Activities

Cut four holes in a small cardboard or tissue box, and feed ribbon through the holes. Be sure to knot the end of the ribbon so it doesn't come all the way out. Model for the infant during play time how to pull the ribbon.

Lay a young infant on his/her stomach on the floor. Place an object or another infant in front, and encourage the infant to lift his/her head to look at the object or each other.

Lay awake, alert infant on his/her stomach on the floor. Lay on your stomach facing the infant. Talk to the infant and encourage eye contact and cooing while participating in tummy time together.

Put several dollops of fingerpaint on a piece of paper and seal it in a zip-top plastic bag. Secure with masking tape on a hard surface. Lay the infant close enough so that he/she can reach the paper and spread the paint.

Create tummy time mats using textured fabrics such as silk, velvet, leather or vinyl. Encourage the infant to touch and feel the fabrics. Use descriptive language for each one. Say, “Joshua, you are using your hands to touch the velvety fabric.

Use  the dramatic play area to create a tunnel with eight to 10 child-sized chairs and one large blanket. Place half the chairs in a row on one side of the carpet and place the other half parallel, with the backs of the chairs to each other.

Place a tunnel on a soft surface stretching it out straight so that you can see through the whole tunnel. Tell the children to crawl through the tunnel, one at a time, to the other side as a free choice activity.

During closing group, sing the following song to the tune of “Mary Had A Little Lamb”:
What did you do at school today?
School today? School today?
What did you do at school today?
Turn and tell a friend.

Read Good Night, Moon by Margaret Wise Brown to the infants. This is a great choice to read before naptime. Establishing a routine of reading before nap is a wonderful ritual for infants.

As you are reading to a small group of children, sing this song when you reach the end of a page. To the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb”:
Now it's time to turn the page,

Turn the page, turn the page.

Provide an opportunity for the children to tell you what is happening on their favorite TV shows.

Use the dramatic play area to set up a TV weather studio with a large U.S. or world map, pointers, dress-up clothes and books about weather.

Read the book Twelve Snails to One Lizard: A Tale of Mischief and Measurement by Susan Hightower. After reading the story, ask the children what else Beaver could have used to measure logs.

During large group story time, introduce the children to the idea of twin texts, a fiction and nonfiction book on the same subject. Read Stellaluna by Janell Cannon's and then read Bats by Celia Bland.

Sing this song to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"
Twinkle, twinkle traffic light,
Round the corner shining bright,
Red means stop, Green means go,
Yellow means very, very, slow.

Tune: "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" Twinkle, twinkle traffic light 
Round the corner shining bright
Red means stop and green means go
Yellow means go very slow
Twinkle, twinkle traffic light

Sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” with the infant. Hold the infant's hands to teach the motions.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Play the game Twister in the block center. Explain the rules and instruct the children to take turns as the referee, operating the spinner and calling moves.

Twister is a classic game for helping children develop balance and a sense of space. Make sure you have two Twister mats so the children have plenty of room to move around. This can be done in small group.

During small group, have the children play the game Twister but when they move make them verbalize their movements such as, “I am going under John's arm to put my hand on top of the green circle.