Secret Treat

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There is so much you can do with highchair games at the age of about six months. Babies are learning to pick up food, about the cause-and-effect of things being hidden, and all about different taste sensations. This game plays on all three!

Select a food your child likes (or one that’s new and exciting!) and have a napkin or cloth handy. I let Veronika see a few carrots on the tray…

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…but then covered them over.

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It took her little hands a few moments, but soon the scarf was lifted; probably more to play with than to find the food, but surprise! Carrot sticks.

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Then I pulled out one of her favorite Baby Led Weaning foods: mini rice cakes.

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I showed her the cakes, but then hid them away.

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She eagerly grabbed at the scarf.

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Ha, got them mommy! Then of course baby gets to enjoy the snack as a reward.

Horsey Ride

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Here’s a fun way to add a sensory element to a favorite nursery rhyme! Using the classic Ride-a-Cock-Horse as inspiration, I threaded small jingle bells onto a silver ribbon for Veronika. Make sure to secure these tightly, either by knotting the ribbon once finished or even sewing the bells on so no bells can come loose. This is especially true if your baby tends to put things in his or her mouth.

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As I recited the rhyme, I jingled the bells for her.

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Touch them to your baby’s fingers on the word “fingers” and toes on the word “toes” as you go through the rhyme:

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross

to see a fine lady upon a white horse.

With rings on her fingers

and bells on her toes

she shall have music wherever she goes.

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We also turned this into a bouncy lap ride. Have fun playing around with the lyrics as your little once bounces on your knee and listens to the bells. Since Veronika was all in pink today, our horse was a pink horse instead of a white one!

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You can also substitute your baby’s name for the word “lady”.

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Reverse Peekaboo

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Today, Veronika and I mixed up our games of peekaboo. Unlike in the past, this time she played peekaboo with me!

Okay, perhaps not really, but this is a super-cute variation. First, to get her comfortable with the idea, I placed a see-through scarf over my head. Where’s mommy?

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Peek-a-boo!

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Now I draped the scarf loosely over her head. She looked a bit confused but delighted.

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Where’s Veronika? Peek-a-boo!

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Needless to say, we played many rounds, with different colored scarves for variation.

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This game was also a reminder what fun these see-through scarves are for tots. Wad it into a ball and hand it to your child, and let the fun begin!

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Mr. Moon

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This cute and dramatic game helps teach your baby about the sun and the moon. There’s a reason this pair is a staple of nursery rhymes; sun/moon and day/night are one of the first concepts your baby will notice and learn in life!

To bring the sun and moon to life, you’ll need two paper plates and craft sticks.

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On the first plate, I drew a sun with a nice smiling face. Use markers, watercolor markers, or any other preferred medium to color in. On the second plate, I drew a crescent moon and added a nose, mouth, and smile.

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Attach a craft stick to each with tape. Now have these cross the “sky” in front of your baby, alternating day and night. This was fun for Veronika just for the visual!

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Then I recited this cute poem as I traveled the plates in front of her:

Mr. Moon, Mr. Moon

You’re up too soon.

The Sun’s still high in the sky.

So go back to your bed, 

and cover up your head,

and wait for the day to go by.

Veronika loved reaching for the plates. She continued to play with them long after the rhyme-time was done.

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A great first sun and moon game!

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Bath Time Foam Blocks

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Veronika is sitting so well in her tub now that it felt like time to mix things up and add a new game to our standard splashy fun.

First, I used a set of foam building blocks, normally a playroom toy, as bath toys. These were great because I could push them down under the water and show her how they instantly pop back up.

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She got the idea right away! With each pop up, I made noises of surprise and delight, which soon had her doing the same.

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If you want, you can also purchase foam sponge toys intended for the bath. We love the animal bath toys set from 3 Bees & Me, which comes with a handy storage bag and features everything from a tiger to a squirrel to a kangaroo. These are large enough for the littlest hands to grip, even in slippery water.

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As with the blocks, I showed Veronika how to push them underwater and then watch them surface again.

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Of course they found their way quickly to her mouth, too. In sum, we’re excited to play with foam in many a bath to come!

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Feel the Wind

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Introducing your baby to the elements is a beautiful way to foster a lifelong love of nature. Since she was born just before winter, Veronika has already felt snowflakes, and the pitter-patter of raindrops. Now that it’s warmer, there are some new sensations I’ve been excited to introduce her to!

We had a windy but warm day today, which made it a nice day to let Veronika feel the breeze without getting a chill. It’s hard to tell in the picture above, but the leaves were whipping around! As we watched the leaves dance and felt the breeze, I signed “wind” for her as well.

Next, I sat her on a blanket in the grass simply to enjoy the feel of warm sunshine on her skin (don’t forget the sunscreen and a sun hat, of course!). “Sun” is another great sign to teach your baby, as are other general weather words like “clouds”, “rain”, and “snow”.

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Later, I removed her socks and dangled her feet in the grass for that perfect sensation of tickly grass on bare feet.

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These sensations were just a brief intro to nature, and I can’t wait for all of Veronika’s nature firsts to come: the first leaf pile to jump in, smelling a flower, watching autumn leaves turn colors and fall. What are you looking forward to in nature with your baby? Please share in the comments!

 

Coral Reef Diorama

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Today, Travis and I did an activity in conjunction with our Taste of Thai recipes to help him learn about the coral reefs of Thailand.

There was a lot in this lesson that was new for Travis, including guided imagery, but first I had to set the stage! I asked him if he knew what a scuba diver was and he correctly answered someone who dives underwater (thanks Fireman Sam!).

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I showed him an included picture with scuba gear and then we mimed climbing in to all this equipment. Shimmy shimmy into your wet suit! This part was silly and fun.

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Next up was our imaginary trip: a guided imagery about scuba diving in a coral reef. I knew this would be a bit of a challenge for my four-year-old, so instead of asking him to sit quietly with eyes closed, I had him paint a box blue for our upcoming diorama while I read the scenario. This allowed his hands to keep busy as he listened, and he liked the process!

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For a simple, little-kid diorama, we made a version using play dough blobs as the base onto which we could add shells, fish stickers, and fake coral.

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To make the coral, thread beads onto pipe cleaners – great for fine motor skills!

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While we worked, I played Raddish’s suggested video in the background so he could see real examples.

Travis’s favorite part was using play dough to make the body for snails and hermit crabs who could live in our shells from the craft store!

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He was so proud when he thought one of his shell creations looked like a narwhal.

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Meanwhile, I made a few more tropical examples for him to see.

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Bigger kids can delve a lot further into this homeschool lesson. Raddish also provided a list of discussion questions about the coral reef and links to further reading about what they are and how to protect them.

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But for my preschooler, this simplified lesson was good fun!

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Snowstorm

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Here’s a fun and simple sensory jar for your baby: an instant snowstorm no matter the season!

Fill a small plastic water bottle about 2/3 of the way with rubbing alcohol. Drop in a few things to swirl in the snow; small buttons are fun, and I also added gold and silver sequins. Next add about 2 teaspoons white or silver glitter. Fill the bottle the rest of the way with vegetable oil.

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Note: you can also tint the alcohol blue with food coloring if you want, but I found that this makes it harder to see the “storm” and preferred a clear version.

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For security, duct tape on the lid. Now swirl for your baby!

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This works well if you roll it on the ground in front of him or her.

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Veronika also loved looking at it up in the air though.

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And wanted to snatch it from my hands!

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If you’re trying to encourage a first crawl, roll the bottle along the floor and see if your baby will go after it!

Ask Direct Questions

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So you know your baby is learning to talk (well, babble that is, for now!), but now it’s time to teach him or her to have a conversation! This activity prompt helped me remember to guide her gibberish towards her first real give-and-take in language.

Today, whenever asking Veronika a question, I made sure to truly ask her. Make eye contact, and slow down your words. If the question pertains to a direct object (a bottle, a toy), pause and show it to your baby.

“Which toy would you like Veronika?” I asked. “The puzzle or the bumble bee?”

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I gave her a moment to select her choice, both vocally and by hand (and mouth!).

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The real key is to pause and wait for an answer. You might not get one at first, but soon, your baby will realize that this silence is meant to be filled.

“Would you like a rice cake, Veronika?”

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Yes!

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“Would you like some oatmeal, Veronika?” That’s a no thank you!

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Keep this up, and it will not only teach your child the fine art of back-and-forth in conversation, but also help them feel capable and important for making decisions.

Adventure Pouch

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Travis has a few new animal figure toys that need to come along on all his adventures (of course). We needed a safe way to transport them and this adventure pouch craft from Highlights magazine fit the bill perfectly!

First, trace a pouch shape onto felt. I had Travis take the first try at it and just enlarged his version slightly since his original oval was a touch too small.

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Cut out, and trace the same shape onto a second sheet of felt so your pouch as two sides. Cut out.

Use hot glue to attach the two felt pieces together, leaving the top open.

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To decorate, Highlights suggested cutting additional shapes from other colors of felt and gluing them on. Since felt is tough for Travis to get through with scissors, we used neat ocean felt stickers, instead.

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Punch holes at the top of the pouch, and lace yarn or twine through the holes. Knot to secure, and pull up on the strings to seal it shut.

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Travis loved putting his animal friends in and out of the pouch, their new home! This pouch would also work great for collecting treasures on a nature walk.

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What will your child do with the adventure pouch? Please share in the comments!

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