As he becomes more mobile, as his memory improves and as his confidence in his own ability grows, you’re almost certain to see a quick progression in his learning. He can move around to look closer at things and, with his improved hand skills and coordination, he is able explore them more. He is learning about the world all the time but he’ll enjoy these simple games and activities to help encourage him along his way.
Games
*Sponge squeeze*
This is a fun way for baby to explore texture, water and shape and engage in social interaction. This is best played at bath-time.
* Buy a pack or two of sponges and cut each one into a different shape.
* Drop them into the bath one at a time and let him explore them.
* Put each sponge on the side of the bath and press out the water. The sponge should stick to the side of the bath.
* Baby will probably want to make a grab for it.
*Tower demolition*
This game helps build baby’s confidence that he can make things happen, and he will begin to learn that a toy seen in one place can actually be the same toy that he saw somewhere else a mument ago!
* Sit on the floor in front of your baby and build a tower of 4 – 5 bricks between you.
* Encourage her to knock them over
* She will love the excitement of knocking the bricks over and won’t get bored of this game for quite some time!
*Hunt the toy*
In this six months, many of the toys and games that babies enjoy most are those that help reinforce the idea that objects can move and still be the same object, and also that they can still exist even if they are hidden!
Take one of baby’s favourite toys and a cloth or tea towel. Put the cloth over the toy and lift it off to show her the toy. Give her a turn to see if she too will lift it off to expose the toy. You can also try the following ideas;
* Try her with the toy half covered
* Try with the toy completely covered
* If you’re playing with a toy that makes a noise, see what her reaction is if you get the toy to go off from under the cloth.
* Try removing the toy before she (or you) takes the cloth off. Is she surprised?
* Bye-bye baby*
Before children can talk using words they can understand and use hand signs. So include some of these hand signals regularly in play and day to day routine. The easiest one is waving hello or bye-bye.
* Teach her to wave bye-bye.
* Wave bye-bye to everyone when she goes to bed.
* Wave bye-bye to the bus as it disappears down the road.
* Wave bye-bye to the sheep in the field.
* Wave bye-bye to the trains at the station.
At this age he will really love playing with water in the bath. Not only does he find out 'how'and 'why' but he’ll also be practicing eye-hand co-ordination.
* Give him something to pour water from like a jug, and something to pour in to, like a plastic cup
* Also give him something that floats when empty but sinks when full, like a plastic bottle.
* Give him a selection of sponges that soak up water.
* Give him floating ducks that he can send away, with a wave of water
* Let him explore what he can do with these objects and he’ll have great fun
Making butterfly prints
This is a simple painting activity that works like magic and its one that is a real classic. It teaches children to work towards an end, that creating is fun and of course improves hand-eye coordination too.
* Take some thickened paint in two or more colours
* Take small pieces of paper and fold down the middle
* Show him how to put paint on one side of the paper
* Gently fold the paper over and press to get paint on both sides
* Open up to show him the beautiful butterfly he made!
Tip!
*How to make your own thick paint*
To make your own thick paint put a desert spoon of flour into a saucepan with a little water, whisk, bring to the boil and add a little colouring.
For older children you could add powder paint rather than food colouring.
Sorting the socks
Get some help with the laundry and help him to learn very basic maths principles and matching too!
* Put all the socks in a bag
* Ask him to sort them in to pairs!
Heads and bodies
Another pairing game that helps teach basic maths ideas.
* Take about 5 – 10 small pieces of card and on to each stick pictures of animals cut from magazines
* Cut each card in two, so that the head is on one side and the body on the other
* Ask him to pair them up with the right head and right body
* Ask him to do mismatches – what is the silliest animal he can make and what would he call it?
Picture match
On a variation on the game above, this pairing game encourages him to look for what objects have in common – this encourages early maths and also as he will be looking for the detail, this also helps develop early reading.
* Take 10 – 20 pieces of card and stick objects on them, there should be two of each different kind of object – so for example two cars, two mugs and two sofas. Some pairs should be identical pictures but some can be the same sort of object but different pictures
* Ask him to form the pairs – this will help him understand that things can have something in common even if they are a different size or colour for example.
Find the sticker
This is a simple hide and seek game that helps him look carefully - an important skill for early reading.
* Take some sticky backed shapes or cut them out from sticky backed paper
* Ask him to wait outside the room while you stick these to various objects around the room
* Tell him how many you have hidden and let him have fun looking for them
* If he needs help, give him hints when he is getting 'warm'!
Games and Activities to Stimulate Learning 3–5 years
Sink or float?
A game for the bath that encourages her to categorise, investigate and to look for what objects have in common.
* Give her a variety of objects including
- Ones that sink straight away – keys, spoons etc
- Ones that float – wooden lolly sticks, plastic toys
- Ones that float then sink when they fill with water – plastic cups and bottles
- Ones that gradually sink – like sponges, flannels etc
* Let her experiment with the objects in the bath
* When she’s had a chance to play, you can try offering her the objects one at a time and asking before she puts them in the water what she thinks will happen.
Splash and blow painting
Here are some simple but messy painting techniques which produce interesting pictures.
* Paint flicking. Fill a brush with paint (thin rather than thick) pull back the bristles aim at the paper and let go.
* Paint blowing. Put some thin paint onto some paper, using a straw blow the paint across the page.
* Paint dropping. Drop thickened paints from varying heights onto a sheet of paper.
* Paint diluting. Make a line of thickened paint at the top of the page, use a brush dipped in water to work this down the page.
Growing cress
This is a simple but sustained activity which she must think about over a period of a week or two. This also builds the idea of nurturing and creates a sense of ’I can do it’.
* Sprinkle cress seeds on a bit of dampened kitchen paper
* You can do this on a plate or even inside half an egg shell to grow an egg head!
Weather Presenter!
As children grow up they need practice with the sort of sustained activities they will have to get used to at school. This is a simple one which you can carry out for a week - or even longer if she enjoys it.
* Divide a sheet of paper into eight rows each about 1 inch wide and three columns
* Write the days of the week in the first column.
* Across the top write the time of day (morning and afternoon)
* Every morning after breakfast she looks out and decides on the weather. This is entered on the chart.
* She does the same after lunch.
* You can make this more fun by using symbols to indicate the weather on the chart instead
* She can play at presenting the weather and telling you all about what the weather was like this week
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 0 - 6 months
It takes time to get to know your baby and the meaning of his cries, but you soon will, just as he will soon learn the meaning of your touch, voice and smell. In these vital early months your interactions help his social and emotional development as you both learn about each other and form a strong bond.
Here are some general tips for your interaction with your baby in the early months:
*Relax- The best way to make him feel relaxed is to be relaxed. He cannot understand what you say- but he will understand your body language and tone of voice. In the first weeks it is not easy to feel relaxed, especially as you quickly come to understand just how much you have put your heart on the line, and how completely it would break should anything happen to him.
*Accept that your life has been turned up-side down- your time is not your own and that no one really copes very well in their first weeks of parenthood, especially if they are the carer of a new baby. It is stressful, at times it is an enormous strain. You would be a saint if you did not sometimes want to shout “This is not what I wanted when I thought of being a mum!”
*Love and soothe, carry and cuddle but don’t expect success every time- Babies cry for many reasons: hunger, pain, tiredness and loneliness and however hard you try you will not always manage to guess what is wrong and calm him. You’re not the only one!
*Establish a routine- Structure makes a child feel safe. A regular bedtime sets a pattern for childhood, so does a regular meal-time. There is a happy medium between keeping to a strict schedule and feeding more or less continuously on demand. It’s sometimes hard to find a routine in the early weeks- but most children do settle into one.
*Don’t pander to his moods- except his good ones! If you tip toe around his bad moods you are likely to increase them.
Games
In the early months, as he learns about the world around and indeed, about his own senses and body there are some simple ways your play interaction with him can help;
0-3 months
*Show me how* We tend to think of toys as things children use for independent play - but that is not always so! In the first year your children will love to share their toys with you. Show him what his toys can do. Hand them to him rather than let him always select his own, and talk about the toys as you play.
*Here’s looking at you * Make eye contact. He will copy you and looking at each other will make you both feel more secure.
*Show him things * Take him out to see the world and talk about it all the time.
*Snuggle buggle- Hold him rock him, kiss him and tell him that you love him. He will recognise the sentiment even if he doesn’t understand the words.
3 – 6 months
By now he will have uncurled, he is able to focus and will meet your eye with a smile.
*Play with me * Toys are not just for independent play- children love to share them and play with you. Show him what to do. If the toy has a little surprise- make it happen.
*I love you* Hold him in your arms and tell him you love him.
*Conversation * Talk to him and let him answer, even if his answers are just little sounds or eye contact. Always respond when he communicates.
*Meet the neighbours * Take him out and let him meet other people- especially other children.
*Copy cat* Copy what he does - and he will reward you by doing the same.
*Hup two three* Hold him under the arms and march around the room together- left right, left right, hup two- three (on the three lift him up in the air).
*Dance a baby* Dance him on your lap and enjoy a little song.
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 1 - 2 years
Toddlers are much more emotional than babies, he now knows his own mind and boy do you know it. As he approaches the ’terrible twos’ he might become more and more wilful and obstinate, however, by the same token this period is one during which he will show you enormous love.
To help you in your interactions with him in these twelve months, particularly on the social and emotional front, here are some day to day tips :
Don’t pander to his moods- Pay attention to behaviour you want to encourage - not to behaviour you would rather discourage. Remember he’ll do almost anything to get your attention so if you give him that when he’s moody, he’ll do it more often.
Eat together as a family- go on outings. Make clear to him that you are a special social unit.
Test if he recognises himself- Put some lipstick on a finger (or your lips) and smudge it onto his forehead while he is not looking. Hold him in front of the mirror. Does he reach for his forehead? If he does, he is now realising the person in the mirror is the same person that you talk to.
Games
* Song of love *
Build the emotional bond between you by sharing a loving song or two in quiet muments. Touch is very important so as you sing stroke or soothe him.
* A book to share *
Cuddle up together and read a book. This is great on all levels. It helps with social and emotional development as well as building an early love of books.
* A toy to share *
He plays all the time, but make sure you take the time to join in, if he’s playing with his toy kitchen ask if you can have a cup of tea.
* Chase a baby *
He can now walk so crawling becomes a fun time activity. Get down on hands and knees and chase him about.
* Feed a baby *
Practicing to nurture and care for others is often one of the earliest pretend games. Encourage him to care for his teddies or dolls, feeding them with bowl and spoon, or putting them to bed. This kind of play is great for social and emotional development as it helps him to put himself in others shoes and think about someone elses needs.
* If you’re happy and you know it *
Enjoy action rhymes together, they’re great fun!
One of the best is “If You’re Happy and You Know It!” You just can’t help but be happy!
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you are happy and you know it clap your hands
If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands.
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it
If you’re happy and you know it stamp your feet
* Hippity hoppity *
Activities and play that you do together are great for stimulating social and emotional development, because these games reinforce the bond between you, helping him to feel safe and secure in the knowledge that you care.
When out for a walk you could both
Creep like a mouse
Hop like a rabbit
Trot like a horse.
Or he could go on your back while you carry out the actions!
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 2 - 3 Years
His social development will come in leaps and bounds when he is old enough to play with other children. Although children like being with other children before they are two it really isn’t until the third year when their lives extend beyond family and carers.
He will start being more considerate of people when they are upset, to learn to read moods a little more. Although this is great, he might also start to worry more too! During this time, he might start to be frightened of things that he wasn’t at all worried about before. During this time things like ghosties and monsters might start to feature in his concerns!
By the second half of this year, he will have become more easy going, more caring and more social. His tantrums should hopefully be on the decline too!
Games
* Finding faces *
This kind of play helps reinforce ideas of other people’s feeling and emotions.
Flick through a magazine together
Count how many smiley faces you can see?
How many sad faces are there?
Play at drawing faces and seeing if he can tell how they feel
Stories
Children love stories they can join in with and reading books together is great for your together time - look for books which have repeated phrases such as “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down “ from the three little pigs. Read these often and get him to join in. The three Billy goats Gruff, Chicken Licken and Red Riding Hood are obvious examples.
Whispers
A good game for a child who always shouts!
* Whisper to your child what he should do next.
* He then does it.
* Then he whispers to you.
Here we go round the mulberry bush for one or two
Imitating is a social skill and games that encourage this are good choices. Here we go round the mulberry bush is a classic...
You can play this by dancing round in a circle but you don’t have to;
“Here we go round the mulberry bush, the mulberry bush the mulberry bush,
Here we go round the mulberry bush on a cold and frosty morning.
(Then he stops and mimes as you sing)
This is the way we brush our hair, brush our hair, brush our hair,
This is the way we brush our hair on a cold and frosty morning
(You can now add any action you like!)
Snap
Cards and board games are good social games but lots are too difficult for the under threes.
A whole pack of cards is probably too much for him now, but you can take a chunk of the pack. Shuffle them and deal them out and play a game of simple Snap!
You could also try a simple game of lotto.
Copy cat
Play a game of copying faces!
* You pull a funny face - he copies.
* He pulls a funny face you copy.
Helping
At this age he doesn’t know the difference between work and play so he will be more than happy helping you with the housework!
He could
* Wash the salad greens
* Dust a coffee table.
* Collect the post or newspaper.
* Post a letter.
Play Guide - Social and Emotional Development 3 - 5 years
According to a recent survey, around 10% of school children don’t have a friend. As families are spending less time discussing things over meals and safety concerns mean children spend less time playing out with friends, it is more important than ever to practice social and emotional skills through play and daily routine.
Games
* Monsters *
Children play through their worries by incorporating them into games. A child who is afraid of monsters will love to dress up as one.
- Take an old pillowcase, cut out eye holes and put it over her head
- Make sure you also cut holes for her arms!
- Use a head band to keep the costume place
- Now all she has to do is scare people!
* No hose pipe ban! *
Children love to be silly and get really excited. One way to guarantee laughter and fun is a to get the hose pipe out on a hot day. This is a good game to break the ice between children and ensure laughs.
- Let the children run in and out of the water
- Or chase them round with the water
- Or both!
* Shark infested waters *
Another game that is great for more than one child to play, that is guaranteed to break the ice.
- Lay out paper plates in a path on the garden.
- The children must step from one plate to the next without falling in the shark infested waters!
* Duck duck goose *
This is a good game for at least four children.
- Children sit in a circle
- One is picked to be ’it’
- The one who is ’it’ walks around the circle tapping them on the head saying ’duck’, ’duck’, ’duck’
- Without warning she suddenly says ’goose’ instead and then starts to run around the circle
- The child she picked to be goose must run after her and try to make it back to her space in the circle first.
- Whoever is left standing is ’it’
* Baby clinic *
Role play is great for developing social skill. Playing at 'baby clinic' is a good one for more than two children.
- Set up a waiting room with chairs
- Scales to weigh the baby
- Tape measure to measure her
- Dolls and teddies to act as babies
At this age she will be extremely curious and will want to explore everything and everywhere, including every nook and cranny of your house so he’ll be sure to keep you on your toes! Play games to stimulate her growing sense of wonder and her love of discovery. )
Frozen Fun
This is a simple exploratory game for bath-time.
* Make a tray of ice cubes – if you have a fancy shaped one even better and you can also add food colouring to make the shapes even more interesting.
* Drop them into the bath
* They will float at first and then gradually disappear with the warmth of the water.
* Talk about what’s happening, to your baby this will seem like magic but they will be learning a little science at the same time!
Little fishes
This is another simple bath game to help her discover what happens to some objects in water.
* Cut little fishes from shiny paper (magazine covers are best) drop these into the bath.
* Explore what happens when she splashes (they should float)
* Explore what happens when she pours water on them (they should sink)
Finger painting
An early painting task which will encourage her to learn that she can make things happen.
* This is a messy one so make sure you protect the floor and baby!
* You need some thickened paint in a pot with a hole big enough for her finger.
* Show her how to dip her finger in and encourage her to make marks on paper
Tip:
*How to thicken paint*
To make your own thickened paint, put a desert spoon of flour into a saucepan with a little water, whisk, bring to the boil and add a little food colouring.
For an older child, you could make this in the same way but add powder paint rather than food colouring.
Taking a print
This game is another messy one so take care to protect the floor and clothing. This game is particularly good for playing with younger and older siblings together as it is great fun!
* You need thickened paint in two different colours (see above for how to thicken paint)
* Put two or three dollops of each colour in a plastic plate or tray
* Give your baby a spoon to stir the two together, they will form a great messy mixture that has bits of both colour and some where the colour has changed so for example you might red, yellow and orange shades
* Take a piece of clean paper and place over the top of the paint to make a print of the colour mixture (if you’re also playing with older siblings you might let them do this bit themselves!)
Paper balls
This game is very basic and helps teach her about distance and space.
At this age a ball is easier to throw if she throws it underhand and can get a firm grip. If he is throwing in the house she needs something that will not do any serious damage. Newspaper balls are ideal.
Make balls out of newspaper and encourage her
* To throw them into a chair
* To throw them into a news paper basket
My drawer
When your baby is this young, she’ll love playing very close to you, and because she is this close to you, you’ll naturally talk to them more which is great. This game features opening and closing, emptying and filling – a big favourite for toddlers.
* Put some toys in a low drawer (could be in the bedroom or kitchen perhaps)
* Cut out your baby’s initial letter and stick it to the front of the drawer
* He can now play at emptying and filling this drawer whenever he wants to
* That’s all there is to it, easy play possibilities are everywhere!
Push me pull me
Making something you can play with gives a real sense of achievement and ’I can do it’ which, in turn, builds confidence for learning. This simple craft activity also helps develop hand-eye co-ordination.
* Give her a plastic jar or bottle and some pasta
* Her job is to put the pasta in the jar and then put on the lid ( she might need some help here!)
* Tie some string around the jar top for her and show her she can now pull it along and make noise!
* If you have a grassy bank outside you can also play at rolling it down the hill.
Playing games and having fun with your child will really help him to learn and is also a fantastic way for you to build your relationship with him. You’ll love every minute of his company and will collect memories to last a lifetime. Here’s how:
* Watch him when he’s playing on is own. This way you’ll get hints of what he needs, what he enjoys and what will help him learn new skills.
* Always choose toys appropriate to his age and that match his stage of development. Age limits are set by child development experts for both safety and developmental reasons.
* Follow his cues to be creative and resourceful, without dominating, and let him dictate the pace. If he starts to lose interest he’s probably had enough so stop and resume your play when he seems interested again.
* Create time for him to enjoy playing. He learns best through play and he will learn best in an environment that allows him time to explore, investigate and discover things.
* Keep an eye on him. He will like to see you nearby just as much as you need to supervise him. Provide him with a safe, hazard-free play space indoor and
outdoors.
* Regularly check his toys are safe to play with as they will receive a lot of use and abuse! Encourage him to play with toys that suit the space where your child will be playing and anticipate potential dangers, such as trying to carry a large toy upstairs.
* Surround him with a variety of toys to hold his attention and encourage his learning in both active and quiet times, and when he is playing alone or with other children.
* Limit the number of toys he plays with at any one time. If he is playing with one toy the others will distract him and it is easier for him to concentrate and pay attention to one activity at a time. If he gets another toy out, tell him to put another one away.
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
As a newborn, your baby can’t make any obvious vowel or consonant sounds, but you can tell he’s trying to communicate with you all the time. Toys and games have a part to play in communication development even at this young age, because they help provide a talking point, to create an ongoing dialogue between you and baby. All the while you’re playing with baby, you’ll have an ongoing chat with him even though his responses aren’t verbal.
This selection of game or activity suggestions can help encourage baby to develop communication skills.
Look and say
All through the day, everything you do, tell him what you’re doing, have a conversation with him. It’s really important to hold eye contact with him.
* While you feed him
* While you wash him
* While you change him
* As you pick him up
* As you put him down.
Always make a pause after you’ve said something to let him have his turn, that way he learns that communication is a two-way street!
I will know what you mean
Talking to him constantly will help him learn the building blocks of language. When baby’s start babbling they explore all the sounds that it’s possible for them to make – you might realise this but many of these very strange sounds actually do feature in foreign languages, even the clicks and raspberry noises. The more you talk to your baby, the more he notices which of these sounds do and don’t feature in his native language and so he begins to drop the strange sounds!
Over the top!
He is slow to respond, finds it difficult to see and cannot locate voices very well. You don’t need to be loud but in other respects you need to be rather “over the top” - more changes of voice tone, more extreme facial expressions, getting in closer. Don’t worry about this - you will find that you do this quite naturally because babies are more likely to listen and respond if you do. He is teaching you!
* Exaggerate the pitch of your voice. Babies like high pitches best- his heart rate increases when he hears a high pitched voice.
* Sing a song in a high pitch and then a low one. He will recognize the difference.
* Try talking with a flat facial expression, then pull out all the stops- eyebrows raised, mouth wide open and watch the difference.
Where did you go?
* When your tiny baby is lying in his bouncer talk to him and when you are sure he has locked onto your gaze walk slowly round him holding his gaze and talking as you go.
* As he becomes more able to “find” you call to him from different parts of the room.
* Start to play peek-a-boo
* Show him toys that you move from side to side (slowly at first). In time he will enjoy playing peek a boo with the toys.
Mouth music
As a parent you sometimes find yourself making very strange noises with your baby! Why? Because babies love them, this is probably because explosive noises blend a mixture of high and low tones that babies find really exciting.
Try these:
* Blow raspberries at her tummy
* Click your tongue as you jiggle her
* Smile and growl, lift you eyebrows and squeak, gurgle coo- if there is a sound she does not like leave it out.
* Blow your lips as you imitate a car (initially just rock her – once she has more control over her head you can drive her through the air)
* Kiss and smooch (of course)
* Whistle and hum and sing.
Follow my leader
You might notice your baby will sometimes copy your facial expressions. Why not have a ’conversation’ like this?
* Poke out your tongue and wait for her to copy.
* Speak and watch her lips
* Smile and wait for that smile.
If you’re happy and you know it.
When she is lying in her bouncer or you arms look at her, take her hand and hold it gently, play with her hand and stroke her fingers while you sing “If your happy and you know it”.
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
By now he is very responsive to you and you’ll feel even more that you’re having ’conversations’. He is babbling more and more.
Old MacDonald.
Small children love animal noises- so much so that the majority of children probably have more than one animal sound in their first 50 words!
Old McDonald is one of the all time favourites. At 3 months he’ll just love the silly sounds but by 6 months he’ll enjoy being shown pictures of the animals in his books too.
Old McDonald had a farm
Ee-i,ee-i oh
And on that farm he had some cows
Ee- i,ee-i oh
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there
Here a moo, there a moo everywhere a moo moo
Each verse introduces a new animal, and these are all listed at the end of the verse so after a couple more verses you would end up something like this:
With a meow here, and a meow there
Here a meow, there a meow everywhere a meow
With a quack quack here and a quack quake there
Here a quack there a quack everywhere a quack quack
With a moo moo here, and a moo moo there
Here a moo, there a moo everywhere a moo moo
Children love the repetition and its easy for them to pick out the often repeated sounds.
Tummy talk
This is a game that you’ll naturally find yourself playing with baby, especially when their tummies are out after bathtime or nappy changes. All you need to do is press your lips against his tummy and do something like one of these:
* Blow raspberries
* Say gobble gobble
* Hum
* Talk - "how are you tummy"
* Sing/kiss/recite nursery rhymes – there are no rules to this game!
Pitter Pat Pony
Babies love you to play with their hands and feet. What all those traditional songs for playing with a babies hands and feet tell us is that generations of parents have found that babies love these games.
This song is great and will really get baby excited!
bq. Pitter pat pony, (pat the soles of your baby's feet)
Look at her toes. (hold baby's feet and wiggle them)
Here a nail, there a nail, (poke the bottom of baby's feet)
Giddy-up and go! (pat the soles of your baby's feet again).
Gobble gobble goose
Long before your baby understands words, he’ll start to recognise actions – things like waving bye-bye, or clapping hands. You can start teaching action words by giving his soft toys an action.
* Goose goes gobble at his tummy
* Penguin goes peck at his nose
* Teddy says “ah” and wants a cuddle.
* Tiger nibbles his toes.
In this kind of play, baby is developing his memory, in a couple of months, he’ll start to remember and anticipate the action of the teddy before it happens. Even though he’s knows whats about to happen, he’ll get just as excited, if not more!
Playtime tips and games to encourage communication and language.
At the beginning of this stage, you’ll probably notice her trying to ’tell’ you things with particular actions. She’ll continue to babble and smile in conversations. By 12 months your conversations together will probably include some very distinct signals like pointing, waving and even a word or two!
Lets gossip!
It’s important to keep engaging baby in conversation, the more she experiences conversation the more she is picking up. Always give her a chance to give her answer!
* Talk when you sit together, while you change, bath and feed her * Play together and talk as you play.
* Use toys as conversation starters- talk about what the toy does. Play games together.
* Answer when she talks to you, let her draw you into her conversation and in turn draw her into your conversation
* Talk eye-to eye and face to face, and where necessary get down to her level but also call to her across the room to reassure her you are there and thinking about her
* Be her mirror. Reflect back what she does and says. Interpret her actions with words- “you want picking up” when she lifts her arms.
* At other times she will want you to interpret
* Copy her facial expressions and laugh together.
Party piece.
You’ll probably have noticed by now that small children are real show offs and love to demonstrate anything new they’ve learned, which is okay except if it’s a naughty word!
Its great for children to have a party piece that makes them the centre of attention. An easy one is a question they know the answer to and can either say the word or do an action to show you.
* What does the cow say? (he answers moo, or maybe oo oo)
* How tall are you? (he lifts his arms up above his head)
* Where’s daddy? (he points)
Children can learn to answer questions like these before they are one, but only if you - so point, show and make the sounds over and over again.
Where did it go?
Hide and seek games are a big draw for children of this age. They guarantee lots of laughter and excitement. As you play hide and seek games with them, these are a great opportunity to enhance communication.
* Hide a small object in your hand. Show her something small- like a piece of cheese or a chocolate button - then close your fingers over it, put your hand behind your back and ask "where is the cheese" - when she finds your hand let her see and play again. At six months you may have to keep showing her the cheese as you play.
* Hide a bigger object under a cloth
* Hide yourself behind a door and ask "Where’s Mummy?"
* Hide behind the sofa or inside a big packing box and ask "Where’s Mummy?"
Touch and tell
As you carry her around the house point out and name everyday objects
* This is the door.
* This is Molly’s cot
* Here is baby (looking in a mirror)
* Here is Daddy’s coat.
Show and tell
Do the same when you’re out and about. On a walk to the park get down to her level and show her things.
* Look Molly it’s a flower
* Look Molly there is a Dog, Woof woof”
As you start to talk, you look her in the eye and as you mention the word you look at the object it names. From about six months you’ll find that baby naturally follows your gaze and so starts to understand what you’re talking about.
Ride along horsey.
The sounds and movements of action games help baby to learn and remember speech patterns. Ride Along Horsey is a good example:
Ride-along horsey
Don’t you stop Just let your feet go
Clippity Clop
My dog Rags
When your baby is approaching her first birthday, she’ll be able to start to copying simple actions. Try this simple action rhyme.
I have a dog his name is rags,
He eats so much his tummy sags
His ears flip flop (put hands up to ears and wave them)
And his tail wig wags (wiggle hips or body)
And when he walks he goes zig zag. (cross arms in front of body)
My dog rags he loves to play,
He rolls around in the mud all day (hands rotate)
I whistle but he won’t obey
He always runs the other way (on ’runs’ fingers walk)< br/>
"Action songs for fingers hands and toes":articlesmaction-songs-for-fingers-hands-and-toes
Discovering books.
Picture books are a great source for early words. As you look through books together, point at and name objects. As you do this, especially if you look at the same book often, she’ll start to associate sound with object.
You’ve started having proper conversations now! At the start of this stage your baby is probably turning into a talkative toddler, but by the end she’ll have as many as 200 words and there is no stopping her continual chatter!
Talk
* Parentese is the name given to the language parents use when they talk to children- and to the way they talk- using a high pitched voice, simple language and repeating and expanding on what the child says. You will probably do this automatically- but check!
* Talk to him at every possible opportunity. Tell him what you are doing and ask him what he is doing. Use simple language.
* Get down to his level and talk face to face and look away at the things you are talking about.
* Expand his sentences voicing what he is trying to tell you. If he says “Gone” answer “Yes, Daddy has gone to work” with the emphasis on Daddy and Gone.
* Over the next months and years he will gradually expand his language filling in the little gaps. First “Gone” expands to “Daddy Gone” and then perhaps “Daddy gone work” before finally producing the whole sentence.
Play and show
* Play together - use toys as starting points for conversation.
* Talk as you bath, feed and change his nappy.
* Play simple predictable games - like blowing on his tummy as you dry him after the bath. If he knows what is about to happen he is better able to show you that he can join in the interaction.
* Show him things. Get down to his level and talk, when you mention something, look and point to it.
* Read books - both picture books and simple rhyming books.
Rhyme and rhythm
* Rhyme and rhythm emphasises the little sounds that make up words, as he struggles to understand and produce clear sounds hearing your emphasis on rhyming words helps him.
Body parts
Your baby might actually understand the word before she can say it, so you can practice with a simple game of naming.
Where is Molly’s foot?
Yes there’s Molly’s foot
Where is Molly’s nose?
Yes there’s Molly’s nose
Repeating the name – especially when she has shown you that she knows it- rewards her and tells her you understand what she means.
Where is the Dog? – A Naming Game
* Cut out six pictures – one of a dog and five of some other objects she knows the names of,
* Put each in a different envelope and number them 1 – 6
* Ask her to pick an envelope and look inside
* Ask to her to name the object.
Whisper and shout
This game helps her practise using her voice in different ways.
* Whisper in her ear - something secret.
* Let her whisper back to you.
* Shout something loud
* Let her shout back
As you watch your child putting a cube into his shape sorter over and over again, you know that through his play he’s developing skills and committing the action to memory. Did you know that this is the same when he drops his dinner from his highchair? It might surprise you to hear that he may just be practicing his spatial skills
As his eye-hand coordination develops he may be able to line up a jigsaw piece so it fits into the puzzle and it is his spatial skills that tell him which piece to select and that it will fit. By playing with his shape sorter, or running his toy car around chair legs, he is learning how to maneuver his body through spaces and how to interact with, and avoid colliding with, other things. He is developing the skills that we use every day to get dressed, to draw, to make sure our jumper is on the right way round and so on.
On a greater scale his spatial orientation skills are the ones he develops to, for example, get his toy truck from the kitchen into the lounge and, as adults, we use these skills to understand directions, to draw maps and know where we are in relation to landmarks and so on.
Children need to learn both orientation and spatial manipulation and you can encourage his development with the many tools and activities designed to help him.
Games To Develop Your Child’s Orientation Skills:
Coconuts!
Set up a coconut, or something else he can throw balls at! Encourage him to throw balls or beanbags at the coconut with the aim of knocking it off. For a summer party, daddy could sit in a chair while the children throw wet sponges at him!
One Step, Two Step.
Ask him to count how many steps it takes to cross the room? From the bedroom to the bathroom? Get him to measure how many standard steps it takes him to walk up the garden path.
Gotcha.
Scrunch up an old newspaper into soft balls. You and your child each has a chair to defend and the aim is to try and hit the other person’s chair with your ’ammunition’!
Moving House.
Ask him to move a pile of things, such as leaves, from one side of the garden to the other using his wheelbarrow.
Relievio.
This game is a variation on the childhood favourite, ’tag’. More than two people can play the game where, once you’ve been caught, you must go to the box until you are relieved, or rescued, by someone who hasn’t been tagged.
Toy Box Tips - Orientation Skills
* Bikes, tricycles and, ’sit and rides’. Try the Stride to Ride. * Skates * Trucks, toy pushchairs, toy wheelbarrows * Climbing frames * Balls
Games To Develop Your Child’s Spatial Skills.
Let’s Pour.
Let him practice pouring during bath time, using jugs and beakers and so on. Once he has mastered the skill, you could let him use a tea set to pour drinks for his teddies.
Snake!
Draw a long snake and divide it into a few sections, then ask him to colour each section in neatly.
Where Is He?
Books with faces hidden in the crowd or drawings with familiar objects hidden in the picture are great to amuse children. You can make your own by hiding simple shapes, such as triangles or circles, in drawings.
Tangrams.
Take a large square piece of card and divide it into a number of different shapes, like squares, oblongs and L shapes, of different sizes. Ask him to make new shapes with the individual pieces, or try to assemble them into the original square shape.
Mosaic.
Draw a simple shape or picture and cut gummed or sticky coloured paper into little squares. Let him have fun by sticking the pieces into the picture to make a mosaic.
Toy Box Tips - Spatial Skills:
* Puzzles * Shape sorters. Try the Peek A Blocks Shape Sorter * Stacking cups * Linking toys, such as linking rings. Try any Link-a-Doos toy or teether * Play sets, such as garages. Try the Little People Ramps Around Garage * Construction kits. Try anything in the Pop Onz collection * Dolls
Tips and Games to keep them entertained while you're on the go!Travelling with children can be difficult at the best of times, but there are plenty of games and activities that you can do to keep them occupied.
Travel By Car
* Before leaving let them have a good run around to let off steam
* Make sure you stop at regular intervals to let off more!
* Take a good supply of story or sing-along tapes
* A story or two that you know to tell
* Take small toys for baby to hold, watch and feel – Link-a-doos will attach to her travel seat.
* A teddy or doll for an older child to cuddle and talk to
* Small or travel sized toys – think about a Travel Doodle Pro or other drawing toy. You could ask them to draw things they have seen on the journey. * Play games like eye-spy that encourage them to look at their surroundings and spot objects.
Travel by Plane
* Before leaving let them have a good run around to let off steam
* During the flight, get out of your seat and have a good walk round
* Take along story tapes and a personal stereo
* Take a selection of books to read.
* A couple of their favourite toys and a teddy cuddle will also come in handy. * Take paper along – this has endless possibilities. You can fold it into shapes or draw on it.
* Play noughts and crosses – a simple choice but good fun and easy to play.
Games for Journeys
* Scissors-paper-stone *
This is a great game as you don’t need any equipment! It’s a classic so you probably know how to play ! It needs two players.
Each of you puts your hand behind your back and counts to three
On three, you both bring your hand back at the same time in one of three positions –
Scissors – forefinger and middle finger ready to snip
Paper – hand flat palm down
Stone – hand in a fist
Scissors beats paper because it can cut it.
Paper beats stone because it wraps it.
Stone beats scissors because it blunts it.
Guessing games
* How many fingers have I got up? Player hides his hand (easy in the car) and the others try to guess how many fingers he has up.
* Eye-spy - One player gives the first letter of the object they are thinking about and the others guess what it is.
* What is the next animal we will see? – play similar with other searches – what colour will the next lorry we see be etc.
* Fill in the word *
Tell the story of what is happening leaving blanks for her to fill in.
“One morning a mummy, a Daddy and a little girl called Anna got up early to go on holiday. Anna had……for her breakfast. Daddy put the ….. in the boot of the car and so on and then Mummy sat in the front seat and …….sat in her car seat.
Look out for:
Car snap- Look for a car like ours.
ABC- our initial on a number plate
* Arms and legs (when travelling through towns) *
This is another classic car journey game. As you travel through towns look out for the names of pubs. How many arms and legs are there on the pub signs? Take it in turns, and if there are no arms or legs on a sign you score zero for that turn.
Because small children remember actions much better than they do words, action rhymes are brilliant.
The actions help the child to remember long songs, they also help draw the child’s attention to the little sounds that make up words – an important pre-reading skill. Action rhymes are a good option for those muments when you might be hanging about with no access to toys, waiting in line, for a bus or on a long journey for example.
This kind of rhyme is great for letting off steam, improving memory and stimulating communication.
From 6 months
*Five little ducks*
The five little ducks are the fingers, five swim away, four come back, four swim away and three come back- and so on until there are no little ducks left! Five little ducks went swimming one day
Over the ponds and far away
Mother duck said quack, quack, quack
But only four little ducks came back
From 9 months
One two three four five
One two three four five
Once I caught a fish alive
Why did you let him go
Because he bit my finger so
Which finger did he bite?
This little finger on the right.
Count out the fingers on the one two- make a biting mouth with the thumb and index finger, then display the little finger of the right hand.
*Incy Wincy spider*
Incy Wincy spider climbing up the spout
Down came the rain and washed the spider out
Out came the sunshine dried up all the rain
And incy wincy spider climed the spout again.
Incy climbs by touching opposite thumb and index finger and alternating fingers and thumbs. The other actions just mirror the words.
From 18 months
*Peter’s hammers*
Peter works with one hammer (Hammer with one fist)
With one hammer, with one hammer
Peter works with one hammer
All day long
*Verses*
Peter works with two hammers (hammer with both fists)
Peter works with three hammers (add one stamping foot)
Peter works with four hammers (add the other foot)
Peter works with five hammers (add the head)
*Row, row, row your boat*
Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.
Children sit facing each other on the floor, hold hands and rock back and forth
*I hear Thunder*
I hear thunder I hear thunder (stamp feet)<
Hark don’t you, hark don’t you (put hand behind ear)
Pitter-patter raindrops (mime)
I’m wet through (point to self)
So are you (point to her)
*I’m a Little Teapot*
I’m a little teapot short and stout
Here’s my handle (Put one arm on hip)
Here’s my spout (Put other arm out like spout)
When I hear the tea cups hear me shout
Tip me up and pour me out (bend to the side in a pouring action)
Chatter, chatter, chatter all the time! At three she probably has about 1000 words but by 5 it is likely to have doubled and she’ll be making pretty complex sentences.
Talk
* Talk to her at every possible opportunity. Tell her what you are doing and ask her what she is doing. Sit down and discuss things.
* Encourage her to talk and allow time to construct more complex sentences- don’t just rush in and finish them for her.
* Gradually introduce more complex language to her
* Pay attention. It rewards her for talking.
* Going out to do something special gives you a topic of shared conversation and helps improve language and memory.
* Stories expand her horizons, and offer more complex and complete language than is normally used in conversations.
Play and show
* Play together- use toys and activities as starting points for conversation.
* Do things together, go on outings and talk about what you have done.
* Read books- both picture books and story books. They are an important source of new words.
* Encourage her to play with little people and animals- pretend games where she moves characters through a story help her to talk about things in more abstract ways.
Rhyme and rhythm
Rhyme and rhythm help her to listen to the sounds that make up words – this is not only good for communication but also an important pre-reading skill.
* Play traditional games with songs and rhymes
* Sing and listen to songs and dance along to music.
What would you do if?
This is a simple story telling game that can be as sensible or as silly as you like. You know your little one better than anyone, so you’ll know what gets her going!
* What would you do if you were a rabbit?
* What would you do if you could fly? * What would you do if you had wheels instead of feet?
* What would we do if you do if someone stole our beds?
What would happen if?
This is another simple story telling game that again can be as sensible or as silly as you like.
* Money grew on trees
* We were giants?
* Today was Sunday
Chinese whispers
You need a few people for this game - one person whispers a message into the ear of the person next to her- who then whispers the message on to the next person. At the end compare the first and last message. They will be very different and quite often really silly.
And the winning letter is
A good game to stimulate communication and pre-reading skills. Start by choosing two letters that have very different sounds, such as M and D. Divide the paper into two columns and write M on top of one column and D on top of the other (both in lowercase letters).
* Take a catalogue or a magazine and search for things beginning with the letter. Once she finds an item ("Yes! m-m-m- milk begins with the m sound!"), help your child cut out the picture (include the name of the item) and glue it onto her shopping list in the correct column. Which letter wins?
* Look around the house for things beginning with the letter. Put a tick or a line in the column each time you find something. Which letter wins?
* Look around the garden for things beginning with the letter. Have an M box and a D box and put a leaf in the right box each time you find one. Which letter wins?
* When out on a walk take it in turns to search for things beginning with the two letters.
What if pictures
* Cut out pictures of various animals. Stick them to cards and put these face down. Each time a card is turned over you take it in turns to say what you would do if you were the animal on the card.
* Instead of animals use cards with pictures of objects and say what you would do with them.
Easy peasy I spy
* Collect a group of items and put them on a tray. Each one should start with a different letter. Select carefully so the letter sound is clear, typical of the letter sound and not a blended sound like sh, or th (carrot not cereal, tin not thread, sock not shoe). Then you say I spy on my little tray something beginning with...
* Easy-easy peasy. I spy on my little tray something to eat that begins with * I spy on the bathroom shelf something beginning with...
* I spy in the toy cupboard something beginning with...
Getting out and about is really good fun, but it also provides lots of opportunity for learning fun.
* Learning – letters, numbers and counting opportunities are everywhere!
* Social skills – opportunities to interact with other people and their world
* Language – shared experiences will give you lots to talk about for many days afterwards
Shopping
Use the opportunity for learning. Play counting games and practice social skills.
* Look for apples. What colour are they?
* How many sorts of cabbage?
* Look for the numbers of the shopping aisles.
* How many different sorts of tinned tomatoes?
* How many checkouts?
* How many times do you see F for Frankie?
* Let him buy a carton of milk from the corner shop (warn the shop keeper or make sure the shop is empty).
On the way home
* Count the buses.
* Post a letter
* How many animals can you see? Cats, dogs, squirrels, birds, bees, butterflies.
* Spell his name – look for the letters on road signs and cars.
Crossing the Road
Use the opportunity to learn a vital safety skill.
* Stop, look, listen, cross.
* Remember you set the example.
* Always use the crossings on major roads.
In the Park
* Discover colours *
Try to find flowers in all of the colours of the rainbow
* Under the bridge *
Shout under the bridge and listen for the echo. Even better with a tunnel.
Let him put his ear to the wall, and then whisper at the wall. Can he hear you?
Look for bird pooh. Is this where birds sleep at night?
* Make a bark rubbing *
Take some small pieces of paper and a crayon, put the paper against the bark of the tree and scotble over it with a crayon. You will get the pattern of the bark. This will not work with really rough bark.
* Make a bark impression *
Take some play dough or plastecine to make an impression of some bark
If you can’t name the tree, why not take a leaf home and look it up together in a nature book
You could create a nature shelf for him – store his different bark impressions and leaves here, to help him build up a collection.
When your child is still an infant, once he is able to hold his head up, he will love to enjoy a song with you on your lap.
Singing along with songs like this help develop him develop socially and emotionally as he’ll love the comfort of spending this time with you. He’ll also learn about the rhythm in language. Songs that have a jump or action at the end also help him to learn to expect – to know that something is going to happen.
When he is very young, sit him on your knee facing you and hold him around his waist. When he’s a little older you can hold him by the hands.
Jogging on the Knee
For these songs, jog and jiggle him on your knee as you repeat the words.
*Ride A Cock Horse*
Ride a cock horse to Bambury Cross
To see a fine lady get on a white horse
With rings on her fingers
And bells on her toes
She shall have music
Wherever she goes.
*To Market to Market*
To market to market to buy a fat pig
Home again home again jiggity jig
To market to market to buy a fat hog
Home again home again
Jiggity jog.
Rides with a Jog and Surprise!
These songs feature a surprise fall at the end to make him giggle.
*This is the way the ladies ride*
This is the way the ladies ride trip trot, trit trot trip trot
This is the way the gentlemen ride gallup gallup gallup
This is the way the old man rides. Hobble-dee hobble-dee
And down in a ditch
Trot on the knee at varying speeds- then open your knees to let her fall through a little.
*Father mother and uncle John*
Father, Mother and Uncle John
Road to the doctors one by one,
Father fell off Mother fell off
But Uncle John road on and on
Ride on the knee, hold him tightly and let him jog to one side and then the other.
Rides with an Up and a Down
*Leg over leg over*
Leg over leg over
The dog went to dover
When he came to a style
Up he went over
Cross your legs and sit him on the crook of your foot. Hold her hands and jog her up and down – but every time you say 'over' move your foot up and down. She’ll feel like she’s flying!
Sometimes the old ones are the best, a selection of traditional games.
Traditional games have been played and perfected by generations of children for hundreds of years. Some of them are very different from their original form, but many have remained almost the same throughout history. These traditional games help teach children vital skills – the reason they didn’t die out years ago!
*Traditional games help to develop many skills*:
* Social skills – learning to play with other people, taking turns, making friends and also putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
* Predictive skills – what will he do next? Is he going to drop something?
* Physical skills – turning, dodging and getting lots of exercise * Letting off steam
* Learning ’I can do it’.
Traffic lights
One person says the word of their choice from the list, the others do the appropriate actions - the last one to do it is out (but you can leave this bit out of the game if you want to)
Red means stop
Green means go
Crash means lie flat
Bridge means make an arch on the ground.
Farmer Farmer may we cross?
Farmer farmer may we cross your golden river?
Yes if you are wearing red (or what every colour the farmer decides)
Those in red walk across the rest have to run and avoid the farmer catching them
Red lion
Red lion sits in his den, the rest of the players have a second den which they leave to taunt the lion
Red Lion red lion come out of your den
Whoever you catch can be one of your men
When the chant finishes the red lion chases everyone home, if he touches anyone they must go to his den. Next go they become lions too. The game ends when everyone is a lion.
The Farmers in his Den
One child stands in the middle of the ring while the others walk around singing
The farmers in his den
The farmers in his den E-I-N-G-O
The farmers in his den.
The farmer must then choose someone to join him as the children sing
The farmer wants a wife The farmer wants a wife
E-I-N-G-O
The farmers wants a wife.
Then other children join the central group as the circle sings
The wife wants a child, etc
The child wants a dog etc
The dog wants a bone. Etc
In the last verse everyone pats the bone
We all pat the bone We all pat the bone
E-I-N-G-O We all pat the bone.
Kick the can
This is one of the many variations of tag. The person who is ’it’ has a can or object which he must guard, but must also leave to catch other children. If anyone kicks the can he must return and put it back before he can chase again.
Hiding games
* Hide and seek “It” hides his face and counts to twenty while everyone else hides. Then after shouting “coming ready or not she goes in search of the other players. * Bug in a rug. In this game you race “It” for home if you get there first you are safe.
* Cuckoo – a reversal of normal hide and seek in which one player hides the others seek * Toad in the hole- if you are found, you join the seekers. The game ends when everyone is looking and there is no-one left to find.
Grandmother’s footsteps
This game is for a group of children. One of them is picked to be ’grandmother’. She stands with her back to the rest of the children who line up a few metres behind her.
The group must try to creep up behind grandmother without her seeing them. Every so often, grandmother turns around to look at the group and they must stand perfectly still. IF she sees them move, they must go back to the start.
The first person to touch grandmother’s back without being seen wins and becomes grandmother next time.
Oranges and Lemons
Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clements
When will you pay me say the bells of Old Bailey When I grow rich Say the bells of Shoreditch
When will that be say the bells of Stepney
I’m sure I don’t know says the great bell of Bow.
Her comes a candle to light you to bed
Here comes a chopper to chop of your head.
Chip Chop chip chop.
Two people make an arch and the rest dance through it in turn singing the song. On the last “chop” the arch catches someone- by dropping there arms down to surround them. They then ask “Orange or Lemon”. Oranges go behind one of the arch makers, lemons go behind the other. When everyone has been caught they have a tug of war.
Like scientists small children investigate and experiment. Many of the activities children love - from rolling balls, scooting around on bikes or playing with bath toys - teach them basic scientific principles (about solids and liquids, forces and acceleration for example) although it will be quite a few years before they can put what they learn into words or understand scientific theories.
Growing
There are lots of things you can grow together from big things to small. Growing things helps him to work towards a goal, builds a sense of achievement and helps him develop his caring and nurturing side.
Cress cross
* Tear off about a dozen pieces of kitchen towel and put them on a plate. Soak the paper by pouring or spooning water onto it.
* Lay a pastry cutter on the paper. Sew the cress seed inside the cutter. Carefully spread the seed out with the back of a spoon making sure it goes right to the edge.
* Lift the cutters. Use a spoon to water the seeds each day.
* Watch the cress grow and when its ready – eat it!
* You can adapt this game to build in letter play – use letter cutters or a steady hand to sew seeds to spell out his name or initials.
Real instant garden
Help him to make his own instant mini garden.
* Take one large plant pot
* Fill with compost or earth
* Give him a selection of things (or help him to find his own) that can be used to construct an instant garden. Use moss for a lawn, mirror for a pond, mini plants that can look like trees and bushes.
Using the scraps
* When preparing vegetables, like carrots, parsnips or beetroot, save the tops.
* Put these in a plate and some water and leave on the windowsill
* Within a couple of days these tops should have shoots.
Big
Children love growing big plants. Especially if they have a measuring stick to see how they are growing. Plant sunflower seeds in pots. Water and care for them and when they are about 4 inches high plant them out into the garden. Measuer them each week. You can try the same with bamboo.
My herb garden
* Buy small herbs pots from the supermarket and grow these together. He can explore his senses with these. He can taste them and smell them.
Nature Play
There is lots to explore when you’re out and about in the countryside or garden. Looking out for tiny details really helps him to learn to pay attention and to look for the detail in things – an important pre-reading skill.
* Footprints. Can you tell which are birds and which are animals?
* Whose had lunch? Look for leaves that have been eaten by small creatures. Can you find the creature near by?
* Look who lives under small logs and stones.
* Look who lives under leaves.
* Look who visits flowers.
* Snail trails.
*
Play & Learn activities reprinted from "Preschooler Play & Learn" with permission of its author, Penny Warner, and its publisher, Meadowbrook Press (2000.)
