Rhythm Clapping

This is an idea I love from Preschoolwise (page 127). This develops listening skills and teaches rhythm.

AGE RANGE
Three and up. Some two year olds might be able to do this.

ACTIVITY
You clap a simple rhythm and have your child repeat it. It is as simple as that. Start with simple rhythms--perhaps about three claps long. You can do straight time or syncopate as your child gets better at it. Clap in quarter note lengths on down to sixteenth note lengths. If you have no idea what that means, don't worry about it. Just clap at different speeds and different rhythms.

This is a great activity to turn to when your child is growing restless and you need him to wait a bit longer (assuming you are in a location where you can clap. But even in a waiting room, you could pat your legs).

Rhythmic Baby

I really like music, and I love to try to get my children to love music, too :) I think most people like music, so it shouldn't be hard.

With my babies, I have a simple activity I do to help them get used to recognizing beats. I have no idea how effective this is at teaching it, but they enjoy the activity. It is really hard to measure results in a baby. With toddlers and preschoolers, you see them responding quickly to things they learn. With babies, you see the fruit long after you sowed seeds.

AGE RANGE:
Your baby needs to be old enough she can sit unsupported. For most babies, this happens around 6 months.

SUPPLIES:

• Parent
• Baby
• Music

ACTIVITY:
Start the music playing. Sit baby in your lap, facing you. Move your legs up and down--gently--to the beat of the music. I also like to sing along. My babies look at my face and smile away. Toddlers will enjoy this, also, as well as your preschooler when the mood is right and if you are in the mood for a workout.

This is something you can do almost anywhere, so long as you are willing to sing. You can be the sole source of music for this activity if you want to. I even do this at church as we sing the hymns. When Brayden was a baby, this was the best activity to get him past that fussy hour close to bedtime.

Baby Ghost

Preparation
-take a scrap of white fabric and ball it up
-take a second scrap of white fabric and wrap it around the balled fabric, securing it at the bottom of the ball with a piece of yarn or a hair tie.
-draw eyes and an open mouth on the ghost (feel free to make it as scary or friendly looking as fits your child's age and maturity level)

Activity
Sing this song while waving the ghost puppet around to touch each body part.
*This is a great way to distract a squirmy baby or toddler during diaper changes!

BABY GHOST Baby ghost, baby ghost Flying through the air. Baby ghost, baby ghost Touching your hair. (Move puppet back and forth in front of toddler.) (Have ghost touch toddlers hair.) Baby ghost, baby ghost Flying down low. Baby ghost, baby ghost Touches your toe. (Bring hand with puppet down low.) (Bend down and touch ghost to toddlers toe.) Baby ghost, baby ghost Flying up high. Baby ghost, baby ghost Touches your eye. (Raise ghost puppet up high.) (Toddler shuts eye, while ghost touches eye lid.)

Skills
-body parts
-rhyming



Credit
I found this activity at a neat site I just discovered: http://www.preschoolexpress.com/
(This activity is in the toddlers section)

Tried and True: Singing Songs

After posting about the Wheels on the Bus today, I realized I haven't done that much with McKenna (almost six months old) during her lifetime. So this evening, I did it with her. She laughed and laughed and laughed. She loved it.

Kaitlyn (approaching 2.5) played with me. She did McKenna's movements for round two. Then once McKenna was down for a nap, Kaitlyn wanted me to do it to her (the same way I did it to McKenna), then she wanted to do it to me (yes, the same way I did it to McKenna). LOL! You really have to be prepared to do everything you have a toddler do :)

Singing Songs

We have had a lot of requests for ideas for activities with babies, so I thought I would start with a simple one: Singing Songs.

AGE RANGEAll ages. Really. All kids of all ages love to sing and do movements to songs. I still love it :)

SUPPLIES

• Adult
• Child

WHEN TO DO IT

All the time, any time. I sing to my kids all the time. We sing while we are driving, we sing while we are playing, and I sing while I am feeding them. I love to sing to my babies while they are eating their food. They are typically quite interested in it and don't try to stick their hands in their mouths or anything.

With my oldest, I found singing songs with actions particularly helpful during the evening. He was a typical baby in that he got fussier in the evening, and my husband was in school and working at the time. He was gone before we got up and got home shortly before Brayden went to bed. I needed all the tricks I could muster up for the day!

SONG IDEA: Wheels on the Bus

There are so many possibilities out there. My favorite (because it is my kids favorite) for a young baby is Wheels on the Bus.

Wheels on the Bus

This was Brayden's favorite. Brayden was my only baby to get fussier in the evenings (McKenna had a witching hour...but I am just talking fussy :) )--probably since he only took 45 minute naps until he was 6 months old. He also hated driving in the car. The Wheels on the Bus saved us every evening and every car ride.

For a baby, lay baby on the floor or another surface you feel comfortable with. For a toddler, have your child face you. Your child might need help doing actions. For the preschooler, have your child face you and mimic your movements.

Verse One: bicycle baby's legs round and round. For toddlers and older, make a big circle with your arm like a wheel

The wheels on the bus go round and round

round and round,

round and round,

The wheels on the bus go round and round

All through the town

Verse Two: Take baby by the hand and have her swish her arms back and forth. You might need to do the same for your young toddler. For the older toddler on up, swish your arms like windshield wipers and have your child mimic.

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish

Swish, swish, swish,

Swish, swish, swish,

The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish
All through the town

Verse Three: You are already holding baby's hands. Gently pull baby up and down like baby is doing a sit-up if baby is old enough to do this. If not, just move baby's arms up and down. For the toddler and older, stand up and sit down.

The people on the bus go up and down

Up and down

Up and down

The people on the bus go up and down

All through the town

Verse Four: On each "beep," gently tap baby's nose. You can do the same to your toddler and older, or you can have your child beep her own nose while you beep your nose.

The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep

Beep, beep, beep,

Beep, beep, beep,

The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep

All through the town

Verse Five: For all age ranges, put your hands in front of your face with your elbows touching each other. Open and shut the doors when you say open and shut in a peek-a-boo fashion.

The doors on the bus go open and shut,

open and shut

open and shut

The doors on the bus go open and shut,

All through the town

Additional Verses: You can to so many different things with this song. I have sung this song enough times to have an endless supply up my sleeve:

• Babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah (put finger on baby's chin and move mouth open on wah. For toddlers and older, make a wah-ing motion where you roll your hands in front of your eyes like you are crying)
• Mommies on the bus go shh, shh, shh (shh your baby's mouth with your index finger or shh your own mouth for older children)
• Driver on the bus says move on back (take baby's arms and move from one side to the other. For older children, move your arms in a "move back" motion).
• Girls on the bus go giggle, giggle, giggle (tickle all ages. Be gentle tickling a baby and watch for signs baby doesn't like it. If not. Just pretend to tickle)
• Boys on the bus say let's go play (hold baby's hands and move one arm up then the other, or bring them together in front of baby and then spread out in a Y form. For toddlers and older, jump up and down or spin around excitedly)
• Road under the bus goes bump-ety bump (if baby is on a soft surface, you can bounce the bed. You can also put baby on your lap and move your legs up and down. You can also put a young toddler on your lap. For older toddlers and up, jump up and down)

This is just one example of how you can make a simple song into a fun, gross motor skills activity. You can add verses and make up your own actions. I just made these all up, so anything you can think of will be fun. Children are easy to please.

Children love singing and they love moving around. This is a great way to distract a fussy baby or to just have fun with a baby. I know it is simple, but baby does learn a lot from it. It moves baby's body, it exposes baby to music, and it gives baby fun time with the parent, which all babies love :)