Fun Start: An idea a week to maximize your baby’s potential from birth to age 5

listening skills

an awareness of the parts of the face

skill in associating different parts of the face

Cut a picture of a baby’s face from a magazine or draw a face and show it to the baby. Point to the left eye on the picture of the face and say,‘Eye’. Gently touch the baby’s left eye and then touch your left eye and say the word eye again. Follow the same procedure for the right eye, the nose, the mouth, the left and right ears and the hair. Repeat this activity several times or until the baby loses interest.

Throughout the week and whenever possible, stress the parts of the face. If the baby seems confused, spend several days on the eyes, then progress and spend several days each on the nose, mouth, ears and hair. When the baby is confident, encourage him to point to or touch a part of the face on command. Clap your hands and use good voice inflection to motivate the baby’s interest and give him confidence.

Point to pictures of faces in magazines and books whenever possible and allow the baby to point to the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair of each face. This will enable the baby to associate the facial parts in pictures, as well as those in real life.

Home Sounds (#ulink_02f79944-b21e-5bb6-b6b2-59c7e3341349)

This activity develops

an awareness of home sounds

skill in associating home sounds with the correct object

verbal stimulation to imitate the sounds of home objects

listening for a purpose

Stress one familiar home sound each day throughout the week. For example, you may choose the washing machine sound. Exaggerate the sound verbally, and encourage the baby to imitate the sound that you make. Listed below are some suggestions that you can use in making some home sounds. Many other sounds may be added to this list.

washing machine—‘swish, swish’

dryer—‘mmmmmm’

telephone—‘ring, ring, ring’

dishwasher—‘squish, squish’

vacuum cleaner—‘zzzzzz’

electric saw—‘brr, brr’

electric drill—‘drr, drr’

person walking—‘clip, clop’

door bell—‘ding, dong’

car—‘brm, brm’

Over (#ulink_b7a52432-7ade-5524-8cdc-6bc3e1891f8e)

This activity develops

an awareness of the concept ‘over’

eye-hand coordination

association skills

vocabulary enrichment

independence

confidence

Cut some cardboard into five pieces that are approximately 8 × 12 centimetres or assemble five plastic lids to use for this activity. Select five simple, colourful pictures of things such as a ball, a house, a bird, a baby and a dog. Glue the pictures to one side of each card or lid. Place them on a flat surface in a row with all of the pictures facing up. Begin on the left side and turn the first picture over. As you turn it over, say the word‘over’and tell the baby the name of the picture that is on the card or lid. Do the same for the other four pictures, keeping them in a row. Tell the baby that you have turned all of the pictures over. Then ask the baby to find the pictures. If the baby does not seem to understand, slowly turn the first picture on the left over and again say the word ‘over’. Tell the baby that you have turned the card or lid over to find the picture. Encourage the baby to turn the second card over. Stress the word‘over’and tell the baby the name of what is on that picture. Praise the baby for any positive response and encourage him to turn the others over to find the other pictures. Repeat this activity several times. Allow the baby to continue to do this activity alone, providing there is still some interest in it.

For additional interest, other pictures may be substituted for this activity. Choose simple, colourful pictures with little detail. Tell the baby the name of each picture before turning it over. Use only a few pictures at a time to avoid confusing the baby. This will help to increase the baby’s vocabulary, as well as teach him the spatial concept of ‘over’.

In and Out (#ulink_4095c660-e66f-50bc-8b85-43c7090f6e4d)

This activity develops

language development in naming objects

enhances the sense of touch

eye-hand coordination

an awareness of the concepts ‘in’ and ‘out’

independence

confidence

Place five objects such as a block, a cup, a spoon, a small stuffed or plastic animal and a favourite small toy in front of the baby. Name the objects one at a time and allow the baby to hold and touch each one before you place it in a shoe box.

Remove the block from the box and hand it to the baby. Tell the baby that you took the block out of the box. Stress the word‘out’. Instruct the baby to put the block back in the box. Emphasise the word‘in’. Repeat this for the cup, spoon, animal and toy.

After all of the objects are back in the box, encourage the baby to find the block in the box and hand it to you. If he does not understand, pick up the block and hand it to the baby as you say the word‘block’. Tell the baby that the block is out of the box. Be sure to use the word‘out’. Ask the baby to say the word‘block’if he can. Then instruct him to put the block back in the box. Next, tell the baby to take the cup out of the box and give it to you. (Give only one command at a time to avoid confusion. Two commands can be given when the child is more secure with this activity.) Continue to encourage the baby to take one of the objects out of the box, name it, and then instruct the baby to put it back in the box. Stress the words ‘in’and ‘out’and praise the baby for any positive response that he makes.

The baby can be encouraged to play independently with the objects in the box. For further interest, other objects may be used in the box. Remember to use only a few objects at a time. Too much clutter confuses babies.

PART II (#ulink_b4339029-a9da-5ed1-aef0-7371f9fb478d)

(One—Two Years) (#ulink_d12780c8-1d28-59d9-8ed5-7a623eb58946)

The child at age one is beginning to display signs of independence, but she still needs much supervision and guidance. It is important to capture the right moment to introduce the suggested activities to stimulate the child. Planning an exact time each day is not recommended, because young children are not time clocks.Your child may sense regimentation and display negative behaviour.

Try to understand your child by observing her daily patterns of behaviour. Notice when your child seems to be looking for something to do. It could be in the early morning or after a nap in the afternoon. It depends on when she wants to be stimulated with something special.

It is important to be aware that a child of this age has a very short attention span and may not be able to complete a suggested activity at a chosen time. These activities need to be repeated for further stimulation at various times over an extended period of time. The child will develop self-confidence and independence as she becomes aware of her immediate environment.