Social-Emotional Development
Picnic with Friends
Put a small blanket on the floor. Add stuffed animals and baby dolls with small bowls and play food if available. Roleplay with your infant sharing a meal with friends, providing conversation including the baby signs for “please” “thank you” and “more”. Highlight positive social behaviour with your words and gestures. “Thank you for sharing the cookies, Bear” "Would you like some milk, Lion?”
Cognitive Development
More or Less
Gather six small blocks, make a stack of four blocks on top of each other and another stack of two blocks. Point out that the bigger pile has more blocks than the smaller pile. Use a variety of materials to demonstrate this comparison such as crayons, toy cars or stuffed toys.
Language Development
Voice Vibrations
Change the tone and sound quality of your voice by talking into a tin can, paper cup or cardboard box. The changes in your voices will help little ones refine their ear for sound. Make a big voice and a softer voice. When your infants hear different sounds, they fine-tune their hearing for later phonemic awareness.
Physical Literacy
Ball Toss
Using a large box, cut holes of different sizes on one side. Gather balls of various sizes, bean bags or rolled-up socks and encourage your child to throw them into a hole.
Creative Activity
Bathtub Painting
Mix edible bathtub paint with cornstarch, water (hot and cold) and food colouring. Dressed down to their diaper, your child can use their fingers or a brush to paint the tub with this edible paint. With this large canvas, one of the best features is the clean up when it is all done.
Additional Resources
Check out this YouTube video by Dr. Jean Feldman. She shares lots of ideas of how to play with your child using simple items from around the house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0xibLFsSNE
This website has a variety of activities for children. You will find games, jokes, recipes, crafts, answers to science questions, hidden pictures and more. https://www.highlightskids.com/
Learning at Home Infant Week 13
Learning at Home Infant Week 17
