Hello Infant 1 families!
I hope everyone is healthy and happy as we all adjust to a sudden new normalcy. The Infant One team is thinking about everyone and we have spent time collaborating on how we can make sure our families have some good resources that can be utilized during this time. We are all missing what has become our family away from family and are fortunate there are ways that we can stay connected during this time of uncertainty. Please reach out to us and the NIU CDFC regarding ways we can provide support. If we cannot help, maybe we can find the appropriate resource.
I have included a few activities which can be done with items around the home that may help curb some of the cabin fever while promoting infant development. The first is a link to a “Scarf Pull” activity. This activity can be adapted depending on your infant- whether you have an infant that is sitting up independently, standing with support or cruising along furniture. Empty paper towel rolls and water bottles and milk jugs can be taped to the wall. Also- if you do not have a scarf, you can use any cloth or even a baby onesie. Not only does this build gross motor skills but you can also extend it to an impromptu game of “peek-a-boo” for some social-emotional play.
Scarf Pull gross motor activity for infants
https://handsonaswegrow.com/easy-gross-motor-scarf-pull-activity-babies/
The following link gives you some great ideas on how to create homemade books to promote language development. Reading to infants doesn’t just involve board books. You can glue photos of family members to cardboard boxes and tie it together to make a book. Talk to the infants about the family member on each “page” and what was happening. For example- one photo of a child at the park with grandma could involve an entire “story” about a trip to the park, the weather and the type of tree in the picture!
https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/eight-tips-creating-homemade-books
One of the suggestions in the article includes changing an existing story to include your child’s name. For example- if your child enjoys Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle, change the story to “Susie, Susie, What Do You See…” and take it from there. You can even use that phrase and make up an entirely different story around the things you see around you. For example- “Susie, Susie what do you hear? I hear the raindrops falling on my ear…” The possibilities are endless when it comes to promoting language development with infants.
Please keep in touch and let us know if you try out any of these activities at home. We’d love to hear from you.
Nadine Cruz Saubert
Child Development Supervisor
Infant One
