Wednesday 22 July 2015

Obstacle Course

Thankfully this past week has not seen any more attempted wallet thefts by my little girl. She does now possess her own wallet complete with some of her very own cards (all donated by various family members). Unfortunately this doesn't seem to have replaced her desire for my wallet!

With wallet theft out of the way, this week has instead seen her energy focused elsewhere, specifically on learning to throw. With any new skill there comes much practice - throwing toys, throwing remotes, throwing food, throwing drinks. Anything that can be thrown is currently being thrown. Let's hope she learns something new soon, or at least tires of throwing food!

Onto this week's activity though, a great one if you have a little person who is full of energy and just wants to zoom all over the show but not so great if you like a tidy house...

Activity: Obstacle Course

Development: movement
Materials needed: cushions, chairs, blankets, various items from around the house
Age: 6 months + (once a child can crawl. It is easily adapted for more capable movers)
  
To set up an obstacle course, simply grab some items from around the house and arrange them in a clear pathway which requires your baby to go over, under and around various obstacles. This needs to be done in a way that is developmentally appropriate and safe for your child. As they get better at moving, the course can become more challenging. My obstacle course was fairly easy and contained just a few soft items such as a cushion and blanket for my little girl to climb over and a chair to crawl under. For another example of an obstacle course which contains great ideas for easy tunnels, visit The Physical Challenge: Baby Obstacle Course.

I must admit that I do quite like a tidy house, as much as possible with a baby anyway, and so I have only done one obstacle course so far which I left out for the afternoon. It's great to have it up by sleeve as another option for entertainment though, particularly in winter, and next time I'll definitely be adding in some tunnels. I found the biggest challenge was getting her to actually do the obstacle course but that was soon solved by sitting with one of her favourite toys at the end of the course. Once she had begun she enjoyed it. I think it's important to ensure she does enjoy anything we do rather than trying to push her into anything in an attempt to rush her motor development. 

So how does an obstacle course help my little girl's brain develop? Generally, when I think of brain development, I think about intelligence and knowledge, but as the brain controls every part of the body, there is so much more to it than that. The brain is therefore in control of physical development and in fact, a baby's developing brain is largely, but not completely, responsible for physical milestones as Zero to Three explains:

When infants are born, the areas of the brain that control and coordinate voluntary movements are not yet well developed. These motor areas develop in a head-to-toe sequence, starting with muscles in the head and neck, followed by the arm and trunk, and by 6-12 months, the trunk and leg muscles, which are critical to most of the gross motor milestones of this period.

Just like with anything, the more we practice a new skill, the better we get at it. This is the same with babies. The more they practice their movement skills, the less awkward and more skilled and coordinated they become as the pathways within their brain strengthen. An obstacle course provides a bit more challenge than just crawling along a flat surface which helps develop their body strength, balance and coordination.  As they get older, it also helps develop their problem solving skills as they have to figure out how to get past each obstacle. 

So there we go, obstacle courses are excellent for brain development and I believe would be a great activity for Dad's to get involved with too. 

I'd love to see any photos of obstacle courses you set up as it's always great to get more inspiration so please feel free to share below or on my Facebook page. 

Until next time, 
Trish

Thanks to these pages for much of the information in this post
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a554804/games-to-play-with-your-baby-under-12-months
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/baby-brain-map.html
http://www.todaysparent.com/family/activities/10-surprising-brain-builders-for-preschoolers/


Monday 13 July 2015

Library Box

After last week's post which saw me suggest wallets as a great developmental and entertainment tool, I have had to consider whether in fact I have accidentally created a wallet thief. My little girl and I visited the library this week (more on that later) and headed to the children's section where we were shortly joined by another mum and her 2 boys. The boys took off but the mum sat down on the same couch as us and alongside her placed her very colourful (read attractive to babies) bag. I watched as my little girl eyed up the bag. She wanted that bag. More to the point, she wanted what was inside the bag. I could practically see the plan forming in her head. Ever the charmer, she turned on her smile and started making her way over to the mum. The mum was smitten, exclaiming over her cuteness. She had fallen hook, line and sinker for the plan. My little girl neared her destination and made her move, reaching for the bag. Unfortunately for her (fortunately for me) her plan was thwarted as the bag was just out of reach. In the process of her attempted thievery, she luckily looked as if she was also reaching for the lady, who thought this was ever so cute and was none the wiser as to how close she'd been to becoming another unsuspecting victim of this little wallet lover. I'll need to keep my eye on her for sure!

The reason we were at the library in the first place was because we were getting ready for this week's activity.

Activity: Library box


Development: language, cognitive and learning
Materials needed: Board books, a box or container of some sort
Age: 6 months + (easily adapted for older or younger children, simply change the books - see the table at the bottom for ideas on how to do this)

While my little girl has other books that we read together, for this activity I only use board books as the focus is on her handling the books herself. As this may include turning pages, crawling all over them and perhaps even chewing them, I know that a paper book would soon become nothing more than a few shredded pages. Collecting a selection of books doesn't need to cost money. As mentioned earlier, we visited the library this week for our selection of books. I made sure to select a variety of books - different sizes, different topics, some touch and feel, some just stories and some just pictures. I placed them all into a shoe box and we we were done, she had her own little library. This box is out near her toys. I want her to feel that the books are hers and she is free to explore them when she wants.

So far, she has loved having her little library. As the books are in a container, she of course thoroughly enjoys pulling them out. Sometimes she'll choose just one book and look through it, sometimes they all come out and she then looks for the book she wants. Her particular favourites at the moment are touch and feel books. Sometimes we read the stories together, sometimes we talk about the pictures and I ask her questions, sometimes she just selects books and enjoys looking at the pictures or turning the pages. Occasionally, she even chooses a book to show to her best friend, our cat (I wish I had taken a picture of this). I have found that having her little library in our lounge has meant that we have done a lot more reading together and has been particularly handy for times when she has needed a little distracting or calming down.

It is not a new thing to say that reading is important for children, but how exactly does it help the brain's development? Very simply, the brain is made up of neurons with a network of connections between them which control everything that happens in the brain. These network connections grow with every experience we have and are pretty important as the more connections we have, the more ways of processing information we possess. Better Brains for Babies provide a simple explanation of the benefits of reading with your child:

When you read a story to your child or have a conversation with her, her brain makes connections for language and relationships. When they read the same story over and over again, connections in the brain become stronger. Every time children hear the same story, they learn something new. 
Not only does reading with my baby help her develop these brain connections and her language skills but providing the opportunity for her to handle the books herself also helps develop a positive association with books. Research has shown that children start developing literacy and language skills from a very young age. While it will be a long time before she is developmentally ready to actually read and write, these beginning positive experiences are laying a good foundation for this process. As Zero to Three states:

...the first three years of exploring and playing with books, singing nursery rhymes, listening to stories, recognizing words, and scribbling are truly the building blocks for language and literacy development. 
Alternatives: This activity is easily modified for different age groups. This table from Zero to Three contains some great ideas on how to select developmentally appropriate books for your little one. 


I'm sure this will be only the first of many activities related to books as I love reading. Even if I weren't a teacher, I would be passionate about promoting an enjoyment of reading as there is nothing better than sitting down with a book and finding yourself transported to another time or world.

Do you have a little library for your child? If so, I'd love to see a picture of it so please do share :)

Until next time,
Trish

Thanks to these pages for much of the information in this post
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/early-language-literacy/earlyliteracy2pagehandout.pdf
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/baby-brain-map.html
http://www.bbbgeorgia.org/parents.php
http://www.bbbgeorgia.org/brainAnatomy.php


Tuesday 7 July 2015

Emptying wallets

In my household, we have entered the phase of food being thrown from the high chair which of course drives me insane! The good news is that it is all part of my daughter's learning. I might be driven crazy but her brain is hard at work. Repetition is key at her age and the following activity is one which she enjoys repeating over and over again.

Activity: Emptying wallets (and other containers)


Development: cognitive
and learning through repetition, fine motor skills 
Materials needed: A wallet with cards inside
Age: 6-12 months 

This has to be my daughter's favourite activity at the moment and it keeps her entertained for ages. She is drawn to wallets, regardless of who they belong to! If she spies my bag (or any bag belonging to an unsuspecting victim), it's not long before she finds her way over to it and with a quick search uncovers my wallet. Then she sits absorbed as she pulls out one card after another, turning each one over for a quick look before it is discarded and the process repeated again until the wallet is empty. Once her mission is complete she is off to her next activity unless she spots me replacing all the cards again, then she's straight over to have another go. 

This activity is great for her cognitive development. The repetition of this and any other activity, is a baby's way of experimenting and learning about their physical and social environment. With emptying a wallet, she is learning about full and empty. When throwing things from her high chair, she's learning about gravity. She is also learning about different weights, different textures and the different sounds an object can make. She watches my response (which generally is frustration when food is thrown from the highchair but is followed by me picking up whatever she has thrown) and is learning about responses. This is all reasoning. The repetition, as annoying as it can be at times, is necessary as it helps strengthen the connections in her brain. 

This activity is also excellent for her motor skills, particularly her fine motor skills. The smaller the object, the more it requires the use of her fine motor skills. Pulling cards out of a wallet is great for strengthening her pincer grasp. Handling different objects as she pulls them from whatever container they are helps her gain more dexterity in her fingers. 

Alternatives: There are so many alternatives for this activity. Essentially any container with different objects inside can be used - a washing basket filled with washing, a cardboard box filled with random items (that are safe for baby) from around the house, a plastic bowl from the kitchen with a collection of plastic and wooden kitchen utensils, the list is almost endless...

So there's my first activity. I'd love to know what containers and items your baby enjoys emptying, the more ideas the better!

Until next time,
Trish

Thanks to these sites for much of the information in this post.  
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/brain-development/baby-brain-map.html
http://www.parents.com/advice/babies/baby-development/when-will-my-baby-develop-a-pincer-grasp/

Monday 6 July 2015

Helping your baby's brain development


As a primary school teacher who has taught some very cute five year old's just starting out at school, I've seen a variety of ability levels entering the classroom. Before going on maternity leave, I taught at a school which used the Building Blocks to Literacy approach to learning. Essentially this approach believes that before a child is ready and able to develop their reading and writing ability, they need certain 'building blocks' in place. These 'building blocks' or physical skills cover the domains of listening, talking, moving, print and looking.

Obviously I can't go into what this looks like in each domain as it quite a comprehensive program. Some child arrive at school with all the skills already in place, some arrive with a few and sometimes, some arrive with none. The majority of the time, it is the differing social and cultural background of a child that shapes their experience in the early years, which then shapes their readiness for learning upon entering school.

Obviously my child (9 months old) is still far off entering school. Yet I am amazed by all that she has learnt already. For example, she loves books and in particular, loves turning the pages of books. Yet this is something that some children come to school not knowing as they simply have not had that exposure to books. 

It is said that the human brain develops more rapidly between birth and the age of 5 than at any other time in a person's life. That is amazing and also quite a lot of responsibility for any parent! 

With all this in mind, I've decided to start a new 'season' to my blog. I want to investigate activities that stimulate my little girl - activities that keep her occupied but which are also developmentally appropriate. While I'm interested to know how exactly they benefit her, I also just want to keep her entertained. I'm sure all mum's have experienced the short attention span of a baby. One day they love something, the next they're over it. It can be quite a tiring task keeping them occupied and entertained all day. 

My plan is to investigate developmentally appropriate activities that can be done using things around the house, or are essentially free (as money is very tight for most when you're relying on one income), get her to try them out and share them with you. I imagine she'll be interested in some and not quite as interested in others, but hopefully by sharing, it might give you some more ideas for things to do at home as well. I also want to look into activities that she is already interested in doing and find out what exactly she is learning from them, simply because it's quite fascinating how little people develop. In saying all this, I am most definitely not trying to push her into learning. Learning happens regardless and at this age, learning happens through their investigating and play. I simply want to help facilitate and enrich this natural process. 

So watch this space, I hope to have the first activity up at some stage in this week. If you happen to have an activity that you have found particularly good, please feel free to share it too.