Are you looking for some activity ideas to implement into your family’s daily routine?
Each week we will add a new activity page with a weekly selection of activity ideas to try at home. Discover previous Infant weekly activities using in the useful links section at the bottom of this page.
With the support of you their parent/carer all activities support your littles ones developmental journey whilst being fun and engaging.
Enjoy and have fun!
What day is it today?
Monday's Activities
Activity 1 - Sensory Ocean Bottle
Create an exciting ocean themed discovery bottle which creates waves and bubbles when tipped from side to side! Lots of crafty, scientific, sensory fun for beach themed summer play-time for kids and great entertainment for long car journeys too!
Allow your baby to hold and tip the bottle, they will enjoy watching the liquid inside move about, you can even tell them the names of any creatures you have put in there.
To help prevent spills glue the lid shut, but watch your baby carefully in case they try to open the top.
Oceans and Waves Discovery Bottle - The Imagaination Tree
Activity 2 - Senory Basket
Create a sensory basket for your baby to explore different textures and smells. Use items from around your home, natural resources, things that smell, (for example oranges and lemons, create a nice fragrance and will be big enough for baby to grasp) or sensory items e.g playdough.
There are lots of ideas for items to put in a sensory basket here:
Make a Treasure Basket - Essential Parent
Activity 3 - Storytime
Read your favourite story, or stories to baby. This is a calm activity that can be done together at any time of the day to help support your bond with baby.
Tuesday's Activities
Activity 1 - Music
This one may be quite noisy. Give your baby a variety of objects that could be used to make noises, for example, a rattle, a tambourine, a pot and spoon to be used as a drum or any other toys they may have that make noises.
Let your baby see you using the objects to make different noises, some that may be very loud, others that are quiet.
They will enjoy listening to the noises you create and will try to make noises of their own.
Activity 2 - Tummy Time
During tummy time try showing your baby an assortment of black and white objects or images from around your home.
Black and white images for new-borns help extend tummy time. It also teaches the muscles of the eyes and the brain to co-ordinate and function properly.
Engagement with black and white images, different textures and patterns boosts infants learning and helps them understand their environment.
Bold black and white images stimulate the development of the optic nerves and support young babies’ cognitive and visual development.
Tummy Time (pdf)
Activity 3 - Sing, I Like to Ride My Bicycle
Lay your baby down on their back and gently move their legs like they are riding a bike, when you say ‘green’ move the legs faster.
Sing...
I like to ride my bicycle. I ride it to the shops.
And when I see a big red light, I know that I must stop.
Red…Yellow and….. GRREEEEENNNN!!!!.
Wednesday's Activities
Activity 1 - Floating Catch
Using a variety of lightweight materials, such as scarves, foil or squares of tissue paper, in a variety of colours or patterns sit on the floor with your baby and throw the items up in the air, the items will float down and you and your baby can try to catch them.
Encourage your baby to reach for the objects to support the development of motor skills.
Activity 2 - Peek-A-Boo
Babies are fascinated by faces and your new-born would rather look at your face than almost anything else in the world. A simple game of peek-a-boo is perfect.
As your baby grows develop your game of peek-a-boo by hiding behind their favourite toy or a blanket.
Activity 3 - Storytime - The Gruffalo
Listen along to the Gruffalo - Alan Mandel (YouTube)
Thursday's Activities
Activity 1 - Posting
Posting develops fine motor skills and hand eye co-ordination. It allows your little one to explore and be curious. It takes minutes to set up, but will keep your little ones attention for longer.
You can use resources found in your house for example:
- Tupperware
- Plastic Cups
- Blocks
- Balls
- Cardboard Boxes
Activity 2 - Obsticle Course
Create an obstacle course for your little crawler, encourage gross motor skills by placing pillows in their path, encouraging changes of direction, or seeing if they can crawl through a tunnel.
Obstacle Course for Your Crawler - I Can Teach My Child
Activity 3 - Rhymetime
Sing some of your favourite nursery rhymes to your baby, and support your baby to join in by doing simple actions, rock baby gently back and forth to row your boat, move their hands gently to wind the bobbin up, or help them to kick their feet to if your happy and you know it. Your baby will love listening to you sing along.
Friday's Activities
Activity 1 - Circle of Toys
Create a circle of toys around your baby for them to explore, this is a great addition to tummy time and can encourage your baby to reach out to try to grab their favourite toy.
Activity 2 - Phone / Video Chat
Make a phone call or video chat a friend or loved one, allow your baby to watch and listen to what you are doing and saying, by placing the call on speaker.
Your baby will be interested in this different sensory experience and will enjoy being spoken to. Older babies may even want to hold the phone to their ear and talk just like you. Especially if due to recent circumstances they haven’t seen someone in a while.
Activity 3 - Song
Try introducing your baby to numbers by singing some counting songs.
Nursery Rhymes Counting Songs - BBC Teach
Useful links: