Today Veronika learned to dig! Despite somewhat chilly temps, we headed to the sand play area of our local playground armed with a bright ball and a shovel.

I sat Veronika down and – making sure she was watching – showed her that I was digging a hole. I placed the ball in and covered it back up with sand, making sure some of the bright purple was easily visible.

Now I showed her how to uncover it!

She was a quick study. She immediately wanted her own turn with the shovel, whether to dig for the ball, or simply to dig a nice hole in the ground.

You can make the game harder as you move along. On the next round, I left even less of the ball visible, but Verouinka wasn’t fooled!

Work your way up to hiding the ball (or any other bright object) when your baby isn’t looking, and see if he or she will know to dig it up. This is not only great for fine motor skills, but also object permanence!