The best toy

These Russian nesting dolls are really the best toy for Téa at 7.5 months.

She was immediately drawn to the bright, pleasing doll's face.  The dolls are just the right size for small hands to grab and handle.  They roll away if she fails to grab them, which is great for crawling practice.

After I showed her how you can take them apart, I put them back together loosely so that she can open them up herself.  She likes to bang the pieces together, and to try to fit pieces against each other, telling me "da-da-da-da-da" while she's at it.  Learning to put the dolls together and nest them will be a great puzzle for her to solve when she gets older.

I also like to assemble the three largest dolls separately (I've hidden the smallest ones) to show her the concept of size. Children are drawn to difference, and Montessori materials call for a set of materials to be exactly the same except for the concept/variable being taught.  Most commercial nesting cups vary in both colour and size.  These nesting dolls are really perfect because they are (almost) identical.

We also get to explore the concept of "in" and "out" as we take them apart or put them back together.

This set belongs to her uncle, so I'm going to have to look for a set for her very own.  Any recommendations?

Perfect for Little Hands

We discovered by accident that these whole walnuts fit just right in a baby's hands, when Téa grabbed them off our kitchen table.  So we filled up a big bowlful for her to play with.  They make nice rattly sounds, are fun to bang together, and are a lovely natural material to chew on.  A perfect introduction to sensory play at six months!

Which natural materials do your baby play with?  What have you found is just right for small hands?

Our first treasure baskets

These are our first treasure baskets.

Scented teas from a David's Tea sampler box.  Babies have a strong sense of smell and so often we forget to stimulate this sense.  I've been giving Téa these to sniff since she was two months old.  Our favourites are strawberry rhubarb, orange, organic ginger and a nutty mix.

Fabric of different textures in the same colour.  We happen to have a lot of pink hankerchiefs and hand towels on hand, so I put together a basket with a cotton weave (with a lace edge), double gauze, terry cloth, microfiber, rayon, organza and tulle (not shown... that piece got lost!)

Brightly coloured ribbons.  This happened by accident -- I noticed that Téa liked to reach for the measuring tape when I'm sewing for her, and I found these shiny ribbons from India while I was rummaging for notions, so here we are!  This is a favourite.