Activities

Select stories to read that have accompanying sounds. Read Freight Train by Donald Crews. Encourage the children to make train sounds as you read the story. This book also comes as a board book.

Encourage the children to sort dramatic play foods by food group or to use the food to make “healthy plates.

Add cotton balls and chopsticks to the paint easel for the children to use instead of brushes in the art center.

Add cotton balls and chopsticks to the paint easel for the children to use instead of paint brushes in the art center.

Add small plates, chopsticks and Styrofoam® peanuts to the sensory center table for the children to pick up and put on a plate.

Under close supervision, provide wooden chopsticks and a bowl holding cut pieces of yarn. Demonstrate how to pick up the “noodles” using the chopsticks. Then have the children use the chopsticks to attempt to pick up the “noodles.

Provide chopsticks and encourage the children to eat with them instead of traditional utensils. You may want to secure the chopsticks together with rubberbands to make this task easier.

Add the book Chores, Chores, Chores by Salina Yoon to the reading center area.

Sit facing a small group of children. Have one child start by saying, "One." Point to each child in turn and have him/her say the next number in the sequence. Start slowly, and be prepared to give lots of prompts.

Place several soft books on the rug. Encourage the infant to choose the book he/she wants. As the infant explores the book, say, "You're looking at bunnies," or "Look, there's a carrot.

Draw approximately 20 dots on a sheet of poster board. Provide a child with a marker. Call out a number and encourage the child to circle the related number of dots.

Have the children stand in a circle while you walk around them. Recite a nursery rhyme such as “Hickory Dickory Dock.” Tap a child's shoulder as you say the rhyming words “dock” and “clock.” The child that is tapped must then sit down.

Collect an assortment of large, circular lids for the infant to play with. They should be smooth, washable and large enough that they are not a choking hazard. Encourage the infant to explore the lids.

In the block center, add a local road map or a city map and small cars, and encourage the children to take a drive around their community.

Listen and watch

I'm going to count

One, two

One, two

One, two (clapping hands)

Can you clap and count with me?

Play the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Have the children clap along to the song. Clap high and low, fast and slow, or soft and loud.

Read the book Clap Your Hands by Lorinda Bryan Cauley, and have the children mimic the movements as you read. You can change things up by reading the book slowly and then faster.

Show the infant how to clap while saying or singing, "Clap, clap, clap your hands. Clap your hands together." Doing this often will allow the children to begin to imitate the motion of clapping.

Encourage the children to sing this song by Ella Jenkins and follow your motions.
Clap and clap and clap and STOP!

(On STOP, hold your hands up, palms facing forward.

In large group, begin a clap/stomp movement pattern and encourage the children to join in. Add a third movement if the children are ready. Ask the children to think of movements such as jumping or patting their knees.