A month in photos (weeks 45-48)

Color Bottles

first puzzle

first puzzle - circle

First puzzle - Circle, square and triangle

Stacking Rings

Drawer - open and close activity

Play Gym - A gift

Babies Book

Whose Name is my name?

Object Permanence box - Every tiny thing goes in it

Play/ Work Area

Open and Close Activity

little pompoms

4 teeth
weaning chair,place mat
BLW and montessori weaning

fruits and vegetables basket
kitchen utensils
lower kitchen drawers

Treasure basket- how to peacefully engage your infant (week 41 & 42)

Its been long since I had made any materials for Fatima, and all this time the treasure baskets where a saver. I cannot emphasize enough on importance of Montessori treasure baskets, specially for moms who really want to engage their little infant for a long time. Montessori treasure basket is traditionally a large wooden basket which has 50-100 items in it. These items are regular household items like brushes, small utensils or kitchen tools, soft toys, varying fabric based materials, rattles/sound bottles, balls, or anything that can be explored by your little infant. The items must be safe i.e. no sharp corners or no choking hazard. Making this basket is really inexpensive and effortless. One advantage, besides exploring, is that treasure baskets keeps y
our baby engaged for like ages. Now there are versions of this traditional Montessori basket like theme baskets or basket with less items (5-20 items). The theme baskets hold items of one particular category like: kitchen items, color bottles, fruits/veggies (real or toy), smelling bottles, soft toys, different fabrics etc. To present this basket sit facing towards the infant, keep the basket in between and slowly take out an item, explore it and return it to the basket. Repeat this with another item and then invite the child to do so. once the child is engaged move your self slowly from the place and let him explore. When finished, return each item to the basket one at a time and keep the basket at its place.
We made a treasure basket for Fatima before (see here), it was kind of a theme basket. Now we have these two baskets for her:
This is a all in one basket. It has some lids, a book, a sensorial ball, a wooden spatula, a wooden bowl with knob lid, a small cup, a teether, some sound bottles, two little rubber teddies, some disks.

This is a gift she received form her aunt. Its a beautiful wood and crochet basket with a hidden section in it. There are some plastic toys (a gift). She loves this basket so much. Fun part for her is to first use the knob to open the lid then to put all toys out and then open the inner section.

One newly introduced basket holds color bottles. I have replaced the object permanence box (OPB) with this basket. She was least interested in OPB, removing it for time being was really needed. The color bottles are just some bottles filled with different food colors.

In my next post I shall be covering a whole lot of things....Insha Allah!

Talking to your infant.....language

What do you want to talk about with your child? Trust me there is so much....
Often when we talk to our child we end up commenting, judging, scolding and telling them what not to do. But do we really have the talk like talk with our child? think again! I guess you have no for an answer. Let's explore some thing about language and infants. Now if that sounds crazy to you i must stress that these little ones are really sensitive to language...its just their response which is different. Each time you say something to an infant you feel as if your words are going in some void. They never seem to grasp anything.
When taking to infants its particularly important that you first make an eye contact with the child. Infants have so much around them to concentrate on, plus they understand very little of the verbal language, its the non-verbal language with which they mostly understand your point. Begin your talk with first attracting them towards you...simply call out there name in a different pitched voice. Now when they look at you make direct eye contact and start your talk. When your child is listing to you, she pays attention to your body language, movement of lips and gestures more than the words...of course. Keeping mild and clam tone, relevant and peaceful gestures will help your child calm down and listen carefully. In addition, never use bad or baby words to make your child understand something. Always be gentle and soothing, repetition is one of the key points you would never want to forget.
Now, coming to what the talk should be about? The talk can be describing what you are doing now like: Mommy is changing the diaper or Mommy is massaging your leg, foot, toe....You can also talk about what others are doing, like, dad is reading newspaper or brother eating a snack. Do not intent to teach vocabulary to an infant rather just describe as to what is going on. Next talk about her! tell her that she is doing well these days, she is growing and learning different things or she is wearing a nice dress. Then you can talk about your day, your plans and anything general. Infants like to get attention from their parents. They get fussy or disturbed if everyone is busy, paying no attention to them, even if all of their physical needs are met. They need someone to talk, someone to attend them. Giving at least half hour each day of this undisturbed and individual attention will calm down even the most fussy infant. During this half hour apart from all talking described above, try reading a short story, a short poem/ song, recite any religious verses or prayers or play a small game (look for infant games here). Before introducing new ones, repeating the same story, song, prayer and game for a period of 2-3 weeks is a good idea.
Recently, when I met a Montessori teacher and asked her why is that my daughter cries so much when I am trying to put her to bed. After she turned three months old, we have set her sleep routine and all was fine till she turned 7 months old and now she doesn't go to bed easily. On hearing this the Montessori teacher gave a simple solution: talk to her. We did the same. Since that day she doesn't make any fuss for going to bed unless she is unwell.
An half hour talk will save your whole day!

The Man Who Inspired Us to Montessori

Its was a bright sunny morning and we were headed for Blue Blocks Self-Learning Pre-School to attend the Positive Parenting Workshop. A day before this, I was wondering why in the world do I need to attend this workshop? Do I not know Enough about a small baby? I mean what if I was going to become a mother for the first time, I know what a small baby needs! obviously, a baby needs feed, good cloths and Diapers and not to forget the cuddling. See I know it all! But then when I started giving a serious thought - Why learn parenting? Do I really know enough? I burst into a cry! Only then I prayed sincerely to Allah - Oh Allah! Give me from your knowledge. I know not and you are all knower. Give me best out of this Workshop. Then with an open heart I decided to attend this workshop.

When we reached our destination, we received a warm welcome from the staff. After filling a short form we were directed to the lecture hall. It was just the right time. There we saw a short man with a gentle smile. This was pavan. His first sight made me a bit disappointed. I was hoping to see an energetic speaker who would blow up our minds with his talk on the subject. But this man was polite and calm. hugh! not so impressive anyway.

Soon the session began with what we are expecting or any question we want him to cover, followed by our introductions. Then began the real part. Mr. Pavan Goyal Started to introduce himself. He has taken the AMI intensive training in the USA for the age group of Birth – 3 years. He has observed and worked with infants and toddlers as part of his training program. He is also trained in the age group of 3 – 6 years, which has been certified by AMI Netherlands. With his training and practice he is committed to educating parents all over the country through Positive Parenting Workshops. He is also the founder of Blue Blocks Self-learning Pre-school.

After this impressive introduction he made us do a visualization technique. We sort of looked into our childhood where we found ourselves being rejected and disappointed. Then he took us through the journey of a child unfolding the developmental stages a child goes though and how can we support him in this development. He spoke about the wrong ways of parenting and bad educational techniques that are followed. His inspiring talk covered both physical and psychological needs of a child. In all we explored a whole new perception towards a child. The Montessori philosophy he spoke about was so natural and obvious that we felt our hearts getting convinced with it. Entire session we were kind of glued to our chairs. We couldn't hear enough on the subject. I wouldn't be summarizing his talk instead here is the link where you can get all the info. In all, his talk blew our minds, not in the way I was expecting but in a way that was as amazing as child psychology was. He was soft and thought provoking. He made us laugh, he made us cry. He definitely was someone who made a change.

By the end of the session I got my answer as to why this man is so polite, gentle and calm....Because he deals with children. Can there be any other way to handle this lovely creatures. When we left we had in our hearts great regard and respect towards this man who gave us hope to parenting efficiently. Even though we do mistakes raising a child but there is a way to rightly do it. We extend our wishes and thank Pavan for his good work.

May Allah guide us all to the straight path. Ameen!

Note:
For all those parents who are interested in Blue blocks Montessori School for their kids, here is the link to the school's website. You will get all necessary information.

Qualities of Good Parent

As humans we must all admit that none of us is perfect. We are designed to fail, then learn then succeed then fail again in something else then learn again, success again and the cycle continues. Learning never ends. As life moves on, it puts us into new roles, gives us tougher challenges. Key is not to stop learning from our failures and these new challenges, that seem so tough and impossible in the very beginning.There are few things which we must posses to keep this learning cycle healthy and productive. One of these is observation. When things go out of our hand or we see a challenge that too big for us to handle then just one deep breath is what is required. Losing our mind in such situations will only help us lose a good learning opportunity. Take a step back, relax, take a deep breath and just observe things as they happen. This opens up our mind to see the reality, to see where the problem lies and to know the solution. This would be my advice to any new parent. Perhaps the biggest challenge in the world is to have in your arms a small, little human being who is so fragile, so dependent, so adorable and above everything whose only medium of communication is crying. If you are a parent and you really wish to help this little baby of yours all you need to be is a good observer. Gradually you will find your self understanding every cry and move of your child.

These little humans who have great powers seek only our help in getting through. They surely are not some beings who must be looked down upon. Unknowingly we do not respect these beings and their needs. What we need to understand is that they deserve respect not less than anyone of us. Its just that they are different and see things differently. Responding to the cries of your child in a respectful way will make you develop a unique bond with her. These responses must be encapsulated with patience and warmth and the driving factor should be your 'want' to understand. Children often do things which violate a lot of rules in this adult driven world. For ex: a toddler making mess out of food or a teenager resisting to participate in chores. But what we need to know is that they learn by changing their environment or by breaking rules. They always are trying to see if the rules can be molded or changed. In such situations, a parent must politely and firmly establish the rules back. A good way is to involve the older children in setting the rules. This will make them realize that you value them and they are old enough to be the part of the decisions. Additional advantage is that they are less likely to break the rules they have set themselves.

A good parent is someone with courage. Panicking in tough situations will only panic your child more. Responding difficulties with courage and confidence will teach your child a lesson which will help her through out her life. Complaining difficulties and hardships will make your child timid. She will not know the great art of dealing with problems. Every human is surrounded with problems and hardships designed specifically for each one of us. But there are only few who take the right approach to deal with them. Next time a problem pops up just try to identify what new thing life wants to teach you. Face it gracefully with all confidence that if this problem is given to you, you and only you have the potential to face it and deal with it. Remember your child sees you as a role model. With that said, here is my simple advice to parents out there: BE WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE.

Why To Have Babies?

There can be thousand reasons of not having a baby, count another thousand for having one. Everyone have there own reasons. Some say "babies are cute". Others say - "I love kids" or "I want a heir" or "My husband/Wife wants to have one" or "I want to experience how it is to be a parent". Some are candid "When every one has a baby why shouldn't I?". Yes! there are others who want someone, there very own, to be there when they get old. Are these reasons valid enough? Is this what Prophet Zechariah (Zakariyah in Arabic), peace be upon him, asked for an offspring? Allah mentions of him in Quran, asking for an offspring:

This is a mention of the Mercy of your Lord to His slave Zakariyah. When he called out his Lord (Allah) - a call in secret, saying: "My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and gray hair has spread on my head, and I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my Lord! And Verily! I fear my relatives after me, since my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir, - who shall inherit me, and inherit also the posterity of Jacob (inheritance of the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not the wealth, etc.) And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-pleased!" (Quran: 19:2-4).

Zechariah, peace be upon him , asked for an offspring for nothing but to pass his knowledge to future generations. He feared if he dies people might deviate from the path of almighty and follow Satan. What a good reason to have a baby! On the other hand, we ask for babies so that we can fulfill our not so worthy desires. Nevertheless, we forget the huge responsibility coming to us along with our babies. To carry out this responsibility in the most productive way, Lets discuss a whole new perspective of looking at them...

A baby (your's or someone else's) is nothing but a smaller version of a complete human being. To this little human being, everyone around is a role model. According to there little understanding, they believe whatever these big and confident humans do is correct and they couldn't wait to imitate these incredible beings around them. They are but a complete human being, with little understanding of right and wrong. As we have better understanding of right and wrong it is therefore our job to protect them from getting exploited. We must do so as the world deserves good humans. As parents we can at least make this contribution. We must correct our intentions of having a baby and must feel the big responsibility before we are ready to parent a tiny human. The intention of Zechariah, peace be upon him, was to make a positive contribution and so should be our intention.

Next time you look at a baby remind yourself that you have a chance to do some good to the world you live in.

Dealing with newborns

The first week of a baby is a very important part of mother's and baby's life. I call this a settle down and accept week. As you have gone through a tough part of your life you need good time to recover yourself. Soon after delivery you will be in pain, need a lot of rest, not very mobile and will have a baby to deal with. This is the time you must accept all help offered. This is the time where more than anything you want a clam baby so that you can have enough time to rest and recover. At this very stage all that a baby needs is proper feed and good protection. 

Things to do to have clam and happy baby:

• Feed baby at regular intervals (mostly every two hrs)
• Try keeping the baby dry (nappy check)
• Create a womb like environment (clam, not so bright, soft and warm coverings)
• While you talk to your baby keep a soothing tone.
• Do Cuddle your baby to ensure she satisfies her need for love and feels protected. (this helps in building a confident baby)
• Consider sleeping while your baby sleeps, as most babies are restless during night time. (Save your energy)
• Have good nutrition to ensure good health. (do not neglect your well-being)

How to Parenting?

Do you often hear that parenting is a tiring and difficult task? Do you find yourself running behind your children, worrying and caring about there everything? Do you still hear that you are wrong parenting your children after all the effort you have put in? Do you desperately want to learn the secrets of effective parenting? if yes you are on the right page. The posts here will discuss on parenting right way as according to popular systems.