Tiny Food Play (5 Minutes)
Materials: Small pieces of food (blueberries, puffs, or cheerios)
Instructions:
Place your baby in a seated position, preferably in the high chair.
Put something small, but safe, on a plate or the tray.
Demonstrate to your baby how the food can move by bouncing it or moving it around.
Then let them explore themselves, patting, waving, and grabbing the food.
Tip: Always be present during the activity to make sure they do not put anything in their mouth.
Baby Sit-Ups (5 Minutes)
Materials: Blanket
Instructions:
Lay you baby on their back on the blanket.
Grab the two upper corners of the blanket above their head.
Gently lift the corners toward you, bringing the baby into a sit-up position.
Slowly lower them back down.
Repeat for as long as they are comfortable with.
Tip: Make sure you keep their head and body supported.
Animal Parade (5 Minutes)
Materials: Stuffed animals
Instructions:
Place your baby in their tummy.
One by one, take the animals and match them in a path towards the baby, making that animals sound along the way.
Let them discover the animal as you repeat with the rest.
Wheels on the Bus (5 Minutes)
Materials: Cars
Instructions:
Place your baby on their tummy.
Wheel the car back and forth slowly in their vision as you sing “The Wheels on the Bus”. “The wheels on the bus go round and round,
Round and round,
Round and round,
The wheels in the bus go round and round,
All through the town.
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
Swish, swish, swish
Swish, swish, swish
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,
All through the town.
The driver on the bus says ‘Move on back’
Move on back,
Move on back,
The driver on the bus says ‘Move on back’
All through the town.
The people on the bus go up and down,
Up and down,
Up and down,
The people on the bus go up and down,
All through the town.
The baby on the bus says ‘Wah, wah, wah’
Wah, wah, wah,
Wah, wah, wah,
The baby on the bus says ‘Wah, wah, wah’
All through the town.
The mommy on the bus says ‘Sh, sh, sh’
Sh, sh, sh,
Sh, sh, sh,
The mommy on the bus says ‘Sh, sh,sh’
All through the town. The daddy on the bus says ‘I love you’
I love you,
I love you,
The daddy on the bus says, ‘I love you’
All through the town.”
Light Up Shapes (5 Minutes)
Materials: Flashlight, black construction paper, scissors, and tape. Instructions:
Start by cutting out different shapes out of the constructions paper such as a circle, triangle, square, diamond, and rectangle.
Tape them to the wall with a little space in between.
Turn the lights off in the room and place your baby facing the wall in your lap.
One by one, turn the flashlight onto a shape for 10-20 seconds, engaging their attention before turning it off.
Repeat until done with shapes or baby becomes disinterested.
Smooth Ride (5 Minutes)
Materials: 2-3 Blanket
Instructions:
Lay the blankets on top of each other on the floor.
Place your baby on their back on top of the blankets.
Hold onto the corners of the end of the blankets and gently pull them around the house, going from room to room for a "tour".
Describe the rooms as you visit each one.
Looking Glass (5 Minutes)
Materials: Nonbreakable mirror
Instructions:
Place your baby on their tummy.
Place the mirror to where they can see their reflection when they look down.
Pop your own face in as well saying, "Peek-a-boo".
Repeat until they lose interest.
Pop Goes the Weasel (5 Minutes)
Materials: Drumsticks (or wooden spoons)
Instructions:
Sing the ”Pop Goes the Weasel” song, tapping the drumsticks together gently.
“Round and round the cobbler's bench The monkey chased the weasel The monkey thought it was all in fun Pop goes the weasel A penny for a spool of thread A penny for a needle That's the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel! Round and round the mulberry bush The monkey chased the weasel The monkey stopped to pull up his socks Pop goes the weasel! Half a pound of tuppenny rice Half a pound of treacle Mix it up and make it nice Pop goes the weasel! Ha ha ha ha ha hoo! Pop goes the weasel! Round and round the cobbler's bench The monkey chased the weasel The monkey thought it was all in fun Pop goes the weasel!
A penny for a spool of thread A penny for a needle That's the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel! That's the way the money goes Pop goes the weasel!”
Bang the sticks together a little harder on the pop!
After the song, let your baby explore by banging the sticks together themself.
Roll On the Ball (5 Minutes)
Materials: Inflatable ball
Instructions:
Stand the ball so that the ball is between the two of you.
Gently press their belly against the ball. Supporting them the whole time.
Roll them onto the ball while holding them securely.
Return them by rolling them back to the standing position.
Repeat for as long as they are comfortable with it.
Tip: Strip them down to just their diaper to have their skin as extra grip.
Ribbon Play (5 Minutes)
Materials: Cardboard box, tape, and ribbon.
Instructions:
Flip the box on is side to face you.
Cut a variety length of ribbon to tape to the top of the inside of box. And let them dangle down like a curtain.
Encourage your baby to explore the box, placing them in the sitting position on your lap.
Baby Tug of War (5 Minutes)
Materials: Paper towel roll and ribbon. Instructions:
Cut a few holes in the paper towel roll on parallel sides.
Thread a piece of ribbon through the holes, knotting them on both ends.
Encourage your baby to pull the ribbons on the shorter sides.
Comments