Fun Start: An idea a week to maximize your baby’s potential from birth to age 5 - June Oberlander R.

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develops

       an interest in playing a pretend game

       listening skills

       vocabulary

       visual skills

       association of the name and object of different things

      Use a piece of cardboard approximately 20 × 30 centimetres to draw an outline of a mirror with a handle. Cut a round hole where the glass mirror would ordinarily be in the frame. Look through the hole and pretend that it is a ‘magic’mirror. Look at the baby and say,‘I see (call the baby by name).’ The baby will delight in seeing your face peeping through the hole of the ‘magic’mirror. If other members of the family are present, pretend to see them in the ‘magic’mirror and call them by name. Use the ‘magic’ mirror and name objects in the room that are in clear view of the baby. For example,‘I see a table.’ Continue to do this as long as you have the baby’s attention. Good voice inflection will serve to retain the baby’s interest.

      Put the ‘magic’mirror up to the baby’s face. Make sure the baby is looking at you and say,‘(Baby’s name) sees Mummy’. Encourage the baby to hold the ‘magic’mirror and look at different things that you call by name. If he does not understand, show by touching the object and repeat its name. This activity teaches the baby the names of different things. Although he may attempt to say some of the words, he will probably just listen.

      This activity may seem ridiculous to you, but you are playing a game with your baby. The baby realises that a face and other objects can be seen through the hole of the magic mirror, and this fascinates him.

      As an extension of this activity, use the magic mirror at various times with the child up to age five or six to play the game ‘I Spy’. It can also be used when teaching a single colour, shape, size, number, letter or word.

       Faces

      This activity develops

       interest in playing a game

       skill in identifying family members

       association skills

       listening skills

      Glue a baby’s face that has been cut from a magazine onto one side of a piece of cardboard. It will be more interesting if you use a picture of your baby in a frame. Place the picture of the baby face down on the floor. Slowly turn the picture over and say,‘Peek-a-boo’. Put the picture face down again and repeat the activity. Continue doing this until the baby tries to turn the picture over by himself. Change the inflection of your voice as you say ‘peek-a-boo’or ‘Peep po!’each time that the picture is turned over. Continue doing this until the baby loses interest.

      At another time, place a picture of a family member’s face down on the floor and play the peek-a-boo game again. As you slowly turn the picture over to reveal the face say,‘Peek-a-boo, I see (use the family member’s name).’ Extend this activity by using pictures of other family members. In this way the baby will learn to associate the name with the correct picture. This will also help the baby learn to call the family members by name.

       Move and Roll

      This activity develops

       a further awareness of left and right

       enhancement of the sense of touch when the baby’s body is rolled, also when the ball is rolled

       eye-hand coordination

       motivation to increase attention span

       skill in playing a simple ball game with another person

       confidence

      Place the baby on the floor where there is a wide empty space. Lay the baby on his back and gently roll his body from left to right several times in succession. As you do this, talk to the baby and as he is being rolled say,‘Whee-ee,’or some other words to make the rolling activity more interesting. When you stop rolling the baby’s body, observe his reaction. Does he attempt to continue to roll himself, or does he appear to want to stop? If there is no further interest, try again later. This activity is important because it involves the coordination of many muscles. It also assists in reinforcing left and right laterality as the baby’s entire body is placed in motion from left to right.

      At another time, obtain a large ball that can be rolled easily to the baby. Sit on the floor and place the baby in a sitting position facing you. Roll the ball to the baby and encourage the baby to roll the ball back to you. Praise the baby for any positive response that he makes and continue with this activity as long as the baby appears interested. This is an activity that should be repeated often. It would also be beneficial for the baby to repeat some of the previous activities, especially those in which the baby showed little or no interest the first time.

       Poking

      This activity develops

       eye-hand coordination

       free choice exploration

       enhances the sense of touch

       an awareness of ‘rough’ and ‘soft’ textures

       confidence

      Obtain a small, smooth bottle cap. Make six holes in two polystyrene picnic plates by pressing the cap firmly on the plates. Be sure to press hard and twist the cap to make smooth holes in the plates. If the holes are ragged, use small sharp fingernail scissors to make the holes neat. Cut a large sheet of sandpaper the size of one plate and lay it inside one of the inverted plates so that the rough side faces the holes in that plate. Pack loose cotton, cotton balls or polystyrene on top of the smooth side of the sandpaper sheet. Place the other polystyrene plate facing down on top of the other plate. Staple or tape the two plates containing the sandpaper and cotton together.

      Poke your index finger in each of the holes on the sandpaper side. This is the rough side. Turn the connected plates over and poke your index finger at random in the holes on that side. This side feels soft. Encourage the baby to use his index finger to poke it in the holes at random. Show him both sides of the plates and allow him to feel and explore both sides independently.

      The baby may be reluctant to poke his finger in the holes. He may just look at it and let it be, and he may need some encouragement to poke his finger in the holes of the plate. If you have a Chinese Chequer board, the baby will probably enjoy poking his finger in the holes in it. It makes no difference if the baby chooses another finger for poking. Encouragement, praise and good voice inflection will serve to increase the baby’s interest. Use the words‘rough’ and ‘soft’as you talk to the baby. This will increase his understanding of these concepts.

       Drop It in a Container

      This activity develops

       eye-hand coordination

       enhances the sense of touch

       skill in following directions

       independence

       confidence

      Take a large empty can with a plastic lid and remove the metal piece from the bottom end with a can opener. Place masking tape on any rough or sharp edges. Trace and then cut

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