This past week here at AOHV for Fitness Fanatics, we focused on physical activity. Throughout the week we had hopscotch contests,snowball tosses,relay races,minute to win it games,and making a class leader chart for MLK Day. Play has many benefits to help a child thrive in their early years that will sit them up for their adult years. Some experiences include are creating social bonds,abilities to plan, oraganzie, and regulate their emotions.
Some Tips:
Birth to 6 Months:
Play can start with a baby's smile by offering a smile back. This connects with social-emotional skills that are critical. A baby's coo-and babble sounds can be imitated and you can have back and forth "conversations" using your own baby sounds as a prompt. Some other conversation starters are showing any bright colorful objects, objects with textures, and also by putting infants in different positions so they can see objects from a different angle.
7 To 12 Months:
Make sure the environment is a "Safe Place" for infants to explore the world around them.
Make sure you offer "many"opportunities for the cause and effect from actions. Example a object drops and teacher/caregiver picks it up.
Uses of mirrors for cause and effects-examples facial features
Playing simple games such as Peek-a-Boo
1 To 3 Years:
Having A LOT of Unstructured Play!!!
Having ample of materials for children to explore with such as puzzles,connecting beads,blocks,etc. It can be anything that sparkes a child's imagination
Physical activity and plenty of it!!! Anything that includes walking,hopping,jumping,running,etc.
Providing opportunities to play with other children and interact with them.
Pretend Play/ providing props helps to sparkle make believe play and sets up conversation starters.
Reading to children daily and singing to children.
4 to 6 Years:
Provide "safe areas" for children to sing and dance.
Telling stories to children with windows of open-ended questions.
Encouraging children to move their bodies in various ways (examples such as: swinging,hopping,jumping)
LIMIT SCREEN TIME
