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?