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 | Jolly Juggler *
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| | When your baby discovers he has two hands, he becomes fascinated by reaching, grasping, and holding objects. Throw a few things in the air, and watch as your baby becomes the Jolly Juggler!
| Materials: | | 3 easy-to-hold, interesting toys |
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Coordination | | |
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Fine motor development | | |
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Problem solving | |  |
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| | What to do:
1. Gather three fun, colorful toys that are easy to grasp and hold. If you have three new toys your baby hasn't seen before, all the better. Keep the toys out of sight.
2. Seat your baby on the floor, or let him stand.
3. Offer your baby one of the toys and let him explore it for a few moments. (Reserve the most exciting toy until last.)
4. As he holds one toy, offer him a second toy for his other hand. Watch his reaction. He may take the second toy along with the first, one in each hand. Or he may release the first toy and concentrate only on the second toy.
5. If he drops the first toy, show him it has dropped and encourage him to pick it up, so that he has a toy in each hand.
6. After he has explored both toys for a few moments, offer him the third toy. Watch your baby's reaction. He may release one toy, both toys, or hold both toys and try to figure out how to take on the new toy! Let him do what he wants to solve his problem.
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| | Safety: Make sure the toys are safe to hold and not too heavy, in case he drops one on his foot! |
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| Strike up the Band *
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| | Your baby enjoys exploring new sounds, and he especially likes making noises. Here's an opportunity for him to join his first band—and he can play all the instruments!
| Materials: | | Noise-making items from the kitchen: aluminum or tin pie pans, pots and pans, plastic bowls, wooden spoons, basting brushes, whisk, empty oatmeal or cereal boxes, empty milk cartons, spoons, plastic cups, and jars of seeds or beans | | Kitchen floor |
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Cause and effect | | |
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Fine and gross motor development | | |
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Listening skills | | |
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Rhythm and movement | | |
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| | What to do:
1. Collect a number of noise-making items from the kitchen and place them on the floor.
2. Seat your baby in the middle of the kitchen instruments and let him explore their properties.
3. Teach your baby how to make a variety of sounds—pound, tap, beat, shake, rattle, even roll.
4. After your baby has some fun with the instruments, turn on some music and teach him how to keep rhythm.
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| | Safety: Be sure all kitchen items are safe for playing—no sharp edges or corners. |
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| Tube Talk *
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| | Your baby's language skills increase rapidly during this period, from a single word at one year, to nearly fifty by eighteen months. Have fun with speech and vocalization by playing a game of Tube Talk.
| Materials: | | 2 paper-towel or toilet-paper tubes, or 1 wrapping-paper tube, cut in half | | Nontoxic felt-tip pens in a variety of colors | | Your voices |
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Articulation and speech improvement | | |
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Language development | | |
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Listening skills | | |
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| | What to do:
1. Decorate the cardboard tubes with nontoxic felt-tip pens to make them attractive, colorful, and fun. Let your baby help.
2. Hold one tube to your mouth and talk to your baby. The sound should be amplified.
3. Give the other tube to your baby and let her imitate you. Hold the tube up to her mouth if she needs help getting started. Encourage her to talk into the tube.
4. Use the tube to make a variety of noises and sounds, and encourage your baby to do the same.
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| | Safety: Use nontoxic felt-tip pens, since your baby will be putting the tube up to her mouth. Be sure the edges of the tubes are smooth. |
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| Wiggly Gelatin Worms *
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| | Wiggly Gelatin Worms are a great way to break that old adage, "Don't play with your food!" Why shouldn't your baby have a good time with her meals and snacks? Food should be fun—to smell, taste, and touch!
| Materials: | | Firm blocks of unflavored or fruit-flavored gelatin | | Highchair and tray |
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Cognitive skills | | |
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Exploration | | |
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Fine motor development | | |
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Self-help skills -- eating | | |
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| | What to do:
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!
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| | Safety: Make sure the highchair try is clean, since your baby will be eating from the surface. If adding itmes to the gelatin, choose those that won't choke your baby when she eats them. |
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| Body Art *
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| | As your baby grows, she gains increasing interest in her body and its many functions. Bath time is a great time to work on body image, as you introduce your baby to bathtub Body Art!
| Materials: | | Children’s nontoxic body paint, in a variety of colors | | Bathtub |
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Creativity | | |
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Self-awareness | | |
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Sensory stimulation | | |
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| | What to do:
1. Run a warm bath for your baby; make it shallow enough for her to sit in.
2. Place your baby in the tub and let her get used to the water.
3. Open a tube of body paints and dot the color on your baby’s arms.
4. Spread the color with your fingers, and encourage your baby to do the same.
5. Add other colors to other body parts—hands, legs, feet, neck, shoulders, chest, and back.
6. Let your baby spread the colors around, then wash them off and play again.
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| | Safety: Be sure to use nontoxic children’s body paints. Keep the body paint off your baby’s face, and if she tends to wipe her face with her hands, don’t put body paints on her hands. |
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| Paper Play *
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| | There are so many wonderful things for your baby to explore that sometimes we overlook the obvious. A simple sheet of paper can provide your baby with a fascinating opportunity to explore and experiment.
| Materials: | | Variety of papers, such as typing paper, stiff tagboard, tissue paper, rice paper, colored paper, wrapping paper, and so on | | Floor space |
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Cognitive skills | | |
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Exploration of the senses | | |
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Fine motor development | | |
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| | What to do:
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.
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| | Safety: Stay with your baby while she plays with the paper, in case she decides to eat it. |
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| Bells Are Ringing *
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| | In this musical version of hide-and-seek, your baby has to search for and find the hidden bells. It's not very difficult—all he has to do is listen while the bells are ringing to discover the secret hiding place.
| Materials: | | Soft toy with a bell inside, or a bracelet made of bells | | Various hiding places, such as soft toys and blankets |
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Cause and effect | | |
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Cognitive development | | |
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Listening skills | | |
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| | What to do:
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.
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| | Safety: Be sure the bells are securely attached to something, so your baby can't swallow them |
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| Baby's House *
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| | It’s time to move your baby to his own little home-within-a-home, so he can get a sense of his budding independence. The house will soon turn into a fort, a cave, even a space ship, as your baby’s imagination grows!
| Materials: | | Card table or other small table, or large cardboard box | | Sheet, blanket, or other covering | | Large floor space | | Flashlight |
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Cognitive/thinking skills | | |
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Imagination and creativity | | |
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Sense of self, separation issues | | |
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Spatial relationships | | |
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| | What to do:
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.
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| | Safety: Make sure your baby isn’t afraid to go inside the house alone. Leave a corner open if he doesn’t like the house to be covered completely. |
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| Box-in-a-Box *
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| | Part Jack-in-the-Box, part Guess-What’s-Inside, this game will keep baby guessing—and giggling. Be sure you have something special at the end of the game to make the wait worthwhile!
| Materials: | | Variety of boxes in different sizes, nesting one inside another | | Toy or treat |
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Object permanence | | |
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Problem solving | | |
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Sorting, classification, seriation (putting things in order) | | |
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| | What to do:
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, then let your baby open up the surprise!
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| | Safety: Make the boxes easy to open so your baby can do the task herself without getting too frustrated. |
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| Box-in-a-Box *
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| | Part Jack-in-the-Box, part Guess-What’s-Inside, this game will keep baby guessing—and giggling. Be sure you have something special at the end of the game to make the wait worthwhile!
| Materials: | | Variety of boxes in different sizes, nesting one inside another | | Toy or treat |
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Object permanence | | |
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Problem solving | | |
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Sorting, classification, seriation (putting things in order) | | |
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| | What to do:
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, then let your baby open up the surprise!
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| | Safety: Make the boxes easy to open so your baby can do the task herself without getting too frustrated. |
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| Listen Up! *
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| | Increase your baby’s listening skills by playing a game of Listen Up! The more noises you provide, the more fun and interesting the game will be, as your baby tries to figure out what makes all that noise!
| Materials: | | 3 to 5 (or more) noise-making items, such as a large bell, shaker or rattle, bike horn, clicker, squeaky toy, talking doll, tambourine | | Small blanket |
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Cause and effect | | |
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Listening skills | | |
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Problem solving | | |
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1. Set three to five noise-making items on the floor in a row.
2. Cover the items with a blanket so your baby can’t see them.
3. Seat your baby on the floor near the blanket.
4. Remove the blanket and make a noise, using each of the items, one after another.
5. Cover the items again.
6. Lift the edge of the blanket facing you and make a noise using one of the items.
7. Then uncover all the items and see if your baby can pick out which item made the noise. If she hesitates, make a noise with each of the items, slowly, and see if she can recognize the sound. Praise her when she does.
8. Cover the items and play again.
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| | Safety: Don’t use any noisemakers that are very loud; you don’t want to startle your baby. |
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| Pop Goes the Bubble *
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| | Just when your baby thinks he’s got the world figured out, play a game that will confound him all over again! But don’t worry—your baby will have fun, since he will quickly realize what’s happening!
| Materials: | | Bottle of bubble solution | | Large area for playing |
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Cause and effect | | |
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Exploration | | |
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Fine and gross motor development | | |
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Social interaction | | |
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1. Place your baby in the center of a large room where he is free to move about.
2. Begin blowing bubbles near your baby. (If you like, create your own bubble blower out of a pipe cleaner: twist the top of a cleaner into a small circle, leaving a little of the cleaner straight to hold when dipping into a soapy solution.)
3. Demonstrate how to chase and pop the bubbles, then encourage your baby to follow your example.
4. Note: Some babies get very excited during this game and try to pop the bubbles before you’ve had a chance to blow them. This is a good time to teach your baby patience by waiting a few seconds before you release the bubbles.
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| | Safety: Watch your baby so he doesn’t drink the bubble solution. |
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| Sock Ball *
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| | Get your little one ready for the big leagues with a round of Sock Ball. Sock Balls are ideal for the young athlete because they’re soft, easy to grip, and you always have them on hand—or foot!
| Materials: | | Large, clean socks, as many as you can provide for the game | | Large bucket, pan, or bowl |
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Eye/hand coordination | | |
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Fine and gross motor development | | |
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Social skills | | |
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| | What to do:
1. Collect a number of clean pairs of socks and roll them into tight balls.
2. Set a large bucket in the middle of the room.
3. Place the balls in the bucket.
4. Have your baby sit one to two feet away from the bucket, and seat yourself next to the bucket. Roll the balls to your baby so she can catch them.
5. When all the balls are out of the bucket, have your baby stand up. Teach her to throw the balls into the bucket. If her aim isn’t good, have her come closer and show her how to drop the balls into the bucket. Cheer at every successful shot.
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| | Safety: If you substitute real balls for sock balls, be sure they are soft and easy to grip. |
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