Activities for Infants
Donna Wilber
Former Supervising Teacher
Child Development Laboratory
Northern Illinois University
Learning takes place from the very beginning of an infant's life.
Having a plan to help babies learn is an important part of caring
for them. Infants, however, learn very differently from older children.
Therefore, you should offer activities that are carefully tailored
to their methods of learning.
Teaching Through Care giving
Much of an infant's day involves care giving activities such as
feeding, diapering, and holding. Infants learn a great deal during
these routines. You can foster language development by talking to
infants as you change or feed them. You help them learn that they
can affect others through your reactions to their facial expressions.
When you smile and touch them softly, you are helping them learn
to trust others and to feel good about themselves.
Learning Through Exploration
Playing with objects and people around them is another significant
way that infants learn. When the baby is awake and alert, provide
equipment, materials, and activities that encourage the baby to
explore. Wait a minute, you say! How do you plan activities for
babies? What materials and toys do you use?
To answer these questions, you will need to carefully watch the
infants in your care. Observe them as you care for them and while
they are playing. Watch what they are doing with their mouths, their
fingers, their bodies, and the things around them. Then plan activities
that will help them practice these skills. Keep in mind that each
baby is different from the other. Two infants the same age may be
at different stages of development. Therefore, it is important to
watch each child carefully.
To decide what materials to provide for each infant, ask yourself
these questions:
- What objects interest the baby most?
- Are there things the infant tried to do but couldn't because
they were too difficult?
- Will the materials be challenging enough to attract the baby's
attention?
- Are the materials, equipment, and toys safe?
Suppose you observe these children in the following situations:
- Laura loves tapping a spoon at lunch time. She taps the high-chair
tray, her bowl, and her cup.
- Laura is learning about the world through her sense of hearing.
Help extend Laura's learning during playtime by fastening wooden,
metal, and plastic bowls to a board with tape. Give Laura a big
spoon so she can bang on the objects. Enhance language development
by saying the words that go along with the sounds she makes, "tap
tap," or "bong, bong, bong!"
- Charlie also plays with bowls, but in a different way. He likes
to pick them up and handle them. He touches the cool metal bowl
to his leg. His fingertips stroke the grooves along the rim of
the plastic bowl. He suddenly spies a place on the back of the
plastic bowl where a piece of tape containing your name had been.
It is still a little sticky. Charlie touches the sticky surface
again and again.
- Charlie is learning about the world around him through his sense
of touch. He will especially enjoy a texture walk. Arrange fabrics
with different textures - soft, furry, and slightly rough - on
the floor. Glue a strip of contact paper to a heavy piece of cardboard
so the sticky side is up. Place it on the floor. Add an old cookie
sheet with smooth edges. Watch as Charlie crawls and walks over
the items, experiencing the different feelings. Talk to Charlie
about what he is feeling. Say, "Yes, it's sticky," or
"That's cold," or "The fur is soft." This
will promote cognitive and language development.
- Manuel is an older infant. He is developing the ability to coordinate
the muscles in his arms and legs by trying to climb up your stepstool!
Respond by creating a safe, low climber. Make a ramp from sturdy
cardboard or boards. Pad the edges with foam or a folded blanket.
When Manuel has mastered climbing up and down the slightly inclined
board, challenge him by increasing the slope (angle) of the board.
Enhance his problem-solving skills by asking, "How can you
get up that ramp? How can you get down?" Allow Manuel to solve
the problem of getting up and down the ramp on his own through trial
and error. But supervise him closely. Be ready to quickly lend a
hand if he gets into trouble!
- Chris is older still. She is trying to fit some shapes in a
sorting ball, but is frustrated by the small openings.
Chris needs a less challenging task to help her develop the small
muscles in her hands and her eye-hand coordination. Make her a shoe-box
sorter. Find some large peg-like objects, such as the bottoms of
plastic film containers. Make sure the edges are smooth. Cut some
holes in the top of a shoe box large enough for the pegs to fit
through easily. When Chris succeeds in getting the pegs in, enhance
her self-esteem by saying, "Very good. You did it - you got
all the pegs inside." When dropping the pegs into the sorter
is no longer a challenge, line the openings with some foam rubber.
The foam will provide resistance when she is pushing the peg through.
This task enhances muscle development and further develops eye-hand
coordination. Because the task is now more challenging, Chris will
continue to be attracted to the sorting box.
Safety First
Safety should be the main concern when determining what toys, material,
and equipment to provide. Look the materials over carefully. Toys
given to infants should be at least 1 5/8" in diameter. Provide
toys and materials that are easily sanitized. Make sure they have
no small pieces or sharp edges. Never use balloons as toys. Many
children have died from suffocation after inhaling a piece of a
popped balloon.
Wooden toys should be checked continually for any splintered corners
or surfaces. Items that are made of small, easily-swallowed pieces,
such as a string of beads, should be tested often to make sure they
will not come apart. Also, be aware of materials, such as paint
or Styrofoam, which could flake off or crumble when they are mouthed
or chewed.
The key to providing quality activities for infants is close observation
as they interact naturally with their environment. By responding
to their interests and abilities, and by monitoring the safety of
the materials you have provided, you are creating a healthy and
challenging environment that will promote physical, mental, social,
and emotional growth.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
National Network for Child Care - NNCC. Part of CYFERNET, the National
Extension Service Children Youth and Family Educational Research
Network. Permission is granted to reproduce these materials in whole
or in part for educational purposes only (not for profit beyond
the cost of reproduction) provided that the author and Network receive
acknowledgment and this notice is included:
Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care
- NNCC. Wilber, D. (1993). Activities for infants. In Todd, C.M.
(Ed.), *Day care center connections*, 2(4), pp. 4-6. Urbana-Champaign,
IL: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.
|
