Card Game

Age Range: 12 months to 18 months
Targeted Skill Set(s): memory, teaches colors and shapes

This simple card game will help improve and strengthen your child's memory.

It will enhance his ability for recognizing words, letters and numbers.

On each card, draw a circle, but in three different colors (red, blue and yellow). Show him the red circle and say "Red." Next, show him the yellow circle and say "Yellow." Put both cards face down and ask him "Where is the red circle?" and then reveal the red card saying, "Here's the red circle!" Reveal the yellow card and say "Here is the yellow circle!" Continue until your baby starts to point towards which card to turn over.

Stop the game before he gets bored! When you child is familiar with the red and yellow circle, you can substitute the blue card in. Keep mixing up the three cards until your child has learned this game.

Upgrade: If your child has mastered the three colors, you can repeat this game by introducing another shape. Select two cards of the same color, but of different shapes to play the same game. As he improves, you can add more shapes or move on to different letters and numbers.

Note: Be patient! Let your child know that it's okay to make a mistake and don't forget to praise him when he gets it right!

Memory Builder

Age Range: 18 months to 5 years
Targeted Skill Set(s): memory and concentration

This activity will greatly develop your child's memory and encourage her to concentrate at the task at hand. For this activity, you can use the same cards from the Card game as described above.

You will need six white cards with squares drawn on them, and these squares need to be in different colors: two red, two blue and two yellow.

Have your child choose a card to reveal, and identify out loud what color it is and then ask her to find another of the same color. If it's the right card, be excited and praise her. If not, say "No, that's green" and allow her to pick again until she finds the right one. When your child understands the game and gets better at it, you can add more cards with more colors or different shapes to make it more challenging for her!

Stacking and Sorting Games

Age Range: 9 months to 2 years
Targeted Skill Set(s): hand-eye coordination, concept of "big" and "small," teaches child about visual-spatial relationships

These types of games will not only enhance your baby's hand-eye coordination, but will also teach them the concept of "bigger than" and "smaller than". Start with larger objects that can be stacked, and then move on to smaller objects as he grows older.

• 9 months - Use the classic rings on a peg. Show him how to stack it from big to small and then allow him to try for himself. Point to the biggest ring and say "big" and the smallest ring and say "small". Do not worry if he stacks it incorrectly - praise him anyway for trying!

• 12 months - 14 months - Move on to sets of plastic cups or bowls where they have to be stacked in the a particular order. Start with two or three cups and when he is ready, give him more bowls to stack.

• 12 months - 18 months - At this point, your child can start to play with simple blocks. You can choose from Lego blocks (ones suitable for 1 year olds) to wooden blocks. These will also help with developing his motor skills. Encourage him to stack them up as high as he can and then count the blocks together.

Crafts Projects

Age Range: 12 months to 3 years
Targeted Skill Set(s): fine motor skills, manual dexterity, teaches understanding of visual spatial relationships.

Put a bunch of cooked peas and sliced carrots (diced small enough so he won't choke on them) in front of him. Show him how to separate the peas from the carrots by picking them out. Encourage him to do the same and count the number of peas and carrots as he picks them out.

Watch your child carefully as he does this activity. Find around 10 colorful and interesting objects like large-sized buttons and placed them inside a container. Empty this in front of your child and ask him to pick up each one and place them back inside. As he drops each one inside, don't forget to count as this will help teach counting skills.

Note: Be careful, some objects can prove to be choking hazards.

Encourage your child to pick up a crayon and draw or scribble! It will help improve the motor skills that are needed to write letters and numbers later on.

Introduce your child to safe and non-toxic modeling clay. It will stimulate motor skills and also encourage him to be creative. It can also teach him about tools and using them to manipulate the clay. You can even use them to teach colors!