Activity and toy ideas for 6-9mths

[Nikki~Nathanamp;Danielle]

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.
Object permanence is starting to kick in now, this is where they realise that something or someone still exists even when they can't see it.  So peek a boo, rolling a ball behind an item and you'll see baby start to predict it coming out the other side etc.

Stacking blocks/cups
Rolling a ball back and forwards
Banging things - metal bowls, xylophone
Action songs that encourage clapping, waving etc
Baby sign language is a good time to start
Towards 9mths you can teach your baby to take and put things back into containers
Balls can be posted in toys that have slots and ramps
More cause and effect type toys are useful
Reading
Tummy time/encouragement to crawl
Peek a boo games

[*Natasha*]

My DD loves her jolly jumper she would stay in it all day if i let her.I usually put her in it at the end of the day before bath time as that is when she is at her crankiest

Outline of our day is:

7-8.30am - Breakfast/Bottle
8.30am - 9.15am - Time in her activity centre (she can stand in this and it rotates around with activities around it) then some time on her own playing.
9.15am - Quiet time with Mum change clothes sleep 9.30am for 1.5hrs
11am - 12pm - Tummy time/Practice our crawling
12-1pm - Lunch/Bottle
1-2pm - Sit on couch quiet play/Practice sitting
2pm - Sleep 1.5hrs
3.30-4.30pm - Go with the flow depends on her mood
4.30-5pm - Dinner
5-5.45pm - Play time with Mum
5.45-6pm - Jolly Jumper time (she loves this)
6-6.30pm - Bath time with Daddy
6.30-7pm - Bottle and bed
Hope this is useful to people 

[alison toms mum]

  Tom really loves toys he can handle , and move parts on... so toys with movable parts are really good (activity boards etc) he much preferes these to toys that "play themselves" (he has several toys that play songs that he just ignores!)

  Also a variation on pikaboo tgat he loves is me hiding behind a door and jumping out (a bit more tireing... and prob not one for touchy babies!)

  This is a great age for swimming (if your doc oks it) aswell. Tom loves the water and will splash, and try to "swim" to get to toys floating in the swimming pool. He fings swimming liberating as he cant move around on dry land yet!! (we go to a local mother and baby group which is really good if you dont know what to do with your LO in the pool!! )

[galaxie81]

I just copied this from another one of my posts but will update it as I find more activities 

-Fill containers or bottles with lids strapped on filled with dry pasta, beads for a cheap rattle
-Dumping out toys have a big plastic container with a wide opening to fill with smaller toys.  Your lo will be able to put toys in and dump them out
-Play ball.  Roll a medium sized ball to lo so that they can get used to stopping it with their hands or roll it just beyond baby so they have to move to get it.
-Everyone loves bubbles and any child's favourite game from newborn to grandma's and grandpa's
-Movement songs or nursery rhymes eg clapping to BINGO, do the movements to twinkle twinkle little star
-Spotlight.  Just stretch brightly coloured tissue paper or a sheer scarf across a torch and attach it firmly with an elastic band.  Then play the coloured circle across the ceiling, your baby's toys and on the walls.  Try turning the light on and off quickly
-Drums.  Get out the saucepans and mixing bowls mums.  Use a wooden spon to hit the pans and bowls.
-Finger puppets, toy stores usually have some cheap finger puppets for play

[JennŠ]

Mine is into the chew the toy, drop the toy, mommy retrieves the toy, repeat game.  And trying to catch the kitties when they come by.

[Ennypen]

William had his 7-9 month assessment by our health visitor today. The little "tests" that she used could be used to help LOs to develop their skills so I thought Id add them here.

Firstly she gave William a small wooden block and watched as he handled it... she was looking to see whether he is developing his pincer holding skills and whether he could pass it hand to hand. As he's on the young end of the test period (not even 7 months for another 2 days) Will still "palms" things - touching them first with his palm and grabbing them with his whole hand rather than his fingers. She recommended that to develop the pincer skills he could be given some blocks that are small enough to handle but not so small they could be swallowed or we could encourage him to touch and handle the small parts on his activity toys. She also mentioned that he could practice this developing his skills with finger food such as his toast and slices of apple etc.

Secondly she held up a coloured pom pom and slowly moved it from side to side to see if Will would follow it with his eyes.. which he did brilliantly but getting LOs to watch toys as they are moved around would be good practice.

She spoke about the importance of sitting Will on the floor between my legs and allowing him to practice sitting on his own. Ive been doing this for ages and Will is a brilliant sitter. He also has a rubber ring to sit in to play but she said that although this is great when he plays on his own its better to have him sit and play out of it on the floor when Im with him.

Will bless him isn't rolling yet so Ive got to practice that with him , and encourage him to learn to stand on his feet flat to the floor as he is still trying to balet dance on his toes...

Thats about all I can remember from a very busy afternoon and assessment which he did really well at considering he is only 7 months - almost! Hope its some help to others.

H xx

[alison toms mum]

Heres a great activity if your LO can creep along on their tummy (crawlers may be a bit fast!!!)
Build a tower with blocks (we actually use old Jenger blocks!) on the oposite side of the room to your LO, and watch them "catterpiller" their way across the room th knock the tower down (Tom giggles as he does this!!) then move to a different part of the room!!
This is also a great way to amuse the men in your life!... DH, Dad and FIL all enjoy building the towers as much as DS loves knocking them down!!

DS also loves chasing the boom when i sweep up the living room floor (handy way to polish the floor aswell!!  )

[Pezali]

Addie loves blocks, instruments, and dancing.  Also, following the cat though this can be dangerous for both! 

[yaya]

very simple but very effective...buy soapy bubbles!!!! Got some yesterday and my 6 month old absolutely loves them!! He concentrates very hard on trying to catch them so im sur eits good for co ordinationa as well as concentration!!

[redscuba29]

Thank you all for the ideas. My little one is going to be a mover and a shaker.....He can roll over (sometimes) and is trying to crawl (oh, Jackson will be 6months next week). He really loves blocks, but I am going to use the stacking idea to see if he will wiggle to knock over the tower of blocks!
THanks again...I just want to be sure I am stimulating him enough!
BTW, how do you insert pics?

[gavinsmum]

Two games my DS loves in addition to many that you all mentioned...

DS laying on his back I hold up any small, soft toy or a receiving blanket or burp cloth.  Count to three then drop it.  He especially loves this with a burp cloth, because it floats down and lands over his face.  Then we say where's baby?  and he pulls it off to play peek-a-boo!

Also I put him lying down on a blanket, pick up the edge of the blanket enough to help him roll over without touching him.  This game is called tootsi rol.  He likes to roll from his back to belly - but it works both ways.

Have fun!

[KISMom]

My little one absolutely LOVES her bouncy chair.  She will bounce up and down it it for quite a while smiling nonstop. She also loves the crib piano.  She kicks the keys to make music or hear musical tunes.  She will be in her crib rolling, laughing and kicking her piano for hours if I let her.

[JanJ]

I have made some blocks out of 1 and 2 litre cartons, by cutting them down, inserting one inside the other and pasting lots of bright pictures and papers on them.  My 6 month old boy love to look at the pictures, and knock them down when I build them up for him.  I have also collected lots of different types of fabric/materials and put them in a box.  He enjoys feeling them and chewing them. 

[Lola]

LOL at Jenn. M does the same when the kitty comes by but kitty is too quick!
M loves her exersaucer. At the moment the only thing this one wants to do is crawl around. I turn my head and poof she's gone!!
Toys aren't holding much interest too busy I guess with the rest of the world, else has momma's attention span.
She gets baby einstein in the morning for about 20 min every other day or so. She loves that and smiles regularly when the dragon comes on. She loves hand puppets.
I emptied a TUMS bottle and sealed it. She loves to shake and throw that.
Paper..any wrinkly crunchy paper she can get her hands on (supervised of course) ..anything that is noisy .

[Colin Macs Mom]

DS utterly adores this... has for several months!