I visited my Grand-son for a week in November, when he was three months old. I noticed he was attracted to light and shadows. He would turn his head and concentrate on where the light was shining on the wall. He was also curious about the windows in his home which let in a lot of sunlight.
So, for one of his Christmas gifts, I decided to buy him a crystal. I thought maybe it could be hung in one of the windows and create rainbows when the sun shone in. I have to admit, I'm a Nan who likes to give gifts that might be less conventional than others.
As it happened, I was able to visit him again in February when he was five months old. One day I hung the crystal from my finger close to where he was lying. Beautiful rainbows appeared and he was obviously attentive and curious.
He was definitely noticing the rainbows around him and his eyes were tracking as they moved around him on the floor and on the wall.
His mom brought it out another day and he was so focussed and interested. Shiny light, rainbows, reflection, and movement were all captivating his attention
He was able to reach out and grasp it and get a closer look.
Here he is at eight months old. He can hold the crystal himself and move it to create his own magic!
From an Early Childhood Educator's point of view, I was thrilled with his interest, scientific curiosity and exploration with this "un"toy. He is strengthening his visual tracking skills, learning about movement and is fascinated by the light and rainbow the crystal created.
I anticipate that he will enjoy his crystal for a long time. As he matures he will be able to understand more completely the correlation between the sun and the crystal and how the rainbows are created.
His engineer Daddy might have already explained the concept of light refraction to him, so he is well ahead of the game!
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