Gosh. I don't know what to say. Happy New Year? Sorry to be away so long unannounced like that. Especially when I mentioned in my last post that I had hoped to be in this space a little more often. The days with Rylie have a way of passing by at super duper lightspeed. When I try to pack too much in one day, I get a little anxious and stressed and that is not good for me, Rylie or Ryan. So in this New Year I hope to be more balanced, slow down a bit and approach the day to day duties with a sense of joy and gratitude. The last bit of 2010 was pretty fast paced and hectic, so with a fresh slate I'm looking at this quiet time of year as an opportuntity for renewal.
It is supposed to be 83 degrees here today! We don't get much of a winter around these parts. That is why the babe is simply wearing a diaper, and because it helps with her mobility. She is rolling with intent these days and is trying all sorts of moves to get from point A to point B. I thought a little traction might help her.
Over the Holidays, I decided to move Rylie's black and white whale mobile from her movement mat area to her sleeping area. This coincided with a big sale on wool roving from this great shop in Santa Monica. So I bought some wool, felted up some balls and made the Gobbi Mobile. It is named after Gianna Gobbi an Assistant to Infancy trained by Maria Montessori and is meant to be presented to the child at around 2 months of age. The subtle varaiations in color help the child's developing visual snese. Even though we are a bit behind in offering the mobile to Rylie, she is interested in it and I also think it is a beautiful addition to the room if nothing else.
The mobile itself was quite simple to make. Using these instructions, I made five felt balls in different shades of the same color. I bought a wooden dowel at Michael's and cut it to 13 inches. Once the balls were completely dry, I attached a 16 inch length of fish wire to the top of each one. Beginning with the darkest ball, I wound the fish wire around the dowel until the ball was hanging 12 inches below the dowel. Then I continued with each of the other four balls, each one hanging 1/2 inch higher than the previous. Once all of the balls were attached to the dowel, I tied 24 inches of embroidery floss to both ends and aranged the balls to hang evenly in between. I then tied another long length of embroidery floss to the middle of the 24 inch length and hung the mobile from the ceiling so that the lowest ball was 12 inches from the movement mat.
********Oh, and I found a new blog called At Home with Montessori which aims to help families create Montessori inspired spaces in their homes. It just so happens that they are sposoring a giveaway for a Gobbi Mobile. If you are interested in winning a Gobbi of your very own, head on over, become a follower, and leave a comment on the giveaway post. The winner will be selected at random on January 31st 8 pm Western Australian Time.********
Hello! I'm Liz Scott - mama to two little ones, maker, and all around curiosity chaser. I live with my family in Los Angeles, where we seek to fill each day with adventure, joy and creativity. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting.
