The Mom I Want to Be

Children 3 to 5 Years Old

What to Expect

 

Between their third and fourth birthdays, children

 

§  Start to play with other children, instead of next to them;

§  Are more likely to take turns and share and begin to understand that other people have feelings and rights;

§  Are increasingly self-reliant and probably can dress with little help;

§  May develop fears (“Mommy, there’s a monster under my bed.”) and have imaginary companions;

§  Have greater large-muscle control than toddlers and love to run, skip, jump with both feet, catch a ball, climb downstairs and dance to music;

§  Have greater small-muscle control than toddlers, which is reflected in their drawings and scribbles;

§  Match and sort things that are alike and unalike;

§  Recognize numerals;

§  Like silly humor, riddles and practical jokes;

§  Understand and follow spoken directions;

§  Use new words and longer sentences;

§  Are aware of rhyming sounds in words;

§  May attempt to read, calling attention to themselves and showing pride in their accomplishment;

§  Recognize print around them on signs or in logos.

§  Know that each alphabet letter has a name and identify at least 10 alphabet letters, especially those in their own names; and

§  “Write,” or scribble messages.

 

Between their fourth and fifth birthdays, children

 

§  Are active and have lots of energy and may be aggressive in their play;

§  Enjoy more group activities, because they have longer attention spans;

§  Like making faces and being silly;

§  May form cliques with friends and may change friendships quickly;

§  Have better muscle control in running, jumping and hopping;

§  Recognize and write the numerals 1–10;

§  Recognize shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles;

§  Love to make rhymes, say nonsense words and tell jokes;

§  Know and use words that are important to school work, such as the names for colors, shapes and numbers; know and use words that are important to daily life, such as street names and addresses;

§  Know how books are held and read and follow print from left to right and from top to bottom of a page when listening to stories read aloud;

§  Recognize the shapes and names of all letters of the alphabet and know the sounds of some letters; and

§  Write some letters, particularly those in his own name.

 

What Preschoolers Need

 

3- to 4-year-old children require opportunities to

 

§  Play with other children so they can learn to listen, take turns and share;

§  Develop more physical coordination—for example, by hopping on both feet;

§  Develop their growing language abilities through books, games, songs, science, math and art activities;

§  Develop more self-reliance skills—for example, learning to dress and undress themselves;

§  Count and measure;

§  Participate actively with adults in reading-aloud activities ;

§  Explore the alphabet and print; and

§  Attempt to write messages.

 

4- to 5-year-old children need opportunities to

 

§  Experiment and discover, within limits;

§  Develop their growing interest in school subjects, such as science, music, art and math;

§  Enjoy activities that involve exploring and investigating;

§  Group items that are similar (for example, by size, color or shape);

§  Use their imaginations and curiosity;

§  Develop their language skills by speaking and listening; and

§  See how reading and writing are both enjoyable and useful (for example, by listening to stories and poems, seeing adults use books to find information and dictating stories to adults).

 

Getting Along

 

Learning to get along with others is very important for children’s social development.

 

 

§  Give your child lots of personal attention and encouragement. Set aside time when you and your child can do enjoyable things together. Your positive feelings for your child will help him to feel good about himself.

§  Set a good example. Show your child what it means to get along with others and to be respectful. Let her hear you say “please” and “thank you” when you talk to others. Treat people in ways that show you care what happens to them.

§  Help your child find ways to solve conflicts with others. Help him to figure out what will happen if he shows his anger by hitting a playmate: “James, I know that Zoe took your truck without asking. But if you hit her and you have a big fight, then she will have to go home and the two of you won’t be able to play any more today. What’s another way that you can let Zoe know you want your truck back?”

§  Make opportunities for your child to share and to care. Let her take charge of providing food for birds. When new families move into the neighborhood, let her help make cookies to welcome them.

§  Be physically affectionate. Children need hugs, kisses, an arm over the shoulder and a pat on the back.

§  Tell your child that you love him. Don’t assume that your loving actions will speak for themselves (although they are very important).

 

 

Learning to work with and get along with others contributes to children’s success in school.

 

 

Chores

 

Any household task can become a good learning game—and can be fun.

 

Jobs around the home that need to get done, such as:

Doing the laundry

Washing and drying dishes

Carrying out the garbage

Setting the dinner table

Dusting

 

 

§  Tell your child about the job you will do together. Explain why the family needs the job done. Describe how you will do it and how your child can help.

§  Teach your child new words that are associated with each job: “Let’s put the placemats on the table first, then the napkins.”

§  Doing laundry together provides many opportunities for your child to learn. Ask him to help you remember all the clothes that need to be washed. See how many things he can name: socks, T-shirts, pajamas, sweater, shirt. Have him help you gather all the dirty clothes, then help you make piles of light and dark colors.

§  Show your child how to measure the soap and have him pour the soap into the machine. Let him put the items into the machine, naming each one. Keep out one sock. When the washer is filled with water, take out the mate to the sock. Let your child hold the wet sock and the one that you kept out. Ask him which one feels heavier and which one feels lighter. After the wash is done, have your child sort his own things into piles that are the same (for example, T-shirts, socks).

 

Home chores can help children learn new words, how to listen and follow directions, how to count and how to sort. Chores can also help children improve their physical coordination and learn responsibility.

 

Babies have so much to learn—and you can make it fun for you and your little one. Enjoy these enriching ways to encourage your baby’s development throughout your day.

At birth, a baby’s five senses are working, and before you know it, your young child is off to explore using all of those senses. As your baby grows, she becomes more curious—and that curiosity is never satisfied. She throws herself into the business of learning. Through her observations and experiences, she learns about her world. This learning is called play.

From dawn to dusk, there are learning experiences through play that will help your baby develop physically and mentally. Get started on a learning journey with these enjoyable and entertaining activities as you go through your days with baby.

Morning

Morning is a wonderful time of the day. Make it special as you sing this song to your baby about everyone in your household, including the family pets. As your baby hears you sing, he will begin to understand that singing is another way to use his voice and in time he will learn the words you sing through repetition. Sing this traditional song to the tune of “Happy Birthday.”

Good morning to you,
Good morning to you,
Good morning dear sister,
Good morning to you!

Repeat this song, singing to all members of your family. Include grandparents and the family pets—and don’t forget to sing to your baby, too!

At breakfast, you and your baby can play the “Cereal Game” at his high chair. This simple game teaches valuable skills such as finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination. Show your little one how to put a piece of breakfast cereal into a plastic bottle. Encourage him to dump it out, then put it back. Invite your child to hold the bottle and to try to get the cereal out. If this is too hard for him, use a paper cup instead. Let him eat the cereal if he wishes, then put another piece of cereal in the bottle or cup, and try the game again.

Your little one will spend a lot of time in his high chair or at the table; enjoy some of this time together as you and your baby play a fun finger tapping game. Start your own fingers tapping on the table in front of you. Encourage your baby to imitate you. Develop great tapping rhythms. Tap slowly; tap fast; tap one hand, then two; tap raising your hands high; tap with just one finger. Be creative and watch your child catch on to your game.

Is it exercise or just play? Creative movement with your young child is fun and a rewarding experience for both of you. Create an interesting obstacle course. Gather together several towels, small pillows, and stuffed toys on the floor in different sized piles. Now top these with a blanket or a large sheet. Baby will enjoy this new terrain with things to creep around, over, and push off from—a challenging obstacle course for a small person. One of your baby’s greatest pleasures will be you imitating his style. So, get down on all fours—your child will take the lead and look to see if you are following. He’ll squeal with delight as you chase and follow him around the room. “Here I come; I’m going to catch you!” Don’t fail to hug and hold him close after he’s been caught.

Your baby delights in mimicking other people’s gestures. He can be caught scolding his teddy bear just as you might scold him. You can turn this skill into a hilarious game by playing “Make Me a Silly Face.” A mirror will help your little one get the nose wrinkle, wink, or frown just right. You may find him in front of the mirror some days later playing this funny-face game by himself, with a toy, or with a newfound friend.

Noon

Infants benefit by having someone sing to them and dance or walk rhythmically while holding them. Babies often move their arms and feet when being swayed to music; later they will be able to feel and move to the beat of the music by themselves.

Even before your child can walk very well, she can begin to make music. Have her sit on the floor and explore the sounds of drumming on pots, pans, and bowls with wooden spoons or other safe household utensils. Children can also be given various musical toys, such as a xylophone, piano, triangle, bells, maracas, drums, and tambourines on which to play. In this way, they begin to learn about the sound of music and, in a very rudimentary way, to create their own music.

Check the recycle bin, sewing box, and drawers for items to make a “see and sound” rattle for your little one. Take a clean plastic water bottle, putting in colorful ribbons, feathers, beads, bells, uncooked rice or pasta. Run a bead of permanent glue along the lid or seal the top securely with duct tape. As your baby shakes this instrument, she can see pretty objects and hear unique sounds.

Here’s a game to teach your youngster the difference between up and down. Help your little one raise her body up and up until she is on her tiptoes. Repeat the word, “up, up, up” as you do this movement. Now, have her lower her body to the floor, “down, down, down.” Repeat this game as often as your child likes.

Night

Before dark, hold your baby in your arms and go on a texture walk outside. Encourage your child to notice all of the things you see and help him “feel” the objects as you describe them. Find and describe things that are rough, sticky, smooth, soft, hard, prickly, silky, tickly, and bumpy. Let your baby spend time enjoying his sensory exploration, but protect him from anything dangerous.

Sing this song that reinforces the senses used on your texture walk to the tune of “The Mulberry Bush.”

This is the way my fingers touch,
Fingers touch, fingers touch.
This is the way my fingers touch
On my nature walk this evening.

Add other verses as you walk along, talking about what your eyes see, nose smells, and ears hear.

At the end of the day, you may wish to sing a lullaby to help your baby nod off to sleep. This song shows how animals take care of their young as well. Tuck your little one in for the night the same way animals put their babies to sleep. Sing this song with a soft voice and whisper the animal sounds. Use the tune, “Frère Jacques,” (“Are You Sleeping”).

Mother dog, mother dog,
Sings to her puppy, sings to her puppy,
Woof, woof, woof,
Woof, woof, woof,
Sleep baby puppy, sleep baby puppy.

Continue with other verses about animals and their babies.

Good night—sleep tight!

The Attribute Game is a simple math and language activity where children choose small objects from a basket based on their attributes and match them to objects already placed in the play area. As each object is added, children create a long line or “snake”. This is a great game that can be played almost anywhere with whatever materials happen to be on hand.

 

In a basket collect about twenty small objects. These items can be anything from beads to marker tops, an odd puzzle piece, a teddy bear, a paper clip, a crayon, etc.

 

Explain attributes to the children with a simple example. (ie. the teddy bear is brown and the paper sack is brown.) Ask the children to come up with their own examples. Introduce the basket of loose objects. Begin by closing your eyes and selecting one object from the basket and placing it on the play space. The first player must select another object that “is the same” as the first object in some way. Each child takes a turn choosing an object that is the “same” and has to explain the connection. As each object is played, it is placed on the play space next to the last object creating a long line of objects. The game is over when all the pieces are chosen from the basket.

 

To make this game more challenging for older children you can have them match two attributes for each object and after each turn retrace the line objects remembering each attribute.

 

Test the Strength of your hair.

Strand of hair
1 small plastic bag (sandwich or snack bags)
marbles
thread

Find someone with long hair and ask an adult to cut one or two hairs. Stick one end of a hair to a small plastic bag with tape and tie the other end around a pencil. Let the bag hang in the air and drop marbles in one by one.

It’s amazing to see how many marbles one hair will hold before it breaks.

Why it works: Hair is surprisingly strong. It is made from the same material as fingernails. Mammals need strong, tough hair for protection from the weather.

Repeat experiment using thread and compare how many marbles one hair can hold with how many a thread can hold.

 

Inspire her thirst for knowledge inside — and outside — of school.

 

If you want your child to be a stellar student, don’t limit learning to the walls of his classroom. Although the skills he’s learning there are crucial to his intellectual and social growth, your child needs your help to really “open up the world of ideas,” according to child psychologist Robin Forman, PhD. His renewed joy in discovery will transfer to his schoolwork, so you’ll boost his academic achievement, too!

 

Fill your child’s world with reading. Take turns reading with your older child, or establish a family reading time when everyone reads her own book. It’s important to show her that “it’s not only a school task,” says Ted Feinberg, Ph.D, assistant director of the National Association of School Psychologists. Demonstrate how important reading is to you by filling your home with printed materials: novels, newspapers, even posters and placemats with words on them. According to Stephanie Fanjul, director of student achievement at the National Education Association, “Children can learn to read by living in an environment that’s rich in words.”
 

Encourage him to express his opinion, talk about his feelings, and make choices. He can pick out a side dish to go with dinner and select his own extracurricular activities. Ask for his input on family decisions, and show that you value it. “One of the things valued in school is class participation,” says Feinberg, and “having practice at home expressing his feelings” is “good for self-esteem and self-confidence.” He’ll be more likely to engage with the material he studies if he’s comfortable asking questions and drawing his own conclusions.
 

Show enthusiasm for your child’s interests and encourage her to explore subjects that fascinate her. If she’s a horse nut, offer her stories about riding or challenge her to find five facts about horses in the encyclopedia. Make sure she has the tools she needs — since Feinberg’s daughter “loved looking for sea life” at the beach during family vacations, he bought her little nets so that she could catch crabs and minnows. Now she’s a marine biologist.
 

Provide him with play opportunities that support different kinds of learning styles — from listening and visual learning to sorting and sequencing. Fanjul recommends supplies that encourage open-ended play and “do more than one thing,” such as blocks — your child will develop his creative expression and problem-solving skills as he builds. He’ll need lots of unstructured play time to explore them. Although sports activities and language clubs are valuable experiences, too many scheduled activities can add “too much stress” to your child’s life, and distract him from exploring the pleasures of learning at his own pace.
 

Point out the new things you learn with enthusiasm. Discuss the different was you find new information, whether you’re looking for gardening tips on the Internet or taking a night class in American literature. Let her see you in action: choose an activity that’s unfamiliar to you both, such as playing tennis or speaking Spanish, and schedule a lesson or pick up a couple of instructional tapes. “Parents are the single most important modeling agent in a child’s life,” says Feinberg, and if you “demonstrate that learning is a lifetime adventure,” your kids will get the message.
 

Ask about what he’s learning in school, not about his grades or test scores. “Even if he doesn’t do well grade-wise compared to the other students, he might still be learning and improving, and you don’t want to discourage that,” cautions Fanjul. Have him teach you what he learned in school today — putting the lesson into his own words will help him retain what he learned.
 

Help your child organize her school papers and assignments so she feels in control of her work. If her task seems too daunting, she’ll spend more time worrying than learning. As she gets older and has more responsibilities, things can get “excrutiatingly painful,” warns Fanjul. So check in with her regularly to make sure she’s not feeling overloaded.
 

Celebrate achievements, no matter how small. Completing a book report calls for a special treat; finishing a book allows your child an hour of video games. You’ll offer positive reinforcement that will inspire him to keep learning and challenging himself. “If a child feels as if he is successful regardless of what it is, it builds him up and makes the next challenge easier,” says Feinberg.
 

Focus on strengths, encouraging developing talents. Even if she didn’t ace her math test, she may have written a good poem in English class. In addition to a workbook for math practice, give her a writing journal. When she knows that she’s talented in one area, she’ll be confident enough to try to achieve in others. “You don’t want to not offer challenges,” explains Feinberg, “but there’s always a transfer when you have your kid feeling good about who she is.”
 

Turn everyday events into learning opportunities. “Being educated doesn’t mean knowing a lot of disconnected facts,” says Fanjul. “Learning is building from what you know and connecting it to new facts.” Encourage him to explore the world around him, asking questions and making connections. Fanjul remembers pointing to a prickly pear in the produce aisle and asking her young daughter, “Have you ever seen anything so bizarre?” When she replied that the fruit looked like “one of those fish that blows up,” Fanjul knew that the structures for learning were firmly in place.

Babies: Birth to One Year

 

Experts agree that even babies need an assortment of toys. Since infants respond to smell, taste, sound, touch and sight, properly selected toys provide a small baby with opportunities to learn about size, shape, sound, texture and how things work.

 

Choose toys that:

 

Have pieces that are too large to swallow (35mm film canisters or empty toilet paper tubes work to measure toys.)

are lightweight for handling and grasping

have no sharp edges or points

are brightly colored

are non-toxic

Stay away from balloons! Young children are very attracted to them, but as they are still examining items by mouth, balloons present choking or suffocation hazards.

Choose cloth or stuffed toys that are machine and/or surface washable. This will allow you to keep the toys clean and reduce germs.

 

Brightly colored, lightweight toys of various textures stimulate a baby’s senses. For young infants, toys to look at and listen to are best. Rattles, squeaky toys and crib gyms are ideal for grasping when the baby is ready to hold objects.

 

Soft dolls or stuffed animals made of non-toxic materials are fun to touch and hug but are not designed for sucking and chewing. Make sure the seams cannot be easily torn or bitten open and that eye and noses are securely fastened.  A baby who is sitting up is ready for blocks with pictures or bright colors. Nesting cups or boxes and stacking rings are also favorites. Babies at this age enjoy their first sturdy picture books showing familiar objects. Balls and push-pull toys are good choices when a baby can crawl and walk.

 

Once they start holding toys, babies discover they can make them do things: jiggle, squeak, or cause a noise when dropped. Experts call this “circular reaction”: being fascinated by cause and effect, and learning their own role in the process.  You can help them not only by playing with them, but by giving them a safe space to play in and a good range of different toys. Don’t isolate them in a separate room – and do include them as much as possible in chores such as clearing up, unpacking groceries etc. Babies don’t distinguish between toys and household objects; they’re all equal fun. 

Toddlers: One to Three Years

 

Through exploring and experimenting, toddlers build a repertoire of intellectual and sensory experiences. They manipulate and classify objects. They love squelching in the mud and enjoy the feel and sound of things. Experimentation contains the seeds of imaginative play. Already your toddler is using their imagination by imitating adult behavior. They now show intense feelings for others – love, aggression, possessiveness and jealousy. Certain objects evoke these feelings: Mama’s bag, Dad’s huge shoes. Such objects, along with certain toys, acquire symbolic power in their play. Children learn that they can change these symbols to create new meanings – and the tool that lets them do this is their imagination.

 

Encourage expressive skills. Get them used to holding crayons, squeezing dough and digging in sand. Sing action-songs with them, act out little dramas.   A busy toddler needs toys for active physical play– especially things to ride and climb on, such as a low tricycle or a wagon to ride in and pull. Outdoor toys such as large balls, inflatable toys, a wading pool and a sandbox with digging tools are all good choices.

 

Toddlers begin to enjoy make-believe play just before their second birthdays. To imitate the adult world around them, they use play food, appliances and utensils, child- sized play furniture, simple dress-up clothes and dolls. Children in this age group are particularly interested in sorting and fitting toys, all kinds of blocks and simple puzzles. Toddlers are surprisingly tuneful and rhythmic, so give them plenty of music and movement and musical instruments such as tambourines, toy pianos, horns and drums.

 

Preschoolers: Three to Five Years

 

Preschoolers are masters of make-believe. They like to act out grown-up roles and create imaginary situations. Costumes and equipment that help them in their pretend worlds are important at this stage. Some of the many possibilities include pretend money, play food, a toy cash register or telephone, a make-believe village, fort, circus, farm, gas station or restaurant, a puppet theater and play with dolls and doll furniture. A basket on the head becomes a hat; to you it’s obvious, but for your child it’s completely new and he’s invented it. Instead of using crayons to see what they do, he’s now controlling them to make meaningful marks. He’s singing songs using his own words, and making a landscape out of what’s on his dinner plate.

 

In a child’s private world, a favorite toy is both a companion and protector. Dolls and teddy bears, for example, have helped countless children to cope with difficult moments. Children will sometimes express their feelings to toy “confidants” and share emotions with them that they might otherwise keep to themselves.

 

Transportation is fascinating to young children. Trucks, cars, planes, trains, boats and tractors are all fun at this age and beyond. Larger outdoor toys, including gym equipment, wheeled vehicles and a first two-wheeled bicycle with helmet and training wheels, are appropriate now.

Visualization and memory skills can be sharpened by play that requires use of imagination or mental computation, with the introduction of board games, electronic toys and word and matching games geared specifically for this group. Construction sets, books and tapes, coloring sets, pains, crayons, puzzles, stuffed toys and dolls continue to be favorites.

 

To children, the imagination is more real than the world outside. They are constantly someone else: a train-driver, bogeyman, pilot, doctor. With the right props – dress-ups, building blocks, pet objects or toys – they immerse themselves in this make-believe world. By 3 years, as their imaginations grow, they need other kids to help flesh out the scene. “You be this, I’ll be that,” is all that’s needed for a group of kids to become totally involved in imaginative play.  Now they are constructing their own worlds, which combine magic with real experience – and they do it effortlessly.

 

School Age: Six to Nine Years

 

Board games, table-top sports games and classics like marbles and model or craft kits help develop skills for social and solitary play. In experimenting with different kinds of grownup worlds, fashion and career dolls and all kinds of action figures appeal to girls and boys. Printing sets, science and craft kits, electric trains, racing cars, construction sets and hobby equipment are important to children for examining and experimenting with the world around them.

 

For active physical play, a larger bicycle, ice and roller skates, a pogo stick, scooter, sled and other sports equipment, along with protective gear, are appropriate. Even though group play is enjoyed, children at this stage also play well by themselves. Paints, crayons and clay are still good selections, as are costumes, doll houses, play villages, miniature figures and vehicles, all of which help children to develop their imaginations and creativity.

 

Many games and electronic toys geared to children in this age group are labeled “educational” because they have been designed to help children learn specific skills and concepts, such as games which require forming words, matching letters of the alphabet with various objects or learning about money through handling play coins and currency.

 

Video games appeal to children, teenagers and adults. Many games offer increasingly challenging levels of play, as well as opportunities to develop coordination skills and a sense of the meaning of strategies in relationships, usually through competition against an opponent.

 

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE, EVER, FOR SENSIBLE ADULT SUPERVISION

Nine to Twelve Years

 

Children begin to develop specific skills and life-long interests at this age. Give considerable attention to hobbies and crafts, model kits, magic sets, advanced construction sets, chemistry and science kits and puzzles. Peer acceptance is very important at this age. Active physical play now finds its expression with team play in a variety of sports. Social and intellectual skills are refined through board, card and electronic games, particularly those requiring strategy decisions.

 

Video and electronic games, table tennis and billiards (pool) are very popular at this stage. Dramatic play holds great appeal. Youngsters in this age group like to plan complete productions including props, costumes, printed programs, puppets and marionettes. Painting, sculpting, ceramics and other forms of artistic expression continue to be of interest, as do books, tapes and musical instruments.

 

Teenagers

 

After age twelve, children’s interests in toys begin to merge with those of adults. This is apparent in the growing market for sophisticated electronic games and computer-based systems, which are often considered “family entertainment” rather than toys. They also will be interested in board and adventure games. Collectors of dolls, model cars, trains, miniatures and stuffed animals often begin their hobbies in the teenage years.

Easiest mess free sunny activity ever

  

 

Construction paper

Few interestingly shaped items

Sunshine

Possibly rocks to stop the paper blowing away.

 

 

 

Gather supplies, head outside, arrange items on paper, and place rocks in each corner to hold it steady. Forget about it for an hour while the sun kisses the paper. Remove items, oooh and ahh. Can be used as a matching game afterwards.

 

 

Box-in-a-Box

• Variety of boxes in different sizes, nesting one inside another

• Toy or treat

 1. Collect a variety of boxes that will nest one inside another. Try to get very large boxes and very small boxes, as well as everything in between.

2. Place a special toy or treat in the smallest box for your baby to discover at the end of the game. Close the small box and place it in the next larger box; close the outside box.

3. Continue until you’ve nested all the boxes inside each other, ending with the giant box.

4. Bring your baby into the room and show her the box.

5. Ask her, “What’s inside?” and help her open the box.

6. When your baby sees the next box, say, “Another box!” Lift that box out of the bigger box and ask your baby to open it.

7. Continue until you get to the smallest box, and then let your baby open up the surprise!

 

Baby’s House

• Card table or other small table, or large cardboard box

• Sheet, blanket, or other covering

• Large floor space

• Flashlight

1. Set up a card table in the middle of a large floor area.

2. Cover the table with a sheet or blanket to form a house.

3. Fold back a corner to make a door.

4. Go inside and bring your baby with you.

5. Close the corner door and enjoy your new space.

6. When baby feels comfortable, leave him to enjoy his house by himself.

7. Give him a flashlight if his new house is a little dark.

 

Paper Play

• Variety of papers, such as typing paper, stiff tagboard, tissue paper, rice paper, colored paper, wrapping paper, and so on

• Floor space

1. Stack a variety of textured papers on the floor.

2. Seat your baby in the middle of the floor.

3. Give your baby one sheet of paper at a time and let her explore the properties of each sheet.

4. When your baby has explored all the papers, show her ways to experiment with them, such as tearing, crinkling into a ball, floating, folding, and so on.

 

Wash ’em Up

• Large, clean paintbrush

• Child-safe cleaning items, such as sponges, towels, squeegees, squirt bottles, scrubbers, dust cloths, cobweb cleaners, and so on

• 2 small buckets

• Water

1. Collect child-safe cleaning items in a bucket, so your toddler can carry them from place to place.

2. Fill the other bucket with water.

3. Take your toddler outside and teach her how to “paint” the house with the brush and water.

4. Then let her explore the other cleaning items and use them the way she’s seen you use them.

5. Praise your toddler on the great job she’s done cleaning the house!

 

Wiggly Gelatin Worms

• Firm blocks of unflavored or fruit-flavored gelatin

• Highchair and tray

1. Make gelatin according to package directions for firmer consistency.

2. Pour the gelatin into a shallow square pan and chill until firm.

3. Cut the firm gelatin into long thin lengths, approximately four inches by one inch, to simulate worms.

4. Seat your baby in her highchair and secure the tray.

5. Flip the pan of worms over onto the tray to set them free.

6. Let your baby explore the worms with her fingers and mouth!

 

Hats Off

1. Collect a variety of hats around the house, or buy inexpensive hats from a thrift shop or party store. Includes things like a baseball cap, a knit cap, a funny hat, a firefighter’s hat, a clown hat, a bowler, a beret, a pair of earmuffs, or a fancy, feathery hat. (Don’t include masks in your play. They tend to scare babies at this young age.)

2. Place your baby in his infant seat on the floor and sit facing him.

3. Put the first hat on your head and make a funny face as you say something interesting, such as, “Look at me!” or, “I’m a firefighter!”

4. Lean toward your baby so he can grasp the hat and pull it off, or pull the hat off yourself.

5. Repeat several times with one hat before moving on to another hat.

 

Hold your baby and let her switch the room’s light on and off. She’ll enjoy making the room bright or dark. Say the word “light” when she turns it on and “all gone” when she turns it off. You can also do things to help your baby explore.

 

It doesn’t take any sleight of hand to amaze your little audience with this trick. Tie together several long, brightly colored scarves end to end. Stuff them inside an empty tissue box (the “boutique” size with the small oval opening on top works best). At first your baby will be enthralled just by watching you extract the scarves, but it won’t be long before she wants to perform the trick herself.

 

1. Hold your baby in your lap, facing you so he can see your face clearly.

2. Begin making noises with your mouth, such as

* Kissing and smooching

* Clicking your tongue

* Making raspberries with your tongue

* Blowing your lips like a motorboat

* Growling, squealing, gurgling, cooing

* Whistling, singing, humming

* Making animal sounds, such as a duck, dog, cat, horse, cow, pig, chicken, rooster, monkey, snake, bird, donkey, or wolf

 

1. Find a toy with a bell, or make a bracelet with bells. (Make sure you use bells that are too big for baby to choke on.)

2. Set your baby on the floor and surround him with a variety of potential hiding places, such as soft toys, and blankets.

3. Hold up the bells for your baby to see, and shake them for your baby to hear.

4. Secretly hide the bells under or in one of the hiding places.

5. Ask your baby, “Where are the bells?”

6. One by one, lift the hiding objects and shake them. When you lift the object that hides the bells, shake it, but don’t let your baby see the bells.

7. Watch your baby’s expression change as you shake the bells.

8. Uncover the bells and say, “There are the bells!”

9. Play again, varying the hiding places.

 

1. Buy a pair of white socks, large enough to fit over your hands.

2. Use permanent felt-tip markers to draw eyes, eyebrows, noses, and ears on the socks’ toes. Outline the heels to create mouths, and draw red tongues inside the folds.

3. Place your baby in your lap, on the changing table, or in his infant seat.

4. Slip one puppet onto your hand and entertain your baby with songs, rhymes, or simple conversation. Slip the second puppet onto your other hand for two-handed fun.

 

Note:  Oobi Eyes, way better!   Have puppet eat an item, burp, then puke it up! Haha