- Tamil Montessori
Month 3 Activities
Updated: Sep 26, 2020
Little One (LO) has become a lot more social around month 3. There has been more smiles and less cries as she has been getting familiarized with the environment, the routine and more importantly developing the trust as her needs get addressed. Playtime has become fun and interactive. Here are some of the activities which we’ve enjoyed in month 3.
Motor Skills
Tummy time
As a result of tummy time every day, LO’s upper body strength has improved which makes tummy time an enjoyable experience for her. We further enhance the experience by providing her with different objects to look at every time she’s on her tummy.
Splashy kicks
LO has been stretching and kicking her legs vigorously this month indicating her body getting prepared for the next developmental stage – rolling over! To further strengthen her legs, we let her splash water in her bathtub for an extended period during bath time. We spread a bath towel on the tub for additional grip and ensure that the water is about her hip level. Bath time has certainly become enjoyable with these extra splashes!
Bell on a ribbon
When we noticed LO’s interest to reach for things, especially we she began to bat the lowest hanging ball in the Gobbi mobile, we introduced the bell on a ribbon in her activity gym. It was an instant hit as she loved batting the bell. What started initially as an unintentional batting, evolved to be intentional as she began to explore the cause and effect of the bell ringing.
Check out my post on Instagram about this tactile mobile.
Even though we secure things for the baby, all the above activities are always supervised by an adult.
Sensory Development
Visual mobiles
As LO’s vision continues to develop, we introduced the visual mobiles – Gobbi mobile and reflective dancers mobile – to further aid the development of concentration, depth perception and color contrast.
Check out my posts on Instagram about Gobbi mobile and reflective dancers mobile.
Photos on the wall
Babies love to gaze at human faces. With the lockdown, LO has been familiar with only 3 faces in the household. Since we have a lot of family photos on the wall, I leverage those by taking time to point out each person at a close distance and explain the relationship in Tamil.
Incorporate music
Music is a part of our daily routine. It could be in the form of singing a rhyme or lullaby / listening to devotional songs. We introduced this classic fun action rhyme If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands and LO loves it as we clap hands together or use a rattle to make rhythmic sounds.
Language and Mental Development
Face playtime
This face playtime rhyme has been one of our favorites from the initial weeks. I saw LO’s smile develop from unintentional to intentional through this rhyme. She absolutely loves when I start to touch the tip of her nose and she begins to smile. Here’s the demonstration of the rhyme by Child of the Redwoods.
Books on sounds continues
LO’s interest in sounds continues this month; apart from her toys, we’ve introduced books on sounds which introduce common sounds that we hear such as those of birds, animals and vehicles.
Our favorite books include
The touch and feel farm board book needs a special mention here. Though it is not a book on sounds, we’ve been pairing it with Old McDonald had a farm, as we sing along and read the book. We also sing a close enough Tamil version of Old McDonald had a farm too. 😊
Check out the kit with more books on sounds.
Social and Emotional skills
Eye contact game
To make eye contact with the baby, they need to be in a calm and alert state. It’s typically easy for moms to initiate and maintain eye contact for a longer period while nursing the baby. While holding the gaze, smile back and make the baby feel safe. With LO, I don’t pull her face to initiate the eye contact. Usually she takes the lead and I follow her; at other times, I call her by her name or say “I love you” to initiate. But never do I forcefully grab her face to get the attention.
The getcha game
When LO is in a playful state, I lay her down on her back and ask “Where is baby’s head?” beginning in a slow voice, rising in pitch towards the end of the question. I say “Right here!” as I gently stroke her head to tell her that’s the head. I do this for each body part. We also play this game while reading Where’s baby’s belly button. We play the Tamil version of this game too in which I ask “பிள்ளைக்கு காது எங்கே?” building on the pitch from low to high and say “ இதோ!” as I rub her ear.
Say thank you
LO has begun to self-entertain her for brief periods by mouthing a toy or staring at her mobile. We started off with a minute and slowly working our way up on increasing the time based on her comfort level. When I come back to attend her after the brief period of absence (I may be physically absent to LO, but I’m watching her from a distance) which is usually during the restroom break, I thank her for waiting and keeping herself engaged while I was gone. Teaching grace and courtesy for LO begins right there. 😊
As always, please remember that these activities are just some ideas to interact with your little ones and you should never feel compelled to do all of these and expect everything to work on a timeline. Some activities may be an instant hit while others take time. Patience is key here and the only goal should be that the caregiver and the baby have a quality time.