Educational toys picked by my two kids, 10 months and 2 years for 1-2 year olds!
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5:45/6 AM: Wake up
6:15 AM: 6 oz bottle 7 AM: Breakfast (yogurt + granola or bar + cheerios) 9 AM: Nap #1 10:30/11 AM: Wake up + 6 oz bottle 12 PM: Lunch (protein like chicken or eggs + steamed veggies + berries + pouch) 2 PM: Nap #2 3 PM: Wake up + 4 oz bottle 5 PM: Dinner (pasta or mac&cheese + veggie pouch + banana + cottage cheese or cheese stick) 6 PM: Bath, books, jammies, lotion 6:30 PM: 4 oz bottle 6:30 PM: BED
It's very simple, but what you say is what extends the learning for this one. I start with the ball and toss it to the baby across from me (or in front of us if baby isn't sitting). More likely than not, they won't catch the ball. Say some power words like "oh no!" "uh oh!" "bounce!" "catch" as you do different motions. These sort of trigger the language mechanism and your baby will know the cause and effect of throwing the ball, noise, catch, noise.
I really like to do "ready, set, catch!" with babies around 8-12 months old. They'll start to connect the one, two, three pattern the more you play this game. I also like to shout different colors when they go beyond 12 months old. Sometimes the dialogue goes like this: "One, two, three! Throw! Catch blue! Yay! Blue! Mama get!" It's really all about the easy to mimic words you say and repetition. I filled the basket with larger items like a toy piano and drums. But what seemed more interested to Layla was the smaller items like a pair of maracas, baby rattles, small cymbals and more. Lincoln's favorite item was the harmonica and kazoo. You can definitely mix it up by focusing on a single sound or pitch, too.
For this particular kitchen basket I chose the following items: metal and plastic whisk, different sized wooden spoons, metal bowl, plastic bowl, strainer, funnel, and pasta spoon. While Layla explored, I prompted by making sounds with her and handing her various items.
Lincoln played music in the background and we had nursery rhymes playing in the background as well. She seemed to really enjoy the rattle-like instruments like the tambourine and maraca.
Before getting your baby set up, this activity requires a little prep work. Get your white piece of paper and cut it into the shape of a fish. I just did an easy design and made a triangle tail and circle top. I cut out a little mouth, too. I used my black sharpie to draw an eye on each side of the paper, and then put it into a large ziplock bag with orange washable paint.
I gave the bag to Layla and let her explore it first. She of course wanted to eat it, so with my hand over hers, I helped her spread the paint all around and squish and mash it. This helps her see how to play with it. And then I let her do more. Take it out of the bag to let dry otherwise it will stick. |
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