Activities

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Activity library

193 activities with English and Chinese instructions. Browse by catalog age or development area, and log the activity you tried.

These are catalog age groups, not personalized recommendations or milestone deadlines. Choose for your baby's current abilities, stay close, and stop if your baby is uncomfortable. Added reminders are separate from the source instructions.

17 of 193 activities

4–6 months · 8

Chatting with Your Baby - II#009 · Talking

Goal: Encourage the baby to make sounds
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Repeat 7 - 10 times
How to do it: Use any activity that you are doing with your baby like eating dinner, bathing him, receiving a friend's visit as an excuse to start a dialogue about it with him.
Related milestone in the source: Improved vocal play; transitioning to babbling.

Expressing Emotions - II#026 · Talking

Goal: Encourage the baby to make sounds
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Several times throughout the day
How to do it: Using a happy tone of voice, try to get your baby excited about specific things, like his favorite toy or another baby. "Look at your dog toy!" or "Look at the baby, how cute!" Try to get expressions of excitement from him, like squeals or smiles.
Related milestone in the source: Might direct sounds toward nearby people, objects and toys.

Imitating the Baby's Sounds - II#038 · Talking

Goal: Stimulate the baby's imitation skills
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Perform throughout the day
How to do it: Repeat and reinforce sounds or noises that he makes that are similar to actual words. For example, if he makes a "Goo" sound, you can respond with "Did you say GOOD?"
Related milestone in the source: Reduplicated Babbling: repetition of the same consonant-vowel syllable (e.g., "baba," "mama"); doesn't understand meaning.

Monosyllables#046 · Talking

Goal: Expand vocabulary
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Repeat 10+ times
How to do it: With the baby in front of you, repeat single syllables like "Pa," "Ma," and "Da." Then combine them to create short words, like "Papa," "Mama," or "Dada."
Related milestone in the source: Reduplicated Babbling: repetition of the same consonant-vowel syllable (e.g., "baba," "mama"); doesn't understand meaning.

Peekaboo#059 · Talking

Goal: Encourage the baby to make sounds
Materials: A piece of fabric
Time or repetitions: Suggested time: 4 - 6 minutes
How to do it: Cover your face with a piece of fabric or your hands and say: "If you want to see me, talk to me." Once he makes a sound of any kind, uncover your face, smile and imitate his noise. Repeat this several times. Once he gets the idea, he will start making noises to see your face.
Related milestone in the source: Object Permanence: is conscious that an object is partially hidden, is still there, and could reach it.

Read to Your Child - II#070 · Talking

Goal: Familiarize the baby with the characteristics of sound: timbre, tone, and movement
Materials: Nursery rhymes
Time or repetitions: Recite 2 - 4 children's poems
How to do it: Recite short, simple poems with strong rhythm. Nursery rhymes and Dr. Seuss books are great sources. While the complexity and length of the poems will increase, you should continue to perform this activity frequently for as long as you can. Reading has multiple significant benefits for your child.

Vocabulary#090 · Talking

Goal: Expand vocabulary
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Perform throughout the day
How to do it: Point to objects and call them by their complete name.
Related milestone in the source: Reduplicated Babbling: repetition of the same consonant-vowel syllable (e.g., "baba," "mama"); doesn't understand meaning.

Yes & No - II#093 · Talking

Goal: Developing the concept of yes and no
Materials: A few toys and a few objects that are inappropriate for babies (e.g., scissors or a butter knife)
Time or repetitions: Suggested time: 4 - 6 minutes
How to do it: Show the baby things she can touch, while nodding your head and saying, "Yes." Do the same with things she can't touch, shaking your head and saying, "No." Do this with other actions you want to reinforce as allowed or prohibited.
Related milestone in the source: Knows "No": starting to understand the meaning of "no" by recognizing the tone of the voice.

7–9 months · 9

Baby Talk#097 · Talking

Goal: Reinforcing baby talk
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Perform throughout the day
How to do it: Whenever she repeats any sound multiple times, like "Ma ma" or "Ba ba," or puts two sounds together, like "Ma ba" or "Da ma," show enthusiasm and tell her how excited you are.
Related milestone in the source: Expands variety of consonant-vowel syllables, but often repeats the same syllable multiple times before moving to another.

Calling Someone#099 · Talking

Goal: Learning to call someone close to the baby
Materials: 2 adults close to the baby present
Time or repetitions: Perform at social gatherings
How to do it: Whenever you and the baby are with close friends and family, encourage the baby to call an adult's attention. Show him how to do it and encourage him to do it himself. Once he makes sounds or otherwise tries to call the adult, the adult should come over to the baby and thank him for calling so nicely. Repeat this exercise every time you have an opportunity until he learns to do it on his own.
Related milestone in the source: Variegated Babbling: more sophisticated form of babbling that combines different consonant-vowel syllables instead of repeating the same one.

Calling "Dada" Or "Mama"#100 · Talking

Goal: Teach the baby to call Dad
Materials: Magazine, newspaper
Time or repetitions: Repeat 2 - 4 times
How to do it: While one parent is holding the baby ask the other one to sit in front of both of you and cover their face with a magazine. Ask the baby "Where is Dada?" or "Where is Mama?" encouraging her to say "Dada" or "Mama." Once she says it, the parent will uncover their face and say in a happy tone "Here's Dada" or "Here's Mama!" Repeat this exercise, changing the object behind which the parent is hiding.
Related milestone in the source: Enjoys Peek-a-boo style games.

Giving You Toys#132 · Talking

Goal: Perform the same action with several objects
Materials: Various small toys and objects
Time or repetitions: Repeat 2 - 4 times
How to do it: Pick a few different toys or objects and place them in a row on the floor or table. Ask the baby to give each toy to you, one at a time. Make sure to ask for the item by name "Please give Mommy the car." If he doesn't reach for the item immediately, guide his hand to the object and bring the item to you. Once he lets it go, thank him for giving it to you. Repeat the exercise frequently until he doesn't need your help to perform it.
Related milestone in the source: Understands individuality within a group (can pick one toy within a group, understands that they are separate toys vs. a single entity).

Meow, Woof, Cheep#143 · Talking

Goal: Develop active language
Materials: Images of animals
Time or repetitions: Suggested time: 7 - 10 minutes
How to do it: Show the baby drawings or pictures of animals, making the appropriate animal sound for each as you show it to her. Do the same when you are playing with her using stuffed animals or toys that resemble animals.
Related milestone in the source: Might start combining more than one consonant-vowel syllable when babbling.

Playing with a Doll#165 · Talking

Goal: Associate words and actions
Materials: 2 dolls or stuffed animals
Time or repetitions: Suggested time: 4 - 6 minutes
How to do it: Give the baby a doll or stuffed animal and take another one yourself. Perform various actions on the doll while you describe them to the baby. For example, "Let's feed the baby" or "Let's put the baby to sleep" or "Let's snuggle with the dog."
Related milestone in the source: Can imitate inflections, the rhythm of a conversation, and facial expressions more accurately than the words in the conversation.

Read to Your Child#172 · Talking

Goal: Recognize human language
Materials: Books
Time or repetitions: 1 - 3 children's books
How to do it: Read short stories to the baby, using the baby's name frequently to help maintain his attention while you read. While the complexity of the stories will increase, you should continue to perform this activity frequently for as long as you can. Reading has multiple significant benefits for your child.
Related milestone in the source: Might start combining more than one consonant-vowel syllable when babbling.

Tick Tock#186 · Talking

Goal: Developing passive communication
Materials: Watch or animal
Time or repetitions: Suggested time: 8 - 10 minutes
How to do it: Show the baby a watch and explain: "This is a watch; it makes a 'tick tock' sound," although it's likely your watch makes no sound. Then ask: "Where is the watch?" If she turns to the watch, repeat the exercise asking her: "Where is the 'tick tock'?" Repeat the exercise until she is able to identify the object both by its name and sound. It can also be done with animals or other objects.
Related milestone in the source: Hearing fuels curiosity; pays close attention to subtle sounds like the ticking of a clock.

Verbal Directions#191 · Talking

Goal: Perform actions by using verbal instructions
Materials: None, just you
Time or repetitions: Perform throughout the day
How to do it: Whenever you are doing play activities or anything else that encourages movement or stimulation, consistently provide verbal descriptions of what you are doing. This is one of the best ways to develop the baby's passive language and to help show that specific words describe a particular action, which she can then do. For example, saying "Up" or "Down" while you help her to get to a sitting position, will eventually lead to her being able to do the same exercise just by following your verbal direction when she has the motor skills.
Related milestone in the source: Able to hold several ideas in mind at the same time (e.g., can communicate with mom while playing).