Default Style Register
Daycare.com Forum
Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Infant Activities...
williams2008 01:14 PM 06-24-2013
For those of you who care for infants what do you'll do with them during the day. Here we sing songs, floor play, etc.
Reply
lflick 01:26 PM 06-24-2013
I am following this as I often times feel like I do not do "enough"... then again I do not want to overstimulate them and create little bears either! Here we have floor play, jumperoos, swings, bouncy seats, lap time (during circle time), they observe our play time, songs, etc. I haven't run across an infant that was dissatisfied with this yet... with the exception of the one I posted about earlier.
Reply
williams2008 01:35 PM 06-24-2013
Originally Posted by lflick:
I am following this as I often times feel like I do not do "enough"... then again I do not want to overstimulate them and create little bears either! Here we have floor play, jumperoos, swings, bouncy seats, lap time (during circle time), they observe our play time, songs, etc. I haven't run across an infant that was dissatisfied with this yet... with the exception of the one I posted about earlier.
Sounds good! The 8 month old I was talking about in my earlier post, the dcm has made her some flash cards that she does with her at home. I don't know if she was hinting to me to start them with her here, but I just ignored it. Dcg sits in on our circle time as well.
Reply
spud912 01:56 PM 06-24-2013
Originally Posted by williams2008:
Sounds good! The 8 month old I was talking about in my earlier post, the dcm has made her some flash cards that she does with her at home. I don't know if she was hinting to me to start them with her here, but I just ignored it. Dcg sits in on our circle time as well.
Wow!!

I don't do anything above and beyond my normal infant care.....change diapers, feed, carry, tummy time, bouncy seats, read books, talk to and tickle, show and help the infant play with the toys. Other than that, they are casual observers to what I do with the older children. There is really absolutely nothing wrong with not "doing" anything with an infant besides good child care. One day (much later), they will become interested in circle time and educational activities...there is no use rushing it. I don't think flashcards at 8 months will produce an Einstein anymore than the care giver who just provides the essentials, TLC and interaction/observation.
Reply
Heidi 01:58 PM 06-24-2013
play play play play play!

Flashcards...ugh! Nooooooooooooooo...........

Sing, talk, interact, play play play. Rinse and repeat.
Reply
williams2008 02:03 PM 06-24-2013
Originally Posted by Heidi:
play play play play play!

Flashcards...ugh! Nooooooooooooooo...........

Sing, talk, interact, play play play. Rinse and repeat.
No flash cards for infants here!!!!
Reply
williams2008 02:07 PM 06-24-2013
Originally Posted by spud912:
Wow!!

I don't do anything above and beyond my normal infant care.....change diapers, feed, carry, tummy time, bouncy seats, read books, talk to and tickle, show and help the infant play with the toys. Other than that, they are casual observers to what I do with the older children. There is really absolutely nothing wrong with not "doing" anything with an infant besides good child care. One day (much later), they will become interested in circle time and educational activities...there is no use rushing it. I don't think flashcards at 8 months will produce an Einstein anymore than the care giver who just provides the essentials, TLC and interaction/observation.
By circle time, I mean they sit in on the singing of songs part anything other than that they are free to roam around.

I will not start flash cards with an 8 month old, dcm can continue to do that at home. I think that infants should play, play and more play!!
Reply
Starburst 10:31 PM 06-24-2013
IDK what DCM is thinking with flashcards- 8 month olds cant read!

Things you can do with babies of any age that helps their brains:
Sing, read, play, talk.

When you talk to them don't just talk in a patronizing 'baby talk' but like you would with older kids and adults: tell them about your day (the positives anyway), try to mimic their mannerisms and emotions, use a variety of vocabulary; nothing too difficult but just lots of synonyms instead of the same word all the time (we all tend to get into a "vocab rut"). Example: For the word 'good': great, super, awesome, amazing, positive, wonderful, fantastic, excellent, splendid, marvelous, spectacular, cool, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (lol okay maybe not the last one but you get the idea )

Peek-a-boo and patty-cake are actually really good games for babies. Peek-a-boo helps them with learning to understand object permanence (that things don't just "stop existing" when you cannot see it) and patty-cake helps them with gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

You can also try some simple baby sign (like milk, mommy/daddy, potty) so that they can try to communicate with you before they develop their speaking skills; as they get older emphasize that they need to use their words too to get what they want, but try to encourage the sign language too so they can continue to use it and develop it more. It also helps with both gross and fine motor skills.
Reply
Laurel 04:28 AM 06-25-2013
Originally Posted by spud912:
Wow!!

I don't do anything above and beyond my normal infant care.....change diapers, feed, carry, tummy time, bouncy seats, read books, talk to and tickle, show and help the infant play with the toys. Other than that, they are casual observers to what I do with the older children. There is really absolutely nothing wrong with not "doing" anything with an infant besides good child care. One day (much later), they will become interested in circle time and educational activities...there is no use rushing it. I don't think flashcards at 8 months will produce an Einstein anymore than the care giver who just provides the essentials, TLC and interaction/observation.


There is nothing my infants like better than watching the 'action' in the room.

Laurel
Reply
LK5kids 08:08 AM 06-25-2013
For kids that are not yet crawling I do infant sensory activities such as a texture mat I made of different types of cloth, visual tracking of a wide cloth ribbon or Mylar streamer-I also have rainbow ribbon wands that I use with the older kids I use for visual trackin with an infant, mirror time.

Baby exercises sung to traditional songs, quiter musical instruments that have softer sounds, if big enough to sit in a Bumbo they sit in circle during story time, of course tummy time, those wrist toys and slipper/bootie toys, looking at books with me, lap time, sitting next to them on the floor.

Blow bubbles they can watch, dance with them in my arms, shear or silky square scarves that can be used to toss and float down over them, used for peek-a-boo, or gently swirled over them for a sensory experience.

I usually do just one "extra" infant activity a day, besides everyday things like peek-a-boo. I don't want to over-stimulate them!

Of course Patty Cake, peek-boo, Wheels on the bus....signing, talking, clapping, talking to them when you change their diaper, soft lullaby music during napping, etc.

As they start to crawl they just venture out on their own and explore and play, play, play....they get in on all the singing, stories, rhythm and movement we do by osmosis by being in the general vicinity.
Reply
rosegallego 06:31 PM 06-26-2013
Originally Posted by Starburst:
IDK what DCM is thinking with flashcards- 8 month olds cant read!

Things you can do with babies of any age that helps their brains:
Sing, read, play, talk.

When you talk to them don't just talk in a patronizing 'baby talk' but like you would with older kids and adults: tell them about your day (the positives anyway), try to mimic their mannerisms and emotions, use a variety of vocabulary; nothing too difficult but just lots of synonyms instead of the same word all the time (we all tend to get into a "vocab rut"). Example: For the word 'good': great, super, awesome, amazing, positive, wonderful, fantastic, excellent, splendid, marvelous, spectacular, cool, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (lol okay maybe not the last one but you get the idea )

Peek-a-boo and patty-cake are actually really good games for babies. Peek-a-boo helps them with learning to understand object permanence (that things don't just "stop existing" when you cannot see it) and patty-cake helps them with gross motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

You can also try some simple baby sign (like milk, mommy/daddy, potty) so that they can try to communicate with you before they develop their speaking skills; as they get older emphasize that they need to use their words too to get what they want, but try to encourage the sign language too so they can continue to use it and develop it more. It also helps with both gross and fine motor skills.

Reply
Tags:activities - 1 year old, activities - infant, infant activities
Reply Up