Michaels, and have 3 circular ones and 3 square ones. Similar to the other activities, I do always show the boys how to do the activity first and then invite them to have a turn. This is a great one for repetition and object permanence.

Mail Box:
I have the Nienhuis one in my classroom and again, wanted to find one locally for my boys at home. I settled on the Hape three shape sorter as I wanted it to be not too overwhelming with too many shapes, as well as I wanted them to be successful getting them out by themselves. I wished the lid had a hinge but they figured out how to take it off, take out a shape (seem to only take one out at a time), put back the lid and then attempt to put the shape in. If I am sitting with them I remove the lid, take out all the shapes, and then put the lid back on for them.

Opening and Closing Containers:
Another favourite! I collect bottles always when I am on vacation from hotels, etc., then wash them out and use them in my classroom and now at home. I put together a collection of about 10 different ones (also use the travel containers you can buy at any local drugstore) in a basket and show how to ‘turn’ the lids on and off. They definitely love this one (haven’t quite figured out how to turn their wrists yet) but once the lid is off, like putting it on and off.

Basket of Animals:
Since R and P seem to be craving language and want to know the names of EVERYTHING, this basket seems like a necessary activity. The difference in this is that when we introduce language objects, an adult always should be present to offer the child the right names. So it is very much an adult directed activity (naming each animal, letting them hold it, and then asking for certain ones “Where is the duck?”). This also has been a great activity as they love to take things out and put things in baskets/cupboards/drawers/etc. so we always put the animals back in the basket when done.

Basket of Balls:
This basket is a saviour! Not only are they loving to throw and chase after these balls, but it gives them an outlet as they love to throw. Their mind is now telling them, I can control my body. I know how to grasp, pick up, etc and now I want to exert my effort. In the beginning they don’t know the boundaries of what is ok to throw and what isn’t, so this is where we need to be the positive role model. Many times a day I say things such as, “The bottle is not for throwing. We throw the balls.” And then I pass them a ball to throw. I am not joking that the last time I said that, P went HIMSELF to the basket, picked up his own ball, threw it, then smiled at me! They understand SO much without being able to speak and we must remember this.

Books:
We cannot forget the books! The boys LOVE their basket of books (which I rotate every few weeks) and choose to look at these often. They take one from the basket, put it in front of them and know how to flip through the pages. The majority of the time they will pick up a book at pass it to me with an “aadddaa?” Meaning, read this to me please?

We have another collection of more ‘story-type’ books in their bedroom that we read before naptime and bedtime (both R and P get to pick one that he would like me to read).

What’s on your play shelf that your child really enjoys right now?

Communicating with Your Baby

By Rubi

“During his first year, before communication with words is possible, a baby’s only hope of summoning help is to let out a piecing cry. Cry is an ancient alarm call that humans share with many other animals, and it produces a powerful parental response. Amazing baby, Desmond Morris, page, 107

Before babies are able to produce meaningful words they produce different sounds (speech) and find different ways to communicate their needs, wants and feelings. They communicate through crying, bubbling, smiling or body language (movement), etc. F was very determined to communicate from day one and didn’t stop until her needs were met. When she was born she let us know (as every new born does) with different types of cries that she was uncomfortable, overwhelmed, tired, bored, frustrated, lonely and hungry. It took me a long time to identify all the different types of cries, but now I am able to identify when she is in pain, hungry, frustrated, tired, etc. through the different sounds that she emits.

Language as well as movement is a crucial milestone in a baby’s development. It is important to talk to our babies in a respectful, rich, and clear way in order to help them in this process of communication. Language has to be present at all times; it also has to have a correlation with our actions and emotions so the child can be coherent when using language later on in life (means what he or she feels or says).

What is Speech and what is Language? A definition of these two words is given by Patricia McAleer a Language and Speech Therapist.

“Speech refers to the sounds that come out of our mouth and take shape in the form of words” Childhood Speech, Language and Listening Problems, Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi, page 8

“Language refers to the content of what is spoken, written, read, or understood. Language can also be gestural, as when we use body language or sign language. It is categorized into two areas: receptive and expressive” Childhood Speech, Language and Listening Problems, Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi, page 9

Language and physical care

A newborn’s vision is not very developed, yet, he or she has a very strong point of reference, his/her mother’s (father’s) voice which allows him/her to feel secure in this world during the first days of his/her life. While in the bath, hearing mine and her dad’s voice, , was the only way to get F to calm down and relax. Long before the child is able to speak or express him or herself he/she is capable of understanding. From the beginning I began to describe the actions I was performing to her e.g. I am undressing you because I am going to give you a bath (I talk to my daughter in Spanish since it is my mother tongue). In fact our best moments were at the change table, when she would look at my face while I talked to her for a long time, even after she was all dressed I would continue talking to her.

I didn’t do all that talking just because I like to talk a lot, I did it because I strongly believe that she was absorbing all that knowledge even though she wasn’t able to express it at that early stage. Now I am rewarded every time I talk to her and she shows clearly that she understands what I am saying to her for example when I say: I am going to rinse off your hair, please put your head back then she moves her head back or when I say: I am going to brush your hair; she tilts her head forward (most of the time when she is not too busy crawling around). When I say:  It is time to change your diaper; she cries or crawls away because she doesn’t like to get her diaper changed.

Language and the environment

The environment is a rich tool to help our children develop language, since we can relate the words with the objects this helps the child associate complex words with concrete objects. Every time we walk around the house and F wants me to carry her I take advantage of this situation to name things that she cannot see when she is crawling or on the floor playing e.g. “Look, that is a rectangular mirror”  or “Mom is opening the fridge, what do we have in here?” etc. Always taking my time to allow her to absorb what I am saying. When possible I allow her to touch the objects that I am naming, sometimes she smiles, sometimes she just stares at the objects for a long time. Now that she is repeating all kinds of sounds it is interesting to hear very accurate imitations of real words, such as gracias (tastas) Zeus (oosh) our dog’s name. mas (ma) more in Spanish.

Language, books and music

Music and books are very important for language development. There are many elements in music that are involved in language such as rhythm, tone. We sing to our daughter all the time, in fact when we are in the car and she is bored, lonely or tired we sing to her and she either sings back (makes sounds) or falls asleep.  She absolutely loves musical instruments. It is interesting to see that she engages and plays them for a long time. Her favorite instruments now are the triangle and the xylophone.

Books are very important for language development (please read Christie’s blog post for reference of how to choose books for young children) since they provide a rich vocabulary and the images allow babies to associate words and objects. F loves looking at books, paintings and magazines. When she was 3 months old she loved to stare at our big Mexican painting full of red, green and many other vibrant colors. Now she points at the picture as l name the objects for her.  She still loves it except that now she makes different sounds when she looks at it.

When choosing books for F I make sure that they have stories about family life, books with language that has a special rhyme, rhythm and poetry, and books that allow her to experience nature.

“Babies need someone to interact with them and encourage then in a loving way…..A baby needs to be actively engaged with people in order for the communication experience to be meaningful,….. The receptors in a child’s brain need to be stimulated, particularly during the early learning years. These receptors are stimulated when the child is touched, spoken to, and shown pictures, objects, places, and people. Without proper nurturing a child may experience learning delays, or speech, language, or listening disorders.” Childhood Speech, Language and Listening Problems, Patricia McAleer Hamaguchi, pages.11-12.

As Dr. Montessori stated in her book The Absorbent Mind “Man himself must become the center of education and we must never forget that man does not develop only at university, but begins his mental growth at birth, and pursues it with the greatest intensity during the first three years of life.”