Category: 7-8 Months

Montessori at 7-8 months

Below I’ll share what we did at 7-8 months. Alfred began commando crawling at 7 months and has been busy ever since. Alfred has a very social personality so while he sometimes did these things solo he generally liked me to sit next to him.

Outside time was also a huge focus, as was kindermusik class and catching up with playgroup friends.

Baskets

Basket of shakers
Wooden things, he started to explore and not just chew
Wooden blocks
Colour baskets

Basket of balls

Placing a range of items to explore and discover in baskets was very popular at this age. I also would place household items in the baskets and use them to expose Alfred to more language surrounding the object.

Shelf rotations

Doctors items, first puzzle, reception bell, DIY switch box, bead maze, squeezing tray and bowl of balls
Alfred was into squeezing!
Stethoscope and urine specimen jar – connections to the doctor
Stacking rings, pop up toy (very popular), first puzzle, bowls of shakers, hammer ball toys without the hammer and books
Button bag, DIY shakers, light switch, colour basket (black and white), xylophone and balls

DIY shakers using recycled plastic jars

Now that Alfred could crawl, his shelf was within reach and his favourite items were shakers and fine motor items like the tongs or pop-up toys. His hands were busy discovering new things.

Outside time

On holidays at the rainforest – so rich for all the senses
Spending time on the grass
I always pulled the pram close to nature on walks so he could stop and explore
Daily visits to this fountain

Alfred has always loved being outside. We would stop and watch whatever he was looking at until he turned away signalling he was finished concentrating. We went on walks every day. Sometimes the grass was too much for his senses so I would lay a rug down. We went on holidays to the rainforest – the rich sound of buzzing insects, cascading water, leaves crunching underfoot; sights of butterflies, birds, leaves; smell of bats, water, decomposing fruit and leaves; and the feel of it all was amazing! Alfred loved it.

Movement

Climbing into cupboards every day! Exploring and emptying
Basketballs or other big balls are fun for batting or holding while sitting up
Mirrors encourage movement
Alfred started crawling when I showed him these liquid timers, he loved them a lot!

Alfred played tug-o-war with our small dog from as soon as he was able, I always was nearby and she is VERY gentle

Alfred mainly wanted to move and explore at this age, he found his own fun as long as things weren’t shut off to him. Open cupboards with plastic or soft items and inviting spaces with interesting things are the best way to encourage movement. I never tried to get him to sit or crawl, he just figured it out in his own time.

Bathtime

A bath caddy was good for storing toys

This bath caddy was great to store Alfred’s toys. He started pulling it down at 10 months as he wanted to use it to stand up on. I will reintroduce it when he’s older and understands not to pull it down.

Thanks!

Thanks for reading what life was like at 7-8 months. Alfred was always frustrated when he couldn’t move as well as he wanted or when he was stuck inside for too long. This is a brief snapshot of life, the photos are of the fun times – teething, developmental leaps and tiredness/frustrations were amongst it too!

Caroline