Exploring Sense of Smell with Baby

The other morning, a sweet smell of orange filled our kitchen as my almost 3 yr old peeled some mandarins. I gathered some peelings, put them into clear salt & pepper shakers and let my almost 5 month old explore her senses....

 

I love observing babies as they explore new items in the environment.

She focused so intently on the orange peels.

She explored with her mouth, hands, eyes and nose.

So simple, and beautiful to watch.

Baby Fabric Basket - a Tactile Experience

For simplicity, I gathered light colored fabrics with very different textures from around the house.
 

Baskets provide the opportunity to sit and play, which is a new skill for her.

I love the surprised look on her face ... 

She seemed to enjoy the netted material as she'd continually return to this one after exploring others. 

Feeling tulle against her face and mouth.

Here she is feeling a silky fabric with her feet.

From newborn through the time my daughter was unable to sit and play, we'd explore her sense of touch with different objects on her cheeks, hands and belly (i.e: feathers, soft blanket, warm washcloth, cool washcloth on the cheek, and massage lotion).

Montessori-Inspired Baby Gym (An IKEA Hack)

On a budget, I purchased the LEKA Baby Gym from IKEA.

 It looked like this:

Here's what mine looks like now:

I removed all plastic pieces from the wood frame, donated the toys, and painted the red parts white.

I used a similar approach to IKEA for hanging my DIY'd toys. I found round wood slices at a craft store, drilled a hole in the middle and threaded my ribbon through.

 

My inspiration for toys came from a "Montessori Baby" search on Etsy. You can see the rest of our infant play space and DIY Montessori-inspired toys here.

DIY Montessori Infant Toys and Play Space

The first essential for the child's development is concentration.
The child who concentrates is immensely happy. — Maria Montessori, MD

Some great Montessori information can be found here.

 

We will be welcoming our third child in less than two weeks!

I carefully chose a space and a few toys to make that would respect her developing concentration. There's no TV, limited background noise with plenty of room to play without interruption. All of these toys are designed to allow the child to see cause and effect.

Low black and white artwork

A very low shelf

A few toys I made:

A rattle and a teething ring. 

Another rattle and interlocking discs. 

A rolling rattle with bells. 

Another rolling toy with wooden balls.  

Here is a view of the baby play area from a child's eye level. I created the floor/mobile area by hanging a low mirror, low art work, soft, plain colored blankets and a basket of books.

 

The play mat is a plain white color so not to distract her from the toy she is focusing on. We purposefully have minimal toys available, and will offer only one at a time in those first few months  to help develop concentration. Less is more - and infants stay focused and content much longer when they are not overwhelmed with colors, lights, sounds, or a shelf/floor full of toys. 

 

Here are a few very simple mobiles I created:

A large, single bell on string

A wooden grasping ring on ribbon

A metal grasping ring on ribbon

Another wooden ring with bells on ribbon

 

A few toys she'll use when she's older: 

 

 

Wooden rings on a horizontal dowel.

A vertical dowel with napkin rings:

Another vertical dowel with smaller stacking rings:

 

I recently found these balls I had in storage and used them to create shaker toys:

one ball contains 3 bells

one ball contains a single bell

one a wooden bead for shaking

and one with nothing at all

 

We have some higher shelves in this room where I'm currently storing these items:

 

I created everything in this post with inspiration from an "Infant Montessori" search on Etsy. After dreaming of all of these items for my daughter and placing them in my cart, I was devastated to see I couldn't afford to purchase them. Thankfully, they are all simple to make - and for a fraction of the price. I purchased all of my materials at our local craft store.

 

It has been a lot of fun preparing for our little girl's arrival. I hope you enjoyed touring her play space and seeing her toys!