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ACTIVITY => Activity Time & Toddler Activity => Topic started by: Nikki~Nathanamp;Danielle on February 14, 2006, 00:38:53 am
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Feel free to add any ideas you have. If you have a question about activity time, please create a new post outside of this post. The activities listed are just ideas on what you can start working on, it's by no means an expectation that your lo will be able to do them all at this stage - it's just something interesting they can be introduced to ie. stacking blocks, posting shapes, making sounds etc.
Stacking blocks/balls/rings
Posting items into different containers with different size holes
Shape blocks put into slots
Rolling balls
Reading
Making lots of noise - xylophone, electronic music toys, banging blocks, metal bowls etc
Teach how to go down stairs and off couchs/beds backwards
Push type toys
Walk behind trolleys
Making animal sounds and match it up with toy animals
Exploring their outside environment - grass, leaves, trees, flowers
Name everything you offer as food, where you're going, the car, door, keys etc and if you want to do sign-language, it's a good time to do it.
A lot of activity time will likely be through moving around their environment (crawling, standing, climbing), so most of the household providing it's safe will likely make up the majority of a baby's day at this age.
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Ok here is my list ;D
-Everyone loves bubbles whether it's with the hand held shapes or a bit of detergent or something in a cup with a bit of water and food dye your sure to have some fun.
-Puzzles just use simple wooden puzzles or magnetic boards that can have shapes, colours, transport, animals, etc.
-Exploring helps build your lo sensory and cognitive awareness. One listening exercise, for instance, is as simple as finding an area where your baby can hear a number of different sounds. Inside you might hear the fridge, phone, tv or outside can be birds, leaves rustling, wind chimes. Call his attention to the sounds, point in the right direction, and tell him what they are.
-Hand painting is always fun but better of outdoors
-Swinging helps baby to trust people but make sure it's a secure seat recommended for your child's age.
-Building sandcastles baby learns to use utensils by herself with the pouring practice and it's fun to knock them over and start again.
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Now thomas is cruising a lot we find he really enjoys playing with an activity table....... it combines his 3 favorite things, standing, exploring flaps/ pressing buttons and making his toys play agrevating tunes to drive ME up the wall ;) Still its worth the anoying songs to see him having fun!
He also has a bookshelf in the corner full of his toys, he loves to crawl over to it and pull himself up (its sturdy and firmly attached) and either choose a toy to play with, or just pull them all out. He tends to giggle and shake his head as he does this (i think he thinks hes getting away with something naughty) but it stops him feeling tempted to reck "our" bookshelves (where the books are pretty tightly packed to prevent tiny hand pulling them out easily!) as well as giving him a sense of indipendance and choice.
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balls and cups are a big hit. she loves nothing better than putting balls into cups and then taking them back out again. and of course the cups stack into towers which appeals to her destructive side.
recently she has got bored with her toys (she must sense there are new ones coming for her birthday next week :)) so I put them all in boxes and she has loved getting them out and putting them back again.
and of course there are books; we have them all lined up on the floor in the corner so she can go over, select a book and bring it to me to read to her - perfect!
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Do you all have any suggestions for creative play (coloring, fingerpainting) - other ideas like this? My lo is constantly teething & tries to put crayons & paint in his mouth. I'd like to be able to just let him "free" play but with these things, it seems I'm contantly telling him "no" - which I don't want to do...any ideas? He's already walking, if that makes any difference. Thanks!
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I second the activity table idea! This has been a fabulous addition to our house. Anything that allows him to stand is a plus!
We also have shelves/drawers that are just for Owen to play with. Like PP, Owen thinks he's getting away with something naughty, and has a grand time pulling things off, putting them back, biting them, etc.
Peek a boo! Always a great game, but now HE starts the game. We spend a lot of time playing peek a book in crib and playpen. While mama works, he hides, and waits for me to see him! Another great game is taking stuffed animals and hiding them under the bed, then having them "peek-a-boo" from under the covers!
Obstacle course: placing safe pieces of furniture at various distances from one another, and allowing LO to cruise to heart's content. Change the arrangement, and then let him go again!
Puppets - this seems to be very fun for LO right now. He's fascinated by a talking puppet.
Throwing things. LO enjoy testing gravity. find a safe place and safe things to throw. I give Owen lots of plastic cups, containers etc, and let him toss them into the bathtub (empty) to his heart's content! Gives me time to clean!
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Do you all have any suggestions for creative play (coloring, fingerpainting) - other ideas like this? My lo is constantly teething & tries to put crayons & paint in his mouth.
I second this question, Dom puts everything in his mouth so I wouldn't dare him him a crayon or anything yet. He's 9 1/2 months now and pulling himself to standing but not quite cruising yet.
Thanks
x
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I think most kids need to wait closer to 18 months before they can start those kind of artistic projects.
Our artistic endeavors consist mostly of ripping up magazines right now! ;D That's pretty fun for LO!
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I third the activity table! It is a big hit in my house :) Also, I have an old tissue box which I fill with whatever I can find (canning lid, baby spoon, whatever..) and he LOVES sticking his hand in the plastic slit and pulling out new stuff. I change up the 'toys' every couple of days. Also, we often go for rides in the laundry basket! I tie an old belt to it and pull him around. He also loves to take everything out of his dresser drawers :)
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Oh I love the laundry basket idea that sounds like loads of fun.
I'll give it a try thanks
Sal
(p.s. wonder if dh could pull me around in it...!?!)
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I think most kids need to wait closer to 18 months before they can start those kind of artistic projects.
Our artistic endeavors consist mostly of ripping up magazines right now! ;D That's pretty fun for LO!
Try using Pudding on paper instead of paint. This allows the baby to artistic but if they happen to eat it it is ok!
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Try using Pudding on paper instead of paint. This allows the baby to artistic but if they happen to eat it it is ok!
Or (read somewhere recently) add food coloring to yogurt.
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Great ideas everyone. Thanks! ;D
We got out somewhere at least once a day. We usually go to an indoor play ground in the mall or at Chick-fil-A. It gives her time to explore new environments and if there are others there than she gets to socialize. she is normally the youngest one when we go out but it gives her great motivation watching the older kids. She loves to observe and watch others so going out is great for her.
Loving this age! :D
Melissa
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same here! I can't stay in the house all day! Hayden gets way too bored!! (AMAZING with all of his toys! ::) ) we love the indoor playgrounds and pools. We are also involved in sign language classes. He loves beign around other kids. He learns new things from them and gains more skills each time.
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I was at a music group today and they used chiffon scarves, blowing into them to make them float and letting the kids run about with them. They loved it - going to get some myself...easy to store, easy to clean and great fun - even with very little babies in the house as well could make a good interactive toy for the older baby to play with with the little one.
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Playing with food. Instead of putting his food in a bowl, I put it on his high chair table. He mashes it up in his hands, swirls it round, some of it goes in his mouth, much of it in his hair, but he has a rare old time while I'm getting dinner ready for everyone else!
What works well - yoghurt, stewed fruit, raisins, chopped up spagetti in tomato sauce, banana, oat cakes, cheese.
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The cheapest toy ever.
My LO loves to crawl through boxes and close and open the flaps. He also likes to crawl on the boxes for a different feeling (kinda springy)
I taped three boxes together and he loves to crawl through his tunnel. :) I taped the long flaps from one box to the other. I didn't tape the short ones because I can lift them up and peek inside or grab him and tickle him. The ends are left untouched so we can close them and have him open them. He just loves this toy. I could barely get the third box taped on. He was having so much fun with the first two. It is not very sturdy so I have it propped between a wall and our Luv Sac. He can also pull himself up on it and it folds flat. I can send a pictures if anyone wants to see.
PS. The cats love this toy too but not so much when LO is playing in it. ;D
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Oh my gosh! I have found the best toy!
The 36-pack of toilet paper you get at the warehouse stores make amazing "blocks." You can even build a whole fort with them! : )
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My lo is 12 months and LOVES to pull laundry off the couch and play in it (while I'm trying to fold it!!). We also have some storage boxes from Ikea with lids where we store outside stuff like hats, gloves - she loves opening them and pulling stuff out, and even putting things back in. Peekaboo is a grand game, I do it sometimes while in her highchair after she eats. I throw a tea towel over her head and then hide below or behind - and surprise her when she pulls it off. Get a ton of laughs! She also loves when I run and hide, comes after me and laughs when I peek out at her.
Question on the toilet paper - does it unravel or get ruined? My lo puts everything in her mouth and I'd fear her gnawing some paper bits?
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Re: the TP... we get the TP from Costco and each roll comes individually wrapped so no trouble with the biting. Perfect!
I can't wait for the biting stage to be over; I feel like there are so many things we don't do just because DS will bite everything. : )
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Yup, I hear you - wish she's put more food in her mouth and not other stuff!
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Denisei your comment cracks me up. We build (Costco) paper towel towers. There are times rolls of paper towels are found in the toy box or in the (another) toy room. Well meaning adults visitors will bring the paper towels to the kitchen. My lo will protest. The adults get very confused until we explain they are toys of course! ;)
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I'm really struggling with what to DO with my 9 month old all day. There is only sooooo long and so many days in a row that he wants to play with toys, play tickle me, etc etc. He is VERY sprited, into EVERYTHING, and I can't do ANYTHING in the day while he is awake. Sigh. I'm soooooooooooo tired!
So, what does your daily "play" look like with your 9 month old? Any suggestions?
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I wrote this post to share with others way back in 2006 when DS was 9-10 months old what we did to keep him busy. He started walking at 10.5 months and is spirited and busy. So this is what I write in blue. Hope it helps. Brings a tear to my eye, I miss those days. I even had a pic of him on his obstacle course in this thread, he was so cute with his nappy sticking out of his onesie... :'( :-*
I set up an obstacle course for Nello with baskets of surprises and many things are from around the house. I change it every week to keep it fresh. I made the living room in a circle, so I use chairs to block out openings so he stays in his course. It contains this:
Book area: On our coffee table I put books with flaps or pop ups, he loves opening and closing these flaps. He stands and does this with the books.
Ball area: I put small plastic balls, a semi deflated beach ball, a large rubber ball and a plush ball. Different tactile experiences with balls.
Wheel area: Cars, trains, wheel barrel, small plastic wagon--he loves wheeling these or just playing with the wheels
Basket #1: Lids from yogurt containers, spatula, wooden spoon, an old VCR remote control, an old phone that doesn't work, an empty washed out shampoo bottle, skipping rope, sheer scarves, plastic measuring cups (this weeks play stuff, like I said I change it!)
Basket #2: Plush toys, building blocks, plastic numbers and letters, stacking toys, a fisher price doctors kit (he loves this and I highly recommend it-it has a stethoscope, tweezers, needle, fake plasters etc... all baby proof and nothing to swallow, he mostly just chews them and handles them, but loves crawling/walking around with them for some reason.)
Cruising area: The couch with the lambskin, towels, blankets, pillows on it. He cruises around and loves to pull these things on and off of the couch.
Activity Table: This is an old toy passed down from friends with an older child. It is a play table with various "bells and whistles" things to turn and play, has music etc...I include a pic of him with it below.
He loves the baskets and mostly enjoys, taking things out an putting back in. I get involved and play too or just let him get to it and take advantage of being able to tidy etc...
I made one outside too- A toddler slide and climbing thingy, a wagon that I pull him around with or he mostly plays with the straps and the wheels, my exercise ball, a kiddy pool filled with balls or sometimes I put a wee bit of water -not much and let him have a splash with various sand/water plastic toys I got at Woolies back in June-like a spade, pail, rake etc...
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that obstacle course sounds pretty amazing, i could try some of that on a much smaller scale, but my 9.5mth old is just so uninterested in toys-even measuring cups kind of toys. anything keeps his attention for only a couple of minutes, then all he wants to do is explore. which is fine in a sense but i think he's realised that he has explored all there is to explore in our flat so now he is basically bored. so he just follows me about but isn't particularly interested in anything i give to occupy him, he just grabs onto my legs and wants to be picked up. but even then i have to be standing since when i sit with him he just wiggles. any ideas?????????????
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He sounds like a normal spirited boy to me and very clever! I am blessed with one and they are so much fun. Try a small scale obstacle course and it is normal to only be interested in something for a couple of minutes. The nice thing about the course, it is exploring, change it up once in a while. It is a bit of a mess after, like cushions, blankets etc..all over, but hey he needed (needs) to be busy.
Another very successful activity for us was to stand him at a chair (with you) at the sink and let him play with kitchen utensils etc...in the water, slashing about.
A x
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just wanted to say thankyou for the sink idea.
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Hey all...my 9mo is not mobile yet, he can roll around and is trying to push up onto all fours but he's a very big boy (takes after his Daddy) on the 98th centile for height and weight so i think this is impeding his ability to lift his own weight loL!
He gets very bored of his toys and we do go out once a day but I was wondering if anyone has any genius ideas to keep a non mobile 9mo (who is frustrated and desperate to move) amused? So far these are the sorts of things I play with him:
Treasure basket full of baby-safe random household objects (he's now bored of this despite rotating the objects!!)
Sit him in laundry basket (will try dragging him around with a belt that made me chuckle)
hiding teddy under/behind objects and popping him out where DS doesn't expect!
Bouncing on the exercise/gym ball ( a real favourite)
standing at his bedroom drawers and pulling all his clothes out then putting them in again
bashing plastic cups together
Going on the swings/baby slide at the park
Swimming
I'm after more ideas for play at home. Already read a couple of good ones. I can't wait for him to be mobile so I can try some of the other stuff I read here! What a super thread :D
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I don't know if you have pets but what always has (and still does) made LO laugh is to have the cats chase a laser pointer or even a flashlight. He (and we) think it's funny and LO will laugh at this for hours. Now that he is older, I let him play with the pointer but I watch him carefully so he doesn't point it at his eye.
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Some great ideas here! Love the tissue box idea and will be doing that tomorrow with DS. Also, the pudding painting idea! Great!
I learnt about Treasure Baskets a couple of years ago while I was working with disadvantaged kids. If you Google "Treasure Baskets", and particularly uTube has some excellent stuff, you can find out all about them. It is the perfect activity for a child who is just sitting up but not yet moving around. You can put it together yourself and then simply sit back and watch them explore. It's the most beautiful thing! You find a good sturdy wicker basket and then fill it with objects, from around the home (or go to chemists, pet stores, hardwares, craft stores etc) that are ONLY made from natural materials. It's a lovely contrast to the usual plastic brightly coloured toys they otherwise play with (which do not really have vastly different textures, temperatures, tastes or weights). The two most important things to remember are - firstly, this is your baby's activity not yours, sit back and observe and be present, but don't pass objects to your baby - let him/ her choose what to pick up and what to do with it, and secondly, only have natural materials in the basket. Once you get going, you will look at everything you see in terms of a treasure basket I promise!
A basket could contain:
* Natural objects – fir cones, big shells, large walnuts, pumice stone, cork, fruit: apple, lemon
* Objects made from natural material – woollen ball, little baskets, brushes (test bristles are firmly attached)
* Wood – rattles, spoons, egg cups, bowls, pegs, napkin rings
* Metal – spoons, tin lids, tea strainer, garlic squeezer, bunch of keys, chains (bath chain is a good one)
* Odds and ends – little notebooks, small leather/ silk/ wool or cotton purses, small cardboard boxes, inside of kitchen rolls.
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I gave my 10 month LO some spiral pasta (uncooked) and a few plastic containers, he had a great time transfering it from one to the other. Sometimes I count as he passes it around containers, he loved it! He did try puttng it into his mouth once, but quickly decided the taste wasnt worth it. I gave him a bunch of straws too and some long bottle like containers with a wide neck. He had diffuclty putting it in, but it seemed to occupy him for quite a while.
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Awesome ideas!! My DD is 9.5 months and seems to enjoy other people more than she does me sometimes!! I go to different toddler groups a few times a week and she loves the big kids! Sometimes, I put a big bowl full of water on the kitchen floor and she just splashes in it...it's either that or the dogs water dish!! It's easy to clean up and she loves it. It also takes away one step for cleaning the floors!
Sarah
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Anyone know of any good places for play dates in central london please post here
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=173155.0
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Lots of great ideas here.... just posting on to pop it on the unread thread to see if anyone has anything to add... my DS is almost 10ms Sits well, doesnt crawl or pull to stand but will walk around furniture. We are moving towards a 4 hour A time, and eating effectively in under 30min now... so loads of time to try to be busy. We have very minimal toys in our home and play group is only once/week here. All suggestions welcome.
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Bumping this old thread up. Some really great ideas I was looking for.