Teeth

Those teeth are causing pain. Theia is very good but now and then the pain sets her off and she bites as hard as she can on her hand. Her attempts to crawl are quite funny to watch. At the moment she has her head on the floor and then she brings her feet up so that her legs are fully extended. It s more like a handstand position than a crawl.

Her vocal noises are changing and there is more variety in the sounds she is making. The changes are so slight at this stage but then it explodes. Montessori observed this and wrote about it. What we are observing is the child's absorbent mind at work.

The Absorbent mind is an unconscious, creative and non-selective process by which the brain takes in everything from the environment, takes it in like a sponge, forming neural pathways and connections.  The brain in the post-natal period is purposely not neurologically fixed so that each child can adapt to the needs dictated by his environment.  This not only allows for variation in behavior but also for change and creativity.  Infants are born into different environments, different cultures all over the world and the Absorbent Mind allows them to adapt to their “time, place and group”. It is a process from which the child grows and the culture that the child is born into is perpetuated.  It is a fundamental mechanism for survival.