Infant Approaches to Learning
After completing an activity please fill out the Activity Completion Log.
“Where Did It Go? Looking and Touching”
What you’ll need:
1) Hand puppet or stuffed animal
2) Books
What you’ll do:
1) Hold the stuffed animal and talk to your baby as if the stuffed animal is talking
2) Put the stuffed animal behind your back and as “Where did it go?”
3) Let your baby look and find it
4) Let your baby try to hold the stuffed animal and hide it
Propping Up Your Baby
Place a pillow under your baby so that her tummy rests on it and her arms are out in front of her. This positions allows her to hold up her head and look around. Observe your baby carefully and help her if she slips. On the pillow she may push with her legs or roll sideways. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR BABY UNATTENDED DURING THIS ACTIVITY.
Place a few toys near her hands so that she can see and touch them. Try holding up a mirror in front of her. Notice how she watches the baby in the mirror.
Talk about the objects as she explores each one such as, “You’re looking at the yellow bunny rattle.”
Place objects in different positions around her to encourage her to practice moving her head to look at something to explore.
Let’s Go!
Make a texture book by putting different objects on sheets of paper and fasten the sheets together. Make a page with cotton, another page with sandpaper, and another with felt or ridged cardboard. Help your baby feel each page and talk about the way the materials feel. Put this book in your diaper bag for touching and reading while you wait at the doctor’s office.
Feel n Find (Sensory Box)
What you’ll need:
1) Empty cardboard box
2) Scissors
3) Construction paper
4) Tape
5) 3-5 baby toys (balls, hair brush, blocks, spoon, etc)
What you’ll do:
1) Cut one or two large holes into the cardboard.
2) Cut into construction paper and create fringe like material.
3) Tap the fringe construction paper over the holes.
4) Place toys inside the box.
5) Have your baby put their hands inside the box and feel around.
6) Ask your baby what they feel and let them pull out the objects. Talk to them about the different textures of each toy and what makes them different.
7) Change out toys and start all over!
Teaching Strategies
Primary Objectives
11b. Persists
I Do It, You Do
Why It’s Important
Children learn how objects work by watching other people use them. Showing your child something special about an object, demonstrating how it works, and letting her try it herself helps her learn how objects can be used.
Materials
An object that is unfamiliar to your child.
What You Do
1. Observe your child after you demonstrate how to use an object or after she watches you use something new.
2. Offer your child the opportunity to use the object. Ex. Would you like to push the button and make the animal pop out of the case?
3. .As she explores the object, acknowledge her play. Ex. You pressed the yellow button and the monkey popped up.
4. If your child has difficulty imitating your actions, she may hand the object back to you to show her again. Describe her actions. Ex. You gave me the toy so I can show you how to make the animals pop up.
5. Demonstrate the object again, and describe your actions. Ex. I press the button…and…up pops the elephant.
6. Encourage your child to try again. Repeat the game for as long as your child is interested.