Swim Fishie Swim
(language skills, 3-6 months)
* Your baby’s neck muscles should be firm
and strong by now. He can lift up his head on his own.
* This game is fun to do while bathing him in a bathtub. He should be
able to do a tripod sit by now.
* Say this aloud while moving your hand under the water like a fish.
“Swim, fishie swim
Swim around the pool
Swim, fishie swim
Oppsss, where did he go?
SPLASH, SPLISH, SPLOSH (Gently splash your baby as you say this)
There he is! (Touch your baby’s body when you say this)”
* Your baby will love this. Soon, you will hear your baby imitating
“splash, splish, splosh”. You will also be able to hear him laugh.
The Chef (language skills, 3-6 months)
* Seat your baby securely in an infant
seat.
* While you are preparing food for the family, talk about each process
you do, for example: Mummy is stirring, mummy is washing, mummy is
frying, mummy is pouring, mummy is cutting and so on.
* Give a set of baby ‘lunch set’ to him, let him play with unbreakable
spoons, plates and bowls.
* You will notice your baby imitating your action soon using his own
set of utensils.
* When your baby is old enough, consider involving him in the process
of pouring, stirring and washing.
The Opposite Game (language skills, 3-6 months)
* Your baby may start to crawl soon.
Allow him to explore his own surrounding but provide him with a safe
environment.
* Either let your baby crawl on his own or hold him (if he is still too
young) and move around the house as you say and demonstrate pairs of
opposite actions.
* Say “The light is off…. the light is on”, “The door is open… the door
is closed”, “The glass is full …. the glass is empty”, “Mummy and
(baby’s name) is upstairs …. mummy and (baby’s name) is downstairs” are
just a few examples.
Mummy’s … / Daddy’s … (language skills, 3-6
months)
* Lie on the bed and place your baby on
your chest. He’ll probably be crawling all over you, exploring whatever
that comes to his sight.
* Hold him firmly and say loving things to encourage him to explore.
* When he touches your nose, say “Mummy’s (or daddy’s) nose”, when he
touches your hair, say “Mummy’s (or daddy’s) hair” and so on.
* Try to add in some adjectives such as “mummy’s pointy nose” “mummy’s
blonde hair” and etc.
Let’s Rhyme (language skills, 3-6 months)
* The rhythm of syllables helps babies
learn where one word ends and another begins.
* Read to him lots of nursery rhymes and poems.
* Pick a favorite rhyme and repeat it in different ways.
* Hold and sway his hands back and forth as you read to him.
* You can also tap his fingers on your face following the rhyme.
* The more words your baby hears, the sooner he will speak.
Baby Talk (language skills, 3-6 months)
* Sit down with your baby and look into
his eyes.
* Start a conversation with him about anything. You can talk about what
you are cooking for dinner, about your friends, your favorite movie, or
anything else relating to babies.
* As your baby responds with coos and other sounds, copy him and
include them in your conversation with him.
* Even he cannot understand all of your words; this will help him learn
many new words that will form the foundation for his language
development.
* As he grows older, you will be amazed at the vocabulary he has
acquired.
Name That Object (language skills, 3-6 months)
* Babies are curious about their
environment. They like to explore, peek, examine and touch everything
that they can get hold of.
* It is important to name the objects that you give to your baby, such
as “Let’s put on your hat”, “Let’s try to write” or “You eat with a
spoon”
* As you name those objects, he will begin to learn language.
* Take three familiar objects and put them in front of him. Ask him
“where is your rattle?”
* Pick up the rattle and give it to him and say “here is your rattle”.
Do You Remember?
(language skills, 3-6 months)
* Place two totally different blocks
(different shapes and colors) in front of your baby.
* Describe the block as you pick it up, for example “this is the red
rectangular block”, then hide it behind your back.
* Make sure he sees where you hide it.
* Then ask him “where is the red rectangular block?”
* He will give you a sign that he knows where it is. Pointing and
making sounds are two ways that you baby can communicate with you.
My Rolling Book (language skills, 3-6 months)
* This is where you can turn a round
container into a book for your baby.
* Cut out attractive pictures (colorful, and big ones are preferred)
from magazines or old books and paste them on the round container.
Select pictures that your baby is familiar with, for example, animals,
people, balls or toys.
* Roll the container and point to the different pictures. Talk about
them.
* Ask your baby to find a picture, for example “where is the cat?”
|
