This is a very popular baby game which you may already know. Hold the baby's hand as you slowly trace a circle
Round and round the garden
Like a teddy bear
One step, two steps
Tickly under there
Use your finger to take the one step to his elbow. Then the second step to his shoulder. Then tickle under the shoulder or chin saying "tickly under there".
Almost all traditional childhood games encourage co-ordination – climbing, cycling, music, dancing, skating, football.
You can begin to help your baby learn to use his body now:
by giving him a variety of objects to play with
by keeping guard until he grasps, climbs, feeds and dresses with confidence
Here's a great game for co-ordination:
make some playdough from flour for a wonderful diversion some long afternoon (he's too young for bought playdough)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup water
2 teaspoons oil
1 tsp salt
mix to a dough
Let your baby play with it. Encourage him to
pat it
squeeze it
roll it
The odd taste of fresh dough wont hurt him. At the end of his first year introduce tools. Get him to watch you
cut or saw a sausage of playdough into pieces
pick them up with pliers or tongs
put them in a pile
put them in a row
hammer them flat
Tweek his nose gently with this rhyme
What gave you that jolly red nose
What gave you that jolly red nose
Nutmeg and cinnamon, ginger and cloves
That's what gave you that jolly red nose
Look at this nursery rhyme. Tell it later, in your own words.
The queen of hearts made some tarts
All on a summer's day
The knave of hearts he stole the tarts
And took them clean away
The king of hearts
Called for the tarts
And beat the knave full score
The knave of hearts brough back the tarts
And vowed he'd steal no more
Light nature study is an interesting way to help babies and young children appreciate time and order. You can call your baby's attention each day to the swelling of a plant bud and examine the final bloom.
Hide a toy or item from your baby's sight. Enthusiastically search for it — finding the toy
in his lap
under the chair
in his mug
between his toes
Babies only enjoy balancing and disappearance of the toy, but will usually listen in anticipation.
Avoid the situation where every enthusiasm or positive interest the baby has goes unnoticed.
Watch for opportunites to teach control. eg. one day your baby may bang the tray or chair with his spoon as he waits for food. Very soon this first awkward bang will be with gusto and enthusiasm. Take advantage of the initial bang. Make a funny noise "eek you frightened me". Reward him with some play or drama like this if he bangs once. Refuse if he bangs more than once.This is more than just play. You are asking him to think.
