Email not looking beautiful? View it in your browser

Brilliant Baby Games (Part 2)

There are so many fun activities that you and your baby can do, some of which can also help him to develop by stimulating his brain. Different activities aim to improve different things like auditory and visual skills, and can be modified to suit your child as he grows.

However, keep in mind that each child will catch on to the various activities at varying speeds. So don't worry if your baby finds some activities too hard or too easy. Modify or upgrade the games as you see fit for your little one, and let your child be your guide for the lessons!

Here are a few things to keep in mind when playing:

	The following activities require parental interaction and supervision.
	Do these activities only when your child is alert and rested; if he is bored, tired or hungry, postpone doing them, or resume them later on when you think he is more receptive.
	Turn off any background noise which might interfere with his ability to focus.
	Your child may find some activities boring, and lose interest. When this happens, give him a new activity or challenge.
	Work with your child everyday for half an hour, and don't worry if you miss a day or two!
	Feel free to change the activities to suit your child - or better yet, create some of your own fun games!
	Don't forget to have fun!

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 styleic 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!

Association

Age Range: 3 years to 5 years
Targeted Skill Set(s): computer skills, discrimination skills

This game is a fun way to teach your child about the concepts of similarities and differences. This activity involves more planning on your part, because you will need to create a picture library for your child. Decide a daily or weekly theme for her (e.g. things that fly) and find images online. Next, save them on your computer and print them out and stick the images on cards.

When you've prepared everything, begin the game by presenting the cards to your child, pronouncing the name for each object. You can then ask your child to sort them into groups, such as differentiating things that fly and things that don't. As she gets better, you can move on to more similar things, like species of birds (by size) or types of plants (trees or flowers).

Upgrade: Put together two or three completely different pictures (like a kite and a fishing pole) and ask her to find similarities. It will encourage her to think harder and come up with more creative responses!

Do you have questions about how to teach your child?
Ask the parents in the BrillKids Forum!

We hope you enjoyed this issue of Early Learning Essentials!

Till next time! Happy teaching!

You received this email because at some point in the past you either bought one of our products, signed up to our mailing list, or drunk some of that 'special' tea we slipped you. If you'd like, you can unsubscribe by clicking on the link below.

Share this email