ooh ooh ! up there!

Since last week, I started to bring ZY out to the nearby playground so that he would get a chance to further refine his gross motor skill. All this while, we will just hang around in the house yard in the evening, where he could only walk around and sit on bench. He admired the plants, grass, cars passing by, neighbour walk pass but never never the birds or airplane flying over our head. He pay no notice when I told him "Listen, what's that sound? Look up there! An aeroplane!" " Look! birds!" Emm.. he looked left or right or somewhere else but not the direction of where my finger point to, not lifted his head to look up at all.

So, it is not the time yet. I did not keep trying and I think one day he will notice by himself. And, last Thursday, we were in the playground, as usual, I will stand back and let him lead the way. At one moment I was looking elsewhere and when I turn to him, he was pointing to the sky. There were two birds flying by. Hey! he noticed!

And, today, I was looking elsewhere again and when I turn to him, he was pointing to the sky and his lip squash up like a beak "Ooh! ooh!". There was an aeroplane flying over.

His awareness of surrounding has extend up to things happend over his head.

ZY's discoveries

Quotation
"I have served the spirit of those children, and they have fulfilled their development, and I have kept them company in their experiences." Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, Chapter 27.

Zu Yan's stop and look at a snail while having nature walk in the park.
The snail does not kept him for long.
He continue his nature walk after looking at it for awhile.

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Spinning ball in container

Yesterday, it was during the lunch time.
While I help ZY to feed himself, he was having fun with a 1 inch diameter wooden ball and a rice measuring cup.
He held them one in each hand, showing them high and low, place on the table, place the ball into the measuring cup and pour it out...suddenly, he found that he could make the ball to circulate in the cup by using only one hand and wrist.
And he did it again and again. While he was walking, sitting on sofa, sitting on floor, put it away, came back to the materials, pick up and work with it again.

Today, he repeat the same experience but in a variation.
He place a bigger plastic ball into a round ice cream container and make the circular motion by holding the container with two hands.
Later in the evening, he was spunning around by himself for the first time (Does this got anything to do with the ball spinning in the container?).
He fell on floor, got up, spun, fell, got up and spun again.





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Elmo's Potty Time

Come across this in VCD version at Jusco store.
Bought one for ZuYan's preparation for toileting.




This title in other format that found in Amazon.

Book


Music


VHS

First Birthday walk

Birthday walk

One of the special occasion that a Montessori school has is to celebrate children’s birthday by having birthday walk. The birthday child will hold a globe and walk on elliptical/round line. A candle will be light up and place on a model sun in the center of the ellipse/circle. While the child is carrying the globe and walking on the elliptical line, his/her story will be told. Every one complete walk around the sun represent the earth orbit around the sun one round and means one year is past. If the child is three years old, he will walk for three rounds. The child get to blow the candle in the center at the end of his/her story is told. Then the birthday cake will be brought out and birthday song will be sang.

In some other Montessori school, they might have a birthday brass plate, which is polish by the birthday child in readiness for his/her birthday walk. The plate will hold up small tea lights, which are lit as the child completes each circuit.

To further raise the awareness of birthday and passage of time, photographs of the birthday child from birth at yearly intervals will be displayed. Some other idea are making a photo book , a basket of their favorite book, toys or things.

ZuYan’s 1st birthday walk

It is too young for ZuYan to understand about birthday, but I still decided to let him has his 1st birthday walk. He might not understand what is going on but it will leave a trace in his adsorbent mind.

An area in the living hall is designated and marked an ellipse shape with red masking tape. It will be left unpeel for ZuYan to practice walking on line when he is ready later.

The elliptical line was ready few days before his tiny birthday party. Instead of practice walking on the line ZuYan walk with the line between his leg as he needs to balance himself when he walk. ZuYan is able to walk freely around the house one month before his birthday. And that really give me a relief of carrying him around but tiring to follow him every corner of the house that he wanted to explore.

I wish to see ZuYan smile and toddle around the elliptical line on his birthday, it does not has to be a perfect one but he was tired when the birthday walk was started. He wanted to be held. Well! he did complete the circle with me knee down behind him and toddle around.

Other things that I have to mark the passage of time is his twelve monthly growth photo and a homemade tiniest cake and mini cupcakes.

Nothing much, only a memorable moment had been capture and to add a little spark in his passage of time.

Here is a video of a child's birthday walk I found in Y0utube.com

Montessori Little Helper Part I : Baking Birthday Cake

ZuYan was in the kitchen mixing flour while I am baking his birthday cake for tomorrow party.

Sensitive period for order

Sensitive period for order
This very important and mysterious period appears in a child’s first year and continues on through the second.

Zu Yan’s sense of order
I have try to maintain ZuYan’s daily routine in a same order everyday but forget about his sensitive period to order in his environment.

On the first day he came home with mummy from medical center, Zu Yan was placed in a crib in the living hall. At night, he co-sleep with mummy in mummy’s room. Second day, Nanny Cheng came in to help out. From that night till the day of eighteen Zu Yan slept in a crib (moved from living hall) in a room with Nanny Cheng. Day time, he slept in a bouncer or bassinet in living hall. On the night of eighteen, Zu Yan co-sleep with me again. That’s the night, the sleepless night started. He started to cry out until Nanny Cheng came in to cradle him over to her room.

















Sleeping in the bassinet. Sleeping in the bouncer.

The first week of second month, I went back to my mother’s place with Zu Yan so that my mother could help out. Still Zu Yan had sleepless night, of course including me and my mother. I am back to my own house then, it took about two weeks for Zu Yan to settle and sleep at night. By four months old, the bassinet was removed and Zu Yan nap in my room during daytime. And, he took sometime to feel secure to nap longer hour. Started in January ( nine months old already), he nap in his playing room and sleep on a mattress on the floor at night. We have sleepless night for a month. He woke up in the night, crawls to the dressing table and practises his pulling skill. Finally, I decided to let him co-sleep with me again. And I noticed he will look at the wall light that he have been staring at since new born and also the newly install ceiling fan, quietly fall into sleep till the next day.



Phew! What a chaotic. I wish I would have started with napping in playing room and co-sleep with me at night. When I think back now, could it be the order of environment that made him sleepless. What do you think?

Last month (10 months old), it was after I changed the curtains in the living hall in the night while he was asleep. The next morning I placed him on the floor. As usual he will makes a few crawl and sits up to look around. The moment he looks up at the curtain he was uneasy and showing unsecure, and crawls to me. After a while, he was calm after comfort and explain by me. I don't think it is the colour of the curtain that make him uneasy. The curtain before is in pale orange, now is in light yellow with white floral pattern.

And there is another occasion which happend in the playing room. There is a power socket at low level. Zu Yan will has a close look, feel, touch daily. One day, he found that there is something wrong with the socket, he makes sounds like " eh, eh, eh" because DaDa had cover up the socket. See, a 9 months old infant can remember his surrounding.

About the use of bouncer, crib, bassinet which is against the Montessori principles? I will explain in my coming post.

The crucial year and sensitive period

Quotation
"A child's different inner sensibilities enable him to choose from his complex environment what is suitable and necessary for his growth. They make the child sensitive to some things, but leave him indifferent to others. When a particular sensitiveness is aroused in a child, it is like a light that shines on some objects but not others, making of them his whole world."
Maria Montessori,The Secret of Childhood, Chap 7


There are four stages in the human plane of development.
First stage : 0-6 years, Second stage : 6-12 years, Third stage : 12-18 years, after about eighteen years of age there is no longer any transformation (Standing, 1984, p.108). Montessori identified the first period as the most crucial year in forming a child to prepared himself for his life.

Sensitive period is referring to the period when a child is sensitive towards a particular item or aspect. Generally, there are sensitivity towards small or detail object, sense of order, sensory perception, language, coordination of movement, and a time of social awareness. It is through these sensitivity the child learns to get to know his world and helps the child’s mental growth. For example, if the child is going through the sensitive period of small detail, he would seen noticing the ant on the ground. If the necessary action or opportunities were not given to the child during the sensitive period, the child would to learn, develop and refine the related skills again in the future with extra effort.

Zu Yan is sensitive to details when he notice the label at his pillow.
Zu Yan further explore the label at the pillow by touching and tasting.

Zu Yan was cooing when we talk to him.

At 4 months old, I enrolled Zu Yan (left) to the Baby massage class. Zu Yan is interacting with his friend, Yong Joe (right) who is 6 months old.

When Zu Yan is awake and quiet, he looks toward the window where the brightness come in.