Montessori Mobiles
The very first materials Calvin used were mobiles. While I was setting up Calvin’s nursery, I made the decision to forego a cute mobile that would match the nursery (even though I found this super cute Winnie the Pooh one that would have been perfect!) and instead use purposeful Montessori mobiles to aid in his development. I am so glad we used these mobiles because he was mesmerized by them. Montessori mobiles are, like all Montessori materials, simple in style. They don’t light up or make music or any noise. The simplicity helps develop a baby’s concentration. A flashy mobile (or toy) may seem to hold the baby’s attention, but in reality the child can be overstimulated and overwhelmed by this kind of mobile or toy. Montessorians developed a series of mobiles designed to help develop the newborn’s concentration, eyesight, and other important skills.
The Munari Mobile
The first mobile in the Montessori visual mobile series is the Munari mobile. The black and white shapes are high contrast to help aid in a newborn’s eyesight development. A newborn can only see objects 12-18 inches away, so I hung this mobile very low. All of Calvin’s mobiles were hung in his movement area next to his large mirror so that he could see the mobiles both from underneath and from the side when looking into the mirror. We used this mobile from birth until about 5 weeks. We also used high-contrast pictures and books with Calvin for the same reason.
The Octahedron Mobile
The second mobile in the visual series is the Octahedron Mobile, which consists of three Octahedrons made out of metallic paper--one blue, one red, and one gold, hung at three different heights to help developing depth perception. We used this mobile from 5 to 7 weeks.
The Gobbi Mobile
The third mobile is the Gobbi Mobile. It is made of five different balls of varying shades of the same color hanging at a 45 degree angle. I chose green to match some of the other decorations in Calvin’s nursery. We used this mobile from 7 to 9 weeks.
The Dancers Mobile
The fourth and final mobile in the Montessori visual series is the Dancers mobile. This one seemed to be Calvin’s favorite. He stared at the abstract shapes as they moved and “danced”. Then one hot summer day I had the fan on in Calvin’s room and those dancers really danced! Calvin was entranced, laughing and dancing with them! The movement helps the infant visually track objects. We used this mobile from about 9 to 11 weeks.
The Rhythm Mobile
This mobile is not part of the official Montessori visual series, but I thought it was really beautiful and bought it as well. Similar to the Dancers mobile, the infant tracks the movement of the shapes as they dance around. We used this mobile from around 11 to 13 weeks.
Bell on a ribbon
Once Calvin started grabbing at the mobiles, I introduced him to tactile mobiles. The first traditional Montessori tactile mobile is a bell on a ribbon. This is an introduction to the concept of cause and effect. We introduced this mobile in Calvin’s living room space at about 12 weeks.
Primary Colors Mobile
Calvin absolutely loved this tactile mobile. It is made of wooden primary-colored interlocking circles which, when hit, spin so that they look like spheres. We left this mobile out for a really long time because it grew with Calvin as he discovered new ways to interact with it--hitting, kicking, then grabbing. Introduced around 14 weeks.
Ring on elastic
Another Montessori classic is the wooden ring on elastic. The baby continues to learn about cause and effect as he grabs the ring, pulls, and lets it go. It’s also great for teething! We introduced this mobile at around 14 weeks.
Most of these mobiles are possible to DIY, although I did not (except for the ring on elastic and bell on a ribbon). When Calvin was really young, we also hung all kinds of things from his baby gym in his living room space--some favorites were his play silk, his Montessori puzzle ball (which I actually did DIY!), and a rainbow rattle. The point being--you can definitely use things you already have to develop your baby’s concentration, hand eye coordination, depth perception, and other skills. I just love how each Montessori mobile is specifically designed to hone the skills a baby is developing at the newborn stage.
I also purchased three beautiful animal mobiles--whales, birds, and butterflies. I didn’t introduce them until after the tactile mobiles, and in hindsight I should have introduced them a lot sooner. I introduced the whale mobile around five months, when Calvin was already sitting. He was far more interested in sitting, grasping, and chewing on things and later in pulling up, crawling, etc. They are beautiful, though, and are great for nursery decorations. I have the butterfly mobile up in Calvin’s room currently. He looks at it sometimes, but he’s on the move and has other things he would rather do than look at a mobile. I do think that these animal mobiles may become of interest again down the road when Calvin is interested in naming the types of animals pictured. An interesting distinction about the animals featured in a Montessori mobile is that they are always animals that fly or swim. The reasoning for this is that the way the animals on the mobile float through the air looks as if they could be flying or swimming. It wouldn’t be realistic at all for a cow to be floating around in the same manner.
Montessori mobiles were an amazing way to entertain my newborn while knowing that I was doing something to aid his development!
The Dancers Mobile
The fourth and final mobile in the Montessori visual series is the Dancers mobile. This one seemed to be Calvin’s favorite. He stared at the abstract shapes as they moved and “danced”. Then one hot summer day I had the fan on in Calvin’s room and those dancers really danced! Calvin was entranced, laughing and dancing with them! The movement helps the infant visually track objects. We used this mobile from about 9 to 11 weeks.
The Rhythm Mobile
This mobile is not part of the official Montessori visual series, but I thought it was really beautiful and bought it as well. Similar to the Dancers mobile, the infant tracks the movement of the shapes as they dance around. We used this mobile from around 11 to 13 weeks.
Bell on a ribbon
Once Calvin started grabbing at the mobiles, I introduced him to tactile mobiles. The first traditional Montessori tactile mobile is a bell on a ribbon. This is an introduction to the concept of cause and effect. We introduced this mobile in Calvin’s living room space at about 12 weeks.
Primary Colors Mobile
Calvin absolutely loved this tactile mobile. It is made of wooden primary-colored interlocking circles which, when hit, spin so that they look like spheres. We left this mobile out for a really long time because it grew with Calvin as he discovered new ways to interact with it--hitting, kicking, then grabbing. Introduced around 14 weeks.
Ring on elastic
Another Montessori classic is the wooden ring on elastic. The baby continues to learn about cause and effect as he grabs the ring, pulls, and lets it go. It’s also great for teething! We introduced this mobile at around 14 weeks.
Most of these mobiles are possible to DIY, although I did not (except for the ring on elastic and bell on a ribbon). When Calvin was really young, we also hung all kinds of things from his baby gym in his living room space--some favorites were his play silk, his Montessori puzzle ball (which I actually did DIY!), and a rainbow rattle. The point being--you can definitely use things you already have to develop your baby’s concentration, hand eye coordination, depth perception, and other skills. I just love how each Montessori mobile is specifically designed to hone the skills a baby is developing at the newborn stage.
I also purchased three beautiful animal mobiles--whales, birds, and butterflies. I didn’t introduce them until after the tactile mobiles, and in hindsight I should have introduced them a lot sooner. I introduced the whale mobile around five months, when Calvin was already sitting. He was far more interested in sitting, grasping, and chewing on things and later in pulling up, crawling, etc. They are beautiful, though, and are great for nursery decorations. I have the butterfly mobile up in Calvin’s room currently. He looks at it sometimes, but he’s on the move and has other things he would rather do than look at a mobile. I do think that these animal mobiles may become of interest again down the road when Calvin is interested in naming the types of animals pictured. An interesting distinction about the animals featured in a Montessori mobile is that they are always animals that fly or swim. The reasoning for this is that the way the animals on the mobile float through the air looks as if they could be flying or swimming. It wouldn’t be realistic at all for a cow to be floating around in the same manner.
Montessori mobiles were an amazing way to entertain my newborn while knowing that I was doing something to aid his development!
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