What really matters- There is the saying out there: “Ordinary moments, Extraordinary learning”. It is about turning small simple moments during the day and really seeing how big and wonderful they can be for our babies. I found that sometimes it seems readily apparent to find these moments and sometimes not. It is certainly a wonderful experience when I can recognize and join in. Whit might be simply playing with a Shoe or dropping things from a High Chair; if I can dial into what she might be experiencing and thinking, what a joy. It brings me closer to her and the important competences she is working on.  (read more about I3 Dev Focus)

How to put it into practice- So how do we recognize these moments and tune into the mind of our baby. Well what I found is that it does not hurt to read some of the developmental literature (see Ages & Stages). it gets my radar ready to see things I probably would not normally be looking for and that would otherwise go unnoticed. Although I did not always have time to read much, I would review a month by month cheat sheet periodically to keep things top of mind.

Once recognized, in that ordinary moment, I could enter in narrating or extending her experience. Here are a few things Whit was really working on at 6 months (watch videos to right):

-Sitting Up- In the beginning of the month, Whit was really mastering sitting up. She loved this new position that gave her lots of new freedoms to explore and better look around her space. (Read Dev Story)

-Cause & Effect Logic- I also noticed Whit was becoming more aware that when she did something it caused another thing to happen next. She loved to find out what happened when she dropped things from her High Chair. (Read Dev Story)

-Mitten Grasp- Since she was able to sit up, she really started to manipulate objects much more extensively and you could see the progress she was making with her emerging mitten grasp. (Read Dev Story)

Why-