Montessori Baby: Floor Time at 3-Months-Old

In a blink and flash Penelope's newborn days are behind us! She's officially 3-months-old and really blossoming in so many new ways. Her schedule is getting more predictable and consistent. She is spending more of her day awake and alert. Less of her time is spent nursing or cat napping. It's always such an amazing thing to watch these sleepy newborns, discover the beauty of the world around them. 

Penelope is still very much a young baby, however. Her sleep is still inconsistent. She still needs and wants to be held, cuddled, or be with me most of the time. Babies need and love their caregivers to be close and that is no different in a Montessori environment. As Penelope gets older, I wanted to share a little how floor time looks and changes. {Read about floor time with a newborn here}

Much like her newborn days, Penelope's floor time happens during her needs/wants nothing time. This is time when she is fed, awake, happy, and doesn't really need anything else. Also like her newborn days, much of her floor time happens in her Montessori movement area. I also don't want to give the impression that this is the majority of her day - it's still a small percentage of her overall day. 

There are some definite differences between floor time as a brand new baby and at 3-months. One, floor time does last for longer stretches. Right now, floor time lasts up to 25-30 minutes depending on her mood. Gradually, as we practice floor time from birth, a few minutes get added here and there. And before you know it, there's a big stretch of time where they are content. This will definitely vary based on a child's temperament, mood, and health. 

Two,  floor time is a lot more active. As a newborn, she was mostly just laying on her topponcino looking around slowly. Now, floor time is a time for movement, a time for actively engaging with toys and materials, and exploring her body in new and different ways. 

There are so many things that your baby could be doing on the floor as a baby. This is where the bulk of their gross motor movement will happen. But some simple playtime activities are also fun to start at this age. A few things that Penelope is enjoying include: