SE T1.03Gobbi Mobile
Five spheres wrapped in thread of one color, graded from darkest to lightest and hung on a diagonal line above the awake infant.
Safety
- Use only while the infant is awake and an adult is watching; never hang any mobile over a crib, bassinet, or other sleep space.
- Measure from the lowest sphere: no sphere or thread may be within reach of the infant's hands or feet, and the mobile is taken down as soon as the infant reaches toward it.
- Attach it to a secure ceiling hook, or to a stand with a wide, weighted base that cannot tip onto the infant.
- Check before each use that the wrapping thread is not loose or hanging from any sphere.
Presentation
- 1
Take down the Octahedron mobile; hang only one mobile at a time.
- 2
When the infant is awake, fed, and calm, lay them on their back on the movement mat.
- 3
Hang the Gobbi mobile so the spheres are about 20–30 cm above the infant's chest, and check that the lowest sphere is still out of reach.
- 4
Sit a short distance away and stay quiet. Point of interest: the row of spheres moving, from dark to light.
- 5
Watch which spheres the infant looks at, whether they move their eyes along the row, and how long they look.
- 6
End the session when the infant looks away, fusses, or tires; take the mobile down or move the infant.
- 7
Offer it at later awake times. When interest drops for several days in a row, replace it with the Dancers mobile.
Extensions, easiest to hardest
- Hang it at a different point above the mat so the infant turns their head to find it
- Offer a second Gobbi mobile in a different color
Control of error
None in the material; the adult observes where the infant looks and for how long, and changes the mobile when interest drops.
Ready to move on when the child…
- Looks at the spheres within a few seconds of lying under the mobile
- Moves their eyes from one sphere to another along the row
- Stays calm and attentive under the mobile for several minutes
- Later looks away quickly or ignores it: the sign to change to the Dancers mobile
Guide note
Designed by Gianna Gobbi, who worked with Maria Montessori. Some sources introduce it at about 3 months; this draft follows the 7–10 week start in the sources for this strand.