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Copy Cat Game / Body Parts Poem

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can help the brain pathways make new connections.

Activities for Infants

 

Copy Cat Game
Put your baby facing you so that he can study your face as you go through a variety of facial expressions.

 

Start with a smile, then stick out your tongue, show your teeth and point to them and say “teeth.”

 

Lift your eyebrows upward with your hands so that your baby will be more aware of what you are doing. Pull your ears as you say “ear.”

 

Make different sounds and shapes with your lips.

 

If the baby starts to copy you, copy him back. 

 

This game is wonderful for observation skills and bonding.

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – Repeat the facial activities and then the sound activities. Whenever your baby responds, acknowledge the response by repeating his response or praising him.

For developing the idea – Make up a story using the different facial expressions and sounds. Keep the story short at about 4 to 5 sentences.

For moving forward – Repeat the story and encourage your baby to join you in the different activities.

 

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Body Parts Poem
Say the following poem with your little one and do the actions.

Five fingers on this hand - hold up one hand
Five fingers on this hand - hold up other hand
A sweet little nose - point to nose
A mouth like a rose - point to mouth
Two cheeks so tiny and fat - point to each cheek
Two eyes, two ears - point to each
And ten little toes - point to toes
That's the way the baby grows.

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – Say the poem several times while holding the baby’s hand and touching each body part.

For developing the idea –Say to the baby as you hold up your hand “here is my hand.” Now take the baby’s hand and hold it up as you say “here is (name of child) hand.”

For moving forward – Say the poem as you touch the body parts on a doll or stuffed animal.

Listen With Your Ears / Let's Taste Red

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can help the brain pathways make new connections.

Activities for Toddlers

 

Listen With Your Ears

The following game is a wonderful way to develop listening skills in your children. The idea is to have the children identify sounds without seeing what is making the sound.

Before you begin, choose three or four sounds that the children will be identifying. Let them watch you make the sounds as they listen.

Some suggestions are: Tap your foot on the floor, crunch paper, clap your hands, and ring a bell.

Now play the game. Make the same sounds one at a time behind a door or desk. They should only be able to hear the sound.

After each sound is made, ask the children to identify the sound. When they have identified it, let them copy the sound themselves.

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – What sounds can you make with your mouth?
For developing the idea – Let’s walk around the room together and find other sounds that we can hear.
For moving forward – I’ll make a sound with my hands. Tell me what you hear. (You can clap, snap, and pound.

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Let's Taste Red
Color recognition is a skill children begin to develop at a young age.

Color and shape are ways children observe and categorize what they see. These characteristics encourage children to define and organize the diverse world around them.
Understanding color is a tool for learning many skills from math and science to language and reading. For example, when your child learns to understand the similarities and differences between colors and shapes, she is using the same skills she needs to recognize the differences between letters and numerals.
Give the children an opportunity to taste red foods, such as strawberries, raspberries, tomatoes, apples, rhubarb, and red peppers.
Talk about each food. Discuss the color, the texture, and the taste (sweet, sour, or something else).

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – Tasting all of the red food was fun. Did you have a favorite?

For developing the idea – I like the picture that you made. Tell me about your picture. Do you want to have any of those foods for dinner?

For moving forward - Let’s make a grocery list. What red foods do you want to buy at the super market?

Music Parade!

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can help the brain pathways make new connections.

Music Activities for Infants and Toddlers

Parades
If you have musical instruments in your classroom, a parade is a great activity for the kids.

Marching to music teaches rhythm. Playing the various instruments teaches eye-hand coordination plus listening skills.

Put on your favorite marching music, pass out the triangles, cymbals, drums and shakers and enjoy the parade. Music by Sousa is always a good choice.

One of the most popular toddler music game is a musical parade. A music teacher might bring in several instruments such as triangles, cymbals, drums, and horns and let the toddlers march around while playing the instruments. But, what if you don’t have musical instruments to spare? The solution is to help the kids to make their own!

Here are some ideas for making your own:
Fill containers part way with beans or grains and seal them well. These make great shakers.

Decorate toilet paper tubes, punch one or two holes in the sides, blow on one end and you have a flute. Do the same with a paper towel roll and you have a clarinet.

Buy some jingle bells at the dollar store.

Glue sandpaper on old blocks and rub them together.

Simply clap your hands together or toot with your voice.

The children will enjoy the parade and want to do it again and again.

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – Let’s march together to this wonderful music.

For developing the idea – As we march around the room, lets play our instruments loudly and then softly. The music will tell us what to do.

For moving forward – If we had an animal parade, what animal would you be?
If we had a favorite person parade, who would you be….grandpa, farmer, baby?
If we had a vegetable parade would you be a carrot or a green bean?

Here are some book suggestions about parades.
"The Great Doughnut Parade" - by Rebecca Bond
"Parade" - by Donald Crews
"Christmas Parade" by Sandra Boynton

Recommended products from Discount School Supply®:
Giant Plush Stacking Ring (TALLRING)
Plush Handykid Tools - 7 pieces (MYTOOLS)
Karen Katz Board Books - set of 4 (KATZLIB)
Maestro Baby Instruments - set of 4  (MAESTRO)
Career Toddler Costumes - set of 6 (PCTCSET)
Popular Children's Songs CDs - set of 4 (TODCDS)

Sorting Colors / Where Are Your Eyes?

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can help the brain pathways make new connections.

Activities for Infants

 

Sorting Colors
Exploring and responding to books about colors.

 

Read the book "A Color of His Own" by Leo Lionni to your little ones.

 

Sit on the floor with a child in your lap.

 

Place in front of you several toys and stuffed animals.

 

Start sorting the toys by color. “Let’s find all of the toys that have the color red and put them together.” Continue sorting by changing the color.

 

Start sorting with two colors. After the toys are sorted, pick up a toy with red and say the following poem.

 

Red, Red, let me see

When I find you, how happy I will be.

 

Point to the red and take your baby’s hand and put it on the red color.

 

Next, do the second color that you have chosen.

 

Blue, Blue, let me see

When I find you, how happy I will be.

 

Point to the color blue and take the baby’s hand and put it on the blue color.

Alternate the colors back and forth.

 

After you have played the game several times, you can add a third color.

 

Always use the same toys for the colors that you choose.

 

Here are some suggestions for other books about color.

 

"Blue Hat, Green Hat" – by Sandra Boynton

"What Does Bunny See?: A Book of Colors and Flowers" - by Linda Sue Park

"Bright Baby Colors" – by Roger Priddy

 

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:

For building confidence – Talk about colors everywhere and help the children become more aware of colors. 

 

For developing the idea – Use color words to talk about different objects in the room.

 

For moving forward – Suggest other ways to sort the toys. You can sort by size, toys with wheels, toys that make sounds or different textures.

 

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Where Are Your Eyes?
Say this poem with the children and ask them to point to the different parts of the body as they are mentioned and do the action.

Where Are Your Eyes? – Author unknown
Where are your eyes? Show me your eyes--Pretty eyes can see.
Where are your eyes? Show me your eyes--Shut them quietly.
Where is your nose? Show me your nose--Pretty nose can blow.
Where is your nose? Show me your nose--Wiggle it just so.
Where is your mouth? Show me your mouth--It can open wide.
Where is your mouth? Show me your mouth--How many teeth inside?

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – Can you open and close your eyes? What else can you do with your eyes?

 

For developing the idea – Can you say “I like to smell.” and tell me something that you like to smell with your nose.

 

For moving forward – One reason to open your mouth is to yawn. Can you think of another reason? Yes, eating.

Three Little Kittens / Clothes Conversation

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can encourage the brain pathways to make new connections.

Activities for Toddlers

 

Three Little Kittens

 

This wonderful poem is great for acting out. Choose someone to be the mother and three children for the kittens.

 

Three little kittens
They lost their mittens
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, we sadly fear
Our mitten we have lost.
What! Lost your mittens,
You naughty kittens!
Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow.
No, you shall have no pie.

 

The three little kittens
They found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, see here, see here,
Our mittens we have found.
Put on your mittens,
You silly kittens,
And you shall have some pie.
Purr-r, purr-r, purr-r,
Oh, let us have some pie. 

    ~ Author Unknown

 

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:

For building confidence – Ask the children, "Have you ever lost something? How did it make you feel?"

 

For developing the idea – Ask the children, "Where could the kittens look for their mittens? Your hands!"

 

For moving forward - "Let’s say the poem again. You be the mother and I will be one of the kittens."

 

If you are in a classroom, say the poem together with all of the children and let them act out the various parts. They love to do the crying parts!

 

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Clothes Conversation

Show the children three kinds of clothing. For example, a boot, a heavy jacket, and a hat. Try to select articles of clothing that the children wear and are familiar with.

 

Show one article of clothing at a time and talk about why people wear this kind of clothing. 

 

Make a list with the children of the different kinds of clothes that people wear.

 

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:

For building confidence – Ask the children, "Are you wearing any of the clothes that we talked about?"

 

For developing the idea – Ask the children, "Do you have boots? Where do you wear them?" Ask the same questions about other articles or clothing. If the child is wearing a sweater, then ask about the sweater.

 

For moving forward - Let’s look together at the magazines and you show me pictures of clothes to wear when it is cold. You can continue looking at magazines for clothes in different seasons, at different times of day, and at different places.

Head and Shoulders / Poetry in Rhythm

These games will help to grow the brains of infants and toddlers. Whether it’s through singing, dancing, cuddling, rocking, talking, smelling, or tasting, you can encourage the brain pathways to make new connections.

Music Activities



Head and Shoulders
Here is a new way to sing or say this popular song.
Head and shoulders baby, one, two, three
Head and shoulders baby, one, two, three
Head and shoulders
Head and shoulders
Head and shoulders baby, one, two three

Now say the words and do the actions.
Head and shoulders baby – touch your head and shoulders and clap on “baby.”
One – hold your right arm out straight to the side and clap once.
Two – hold your left arm out straight to the side and clap once.
Three – hold your right arm out straight to the side
Repeat Above
Next
Head and shoulders – do actions
Head and shoulders – do actions

Back to the Beginning

You can say this chant with any two body parts. Knees and ankles, nose and hips, etc.
Start slowly and go faster and faster.
 
Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – "Let’s say the chant together and do the actions."

For developing the idea – "I’ll name a part of the body and you show me where it is."

For moving forward - "What are some other parts of the body that we could say in our chant?"

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Poetry in Rhythm
Music teaches the rhythm of language.

When you sing, you put vowels and consonants in a rhythmic pattern which enhances language.

Young children recognize words, sounds, rhythms, tones and pitches long before they talk, sing or dance. So, the more music your child has in her life, the better she will speak and read.

The following game develops rhythm through speech and develops wonderful listening skills.

Select a favorite poem or song.

I have chosen “Baa Baa Black Sheep” for this example.
Ask the children to “echo” what you say.

Adult - Baa, baa, black sheep
Children - Baa, baa, black sheep
Adult - Have you any wool?
Children - Have you any wool?
Adult - Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
Children - Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full.
Say each line and accent the first word.
BAA baa black sheep,
HAVE you any wool?

Now say two lines ..."Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?"

Let the children say the next two lines, “Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full."

Think of interesting ways to say tor sing the words for the children to copy.

Speaking rhythmically is a wonderful pre-reading skill.

Ideas for taking this activity to the next level:
For building confidence – I’ll say some words and you copy what I say. (use the same or a different song.)

For developing the idea – This time I’m going to sing a song just using the word “la.” See if you can copy me.

For moving forward – You sing a song and I will copy you.

Products from Discount School Supply® that I recommend:
Multicultural Velour Soft Babies - set of 4 (ALL4BY)
Green Toys Pizza Parlor Set - 27 pieces (GRNPIZZA)
Musical Scarves Movement Set - 19 pieces (DANCESET)