Just imagine these gorgeous birds slowly and gracefully moving through the air! The Montessori Swallows Mobile not only attracts the eye but also stimulates your baby’s vision development. After the first four traditional visual mobiles, this Montessori-inspired mobile seamlessly fits into the sequence of the Montessori mobiles. It also continues to exercise your little one’s mind to focus and concentrate for a long period of time. But why birds, and more specifically, why swallows, you might ask? Let me explain it in this post.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
The Montessori Swallows mobile consists of three, stylised forms which represent the swallows. The simple, clean-cut, but still very recognisable shapes of the birds hang in differing heights and move independently from each other. The breast of the bird is made of three folded shapes, adding the illusion of being three-dimensional. The red dot at the end draws the eye. The two white clouds add to the realistic image of three swallows flying in the sky.
SO WHY IS THE MONTESSORI SWALLOWS MOBILE SO ATTRACTIVE FOR YOUR BABY?
Similarly to the other Montessori mobiles, the Swallows also move effortlessly in the slightest air current, capturing babies’ attention and focus. The high contrast colours make it easy to see even with immature visual abilities, therefore it is an instant hit with little ones. The small red detail, which imitates the open beak of the birds, raises curiosity and encourages observation. In addition, it invites them to more carefully discern details. Due to the birds hanging at different heights, babies gradually ‘discover’ more and more of this mobile, as their visual skills improve.
Even though Montessori-inspired mobiles that depict animals are generally introduced from around 9 weeks, after the traditional Montessori Visual Mobiles, the Swallows can be presented earlier.
WHAT ARE THE SCIENTIFIC BENEFITS OF THE SWALLOWS MOBILE?
- It develops their eyesight with age-appropriate stimulus
- It strengthens the muscles in the eyes, neck, arms and even core muscles
- Binocularity – the two eyes working together
- Depth perception – being able to see the object that are hanging in different heights
- Dynamic visual tracking – being able to follow a moving object
- Encourages switching their gaze between objects
- Allows the perceiving the details of objects while in motion
- Your baby learns that even though many variations change such as lighting, distance and the angles, the shape, the colour and the size all stay the same
- By offering images that babies find extremely attractive, it encourages focus and concentration, starting the foundation for their cognitive development
TIPS AND TRICKS
The Swallows do not only offer real-life images but also emulate the realistic motion of birds. They really do look like they are gracefully flying through the air! The mobile faithfully abides the Montessori rule of not having more than five elements, as this could overstimulate the baby. As this material is so attractive to look at, it not only makes a lovely interior decoration but also has a soothing and calming effect on your baby.
At this age, it is recommended that you change the mobiles more often. Generally you can alternate them every week, or when you see that your baby is losing interest. You can re-introduce the previous mobiles as well. This allows your child to observe them with their improved visual abilities. (Read more about how to keep up your baby’s interest in the mobiles in this post.)
Another version of the bird mobile is the Seagull mobile, which is also predominantly high-contrast but with a few little colourful details to encourage longer observation time.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With its attractiveness for babies and adults it’s not a surprise that it’s the most popular Montessori Animal Mobile in my Shop. It’s black and white, easy-to-see shapes and colours make it a great success with every baby. Are you curious which animal will be the protagonist of the next animal mobile? Click on this post to read about it.
If you’d like to make it yourself, just type ‘Montessori Swallows DIY’ in your search engine. Alternatively, you can buy it from my shop individually, or as part of the DIY Montessori Animal Mobile Set.
Click on the links to read more about how the Montessori Visual Mobiles, the Montessori Tactile Mobiles or the Sensory Baby Play help your baby’s development.
How did your baby react to this mobile? Please share your photos on my Instagram site. #montessoriedited, @montessoriedited