Games to Enhance your Baby’s Development

With your baby’s mind growing so fast during their early formative years, it is natural to want even their playtime to be educational. Here are some fun games to play with your baby that will aid them in their development.

Music

It doesn’t matter what age you are, everyone loves music. Let your little one experiment with different sounds by playing kid-friendly musical instruments. You most likely already have a rattle, so why not purchase a mini-drum or keyboard? And try not to worry too much about the loud noise.

Copy Cat

Place your baby in front of a mirror. Let them crawl up to it and touch it. Play copy-cat with them, getting them to do certain movements and letting them watch as their reflection does the same.

Sing

Unless your baby is a child prodigy, it is highly unlikely they will be able to sing themselves. Sing to your baby and let them make noises along with you. Provide something visual as well. This can be dancing, clapping, or just letting them wiggle on the floor.

Name Game

Play a game of naming the parts of the body. Say the names as you touch their feet, belly, arms, fingers, and so on. Repetition is key, and it is a very close bonding time. Make sure to use the proper names even if they can’t say them yet.

Peekaboo

You would be surprised how beneficial a game of peekaboo can be. Eye contact can help with facial recognition, displaying and understanding emotions, and helps to create a strong bond. This game also lets them begin to understand cause and effect, along with permanent and temporary states. They might not fully grasp the concepts yet, but their minds are taking it all in and working on it.

Patty-cake

This game helps your baby develop their hand-eye co-ordination. They can start to distinguish patterns and experiment with how they move their arms and body. Pair this game with a fun and educational rhyme!

Clean-up

Yes, even getting your baby to help you clean will enhance their development. This doesn’t mean sending them into the bathroom to scrub the toilet, but working with them to put their toys back in a proper place can teach responsibility and how items can be sorted into categories.

Pets

Growing-up with a pet is not only a lot of fun, but your child can forge new skills as they forge their friendship. Be with them as they play age-appropriate games like fetch. Teach them about how to manoeuvre their bodies so they can ‘friendly-pat’ their pet. Find out how to include them in caring for the pet at www.catlittlersource.com.

All children mature and grow at different rates, so don’t worry if they are more receptive to one game than another. Provide positive reinforcement for their attempts, praising them for trying but still correcting them.

Jen Brenner  (C)

Twins Without Television: Week 2, Day 5

Alright! We made it through another week without television (minus the one hiccup!). I love it. It really is nice not seeing my twins sitting in front of the television everyday. I know my  twins are not 'vegging' in front of that "box" everyday. I can tell you this, since I stopped watching the television last June, (of course I am still online) my brain is not mush anymore. I do work online, freelance writer and office help, so I really do need to be online.

Aside from being online, I do listen to the radio(music/talk). But this is not about me, it is about my twins and them not watching the television anymore (well two weeks so far). I figure, as long as I do not bring up the name 'television', they are probably not thinking about it or want to watch it, right? Well I hope so...

I did forget to mention this on yesterday's post. I bought this book for my twins; and began reading some poetry from this book for them. It is a really amazing book. It is an all inclusive book on subjects like Language & Literature, History & Geography, Visual Arts, Music, Mathematics and Science.  

Last night, from this book, I read these Poems: Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Stevenson, Caterpillars by Aileen Fisher, Bee! I'm Expecting You! by Emily Dickinson and Hurt No Living Thing by Christina Rossetti and Harriet Tubman by Eloise Greenfield. After reading these poems to my twins, I stopped because we played Yahtzee! In this Language & Literature section, there are also Stories like The Emperor's New Clothes, The Magic Paintbrush, Beauty and the Beast, How Wendy Met Peter Pan, American Tall Tales like Paul Bunyan, Myths from Ancient Greece like Heroes and Monsters, Gods and Goddesses. In the Learning About Language section students (my twins) will learn about Sentences, Nouns Names a Person, Place or Thing, Singular and Plural Nouns and more.

Oh goodness, I can go on with all the sections and what they cover. I really wanted to get into some science last night, but was not able to. Since today is Friday, it is highly unlikely I will do any 'teaching' from this awesome book, but I can on Monday since they will not be in school for MLK, Jr. Day.

Alright my lovely readers....have an amazing weekend and I will write on Monday!

     Ciao!!! 

Twins Without Television: Week 2, Day 4

Thursday, we have made it to Thursday, but I have a little secret. My twins have been going to the gym with Daddy as they have since they were a year old. They have friends at the gym, their "Gym Friends" if you will. Anyway, Daddy just confessed something to me this week. Can you guess what it is? You got that right, they are watching television! An hour of television. This is something that never even occurred to me. So, does this mean my twins are still watching television? In my mind, I would like to say, "No". I would never have known my twins were watching television, if Daddy had not told me. This means Daddy's conscience was bothering him and he had to tell me.

So, from where I am sitting, my twins are still not watching television during their school week.Does this still count? Well, it will have to because going to the gym is not something new to them, but they told me because they were feeling guilty.

Well, aside from this "hiccup 2", my twins come home from school and 1) do their chores, 2) homework and 3) we sometimes do some language lessons. Or, we can play a game of Brain Quest or Yahtzee!  Just like last week, my twins still do not ask about watching television or being bored. This is a good thing because, I, Mommy am really doing all I can to "redirect the stream/tide/et al" if you know what I mean.

Alright, so until tomorrow...
   Ciao!!

 

LEARN ITALIAN