Activities

One child (the "dog") sits with his/her back to the class.  Place an object, like a small block (the "bone"), under the chair.  While the dog is turned around, eyes closed, someone sneaks up, steals the bone and hides it in his/her lap.

Place the infant in a soft, comfortable area and provide a variety of dolls for him/her to explore. Point out body parts on the doll, such as eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands. As you name it, touch each part on the doll, the infant and yourself.

Gather a variety of small items – family members can help by sending in fast food give-aways, unused party favors or toys they want to recycle. Put the items in bins and price each bin $1-$5.

Play Peek-a-Boo using a small blanket and soft doll. Position the infant to observe when the doll is hidden with the blanket. Remove the blanket slowly while saying, “Peek-a-Boo.

Use the math center to show the children how to line the dominoes up in rows and then knock down the whole row by just pushing the first one. Start with single lines and progress to branching ones as the children have more experience.

Have a mat with vertical sections numbered zero to 12, and a set of dominoes. Have the children place the dominoes on the mat according to how many dots there are combined.

Use a cardboard box to make and decorate a “don't bug me” house outside, during outdoor time. A child can go in this “house” and take a moment to settle down when upset.

Look at BabyFirstMy Feelings: A Look at Me Book by BabyFirst.This book has faces with different emotions and a mirror for the infants to look at themselves.

There are many great books to encourage children to keep trying even when things get hard, such as The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper.

Select one of the Pigeon books by Mo Willems, such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Encourage the children to say familiar phrases.

Read one of the books from the Pigeon series such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. Encourage the children to imitate the pigeon as he pleads and begs to be allowed to drive the bus.

Before reading Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late by Mo Willems, help the children recall what happened in Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.

Attach a bell at the top of a hula-hoop. Hold the hula-hoop and have the children crawl through it without ringing the bell. To make it more challenging, attach two bells spaced a couple of inches apart.

Read Don't Turn the Page by Rachelle Burk. Talk about turning pages to see the rest of the story. Pass out books and encourage the children to turn the pages and show each other “what happens next.

Read Don't Turn the Page by Rachelle Burk. Talk about turning pages to see the rest of the story. Pass out books and encourage the children to turn the pages and show each other "what happens next.

You will need a large cube with different yet simple doodles drawn on each side. Give each child paper and either a marker or pencil. As you roll the cube, the children should copy the doodle on their papers.

You need a large cube with different yet simple doodles drawn on each side. Give each child paper and a marker or pencil. As you roll the cube, the children should copy the doodle on their papers.

After time in large group examining and discussing the pointillist work by artists such as Paul Signac, Camille Pissarro and Maximilien Luce, provide the children with paintbrushes useful for making small dots and encourage them to create their own p

Make a dot cube by covering a square tissue box with paper. Cut circles from black construction paper and glue them onto the cube. Make two sides with one dot, two sides with two dots and two sides with three dots.

Flash a dot card with zero to three dots on it. Flash the card for a few seconds then cover it up. Ask the children how many dots they saw and encourage them to give you a number.