What the Heck is Tummy Time???

Tummy Time is an essential activity for babies to engage in.  Daily or more time spent on their tummy will help develop your baby's core strength so that they can develop on schedule.  Pathways Awareness has developed a great website in regard to the importance of tummy time including videos and handouts.  It's only minutes a day but these minutes will benefit your baby immensely.

Here are the top five moves you can begin as soon as your baby is born: 

1. Tummy to Tummy~
a. Lie down on the floor or a bed, flat or propped up on pillows.
b. Place baby on your chest or tummy, so that you’re face-to-face.
c. Always hold firmly for safety.
2. Eye-Level Smile~
a. Get down level with your baby to encourage eye contact.
b. Roll up and place a blanket under the chest and upper arms for added support.
3. Lap Soothe~
a. Place your baby face-down across your lap to burp or soothe him.
b. A hand on your baby’s bottom will help steady and calm.
4. Tummy-Down Carry~
a. Slide one hand under the tummy and between the legs when carrying baby tummy down.
b. Nestle the baby close to your body.
5. Tummy Minute~
a. Place your baby on her tummy for one or two minutes every time you change her.
b. Start a few minutes at a time and try to work up to an hour a day in shorter intervals by the end of three months.


Don’t get discouraged every bit of tummy time makes a difference!


Now...the fun stuff!  There are a lot of options and toys out there to help babies during tummy time.  These are just a few that I've used and would recommend to families with little ones.



Boppy pillows are a GREAT beginning tool to help babies with tummy time.  It's an easy way to prop your baby and give them the support they need to develop core muscles and their neck muscles to life their heads.  These are great to use up until a year because they provide support for young ones learning to sit as well.  I know many parents who have these laying around and they are great for helping your child develop.

             

        

Disney Winnie The Pooh Spin Garden Gym 

Recommended Age: 6 months & Up 

Cost: around $50

     

Brilliant Basics Musical Tummy Fun Playmat
Recommended Age: Birth & Up

Cost: around $30

                         

Bright Starts Tummy Cruiser Prop & Play Mat 

Recommended Age: Birth & Up 

Cost: around $25 

Infantino Tummy Time Activity Center

Recommended Age: 6 Months & Up

Cost: around $25

These are all great resources to help your baby with tummy time.  They provide a stimulating and engaging means for your baby to interact while playing in this position.  Many babies do not like to be on their tummies and will cry but it is THAT important that you keep trying and keep your baby on their belly.  It really does make a difference and I hope that you will follow this advice and spread the word!

Next time I'm going to talk to you about some really great Cause-and-Effect Toys to help build cognitive skills along with fine motor and even gross motor skills.

Thanks!  And until next time, Happy Playing!

~Amy

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Manipulatives for Little Fingers: Bears & Blocks

          

Recommended for: Age 2 & Up (18 months if closely supervised to prevent choking)

Cost: Bears-under $10; Blocks-around $20

These are two of my favorite toys to use with little ones.  They offer so many options and really help children with fine motor skill development and cognitive development.  I do not recommend these with children younger than 18 months and only at 18 months with very close supervision.  The blocks are fairly large but the bears might present more of an issue so beware.  I have found many different uses for these including sorting, stacking, colors, counting, patterning and language stimulation to name a few.  This is an essential tool for any educator or parent to have as children love to build and knock down towers and to make a mess by dumping them on the floor (and then making mom clean them up).

Activities to Focus On:

In & Out: Empty the cup

Dump & Fill: Dump the blue cup

Counting: How many yellow blocks do we have?

Sorting: Give me the red blocks 

Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple

Patterning: Red, Blue, Red...what comes next

Stacking: Build a tower for me...how high can you make it?

This is just a sample of the activities that these manipulatives offer to young children.  Make up games or songs to help your child learn.  I definitely think these toys are a great way to build your child's skill development.

Next time I'm going to review a great toy for our youngest learners.  I'm such an advocate for this and hope to encourage each parent and teacher out there to push for all parents and caregivers to make this an essential part to their day.

Thanks!  And until next time, Happy Playing!

~Amy

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Puzzles for Little Ones

Puzzles are a great way to help your child learn important skills like fine motor development, object permanence, animal names/sounds, shapes, colors and just about anything. 

                              

Recommended for: 6 months & Up

The puzzles above are great starter puzzles.  They are simple in that there are only 3 pieces to place and the handle makes it easy for little hands to grasp and place (or try to). 

                              

Recommended for: 18 months & Up

These are what I would call Step 2 Puzzles.  After children master the large peg puzzles, the next step is to offer chunky puzzles or puzzles that have specific places but can be a little more challenging.  These are great to further promote fine motor skill development but puzzles like the ABC Puzzle help with early literacy skills.

                              

Recommended for: 24 months & Up (or significant fine motor skill development)

These are what I would call Step 3 puzzles.  These are the hardest for children to master because they have to use their pincer grasp to pick up and place the pieces.

These puzzles retail for around $20 each but you can find others or even the same at a lower cost...just need to do your research first.

Activities to Focus On:

In & Out

Colors

Shapes

Alphabet

Animals & Sounds

Vehicles

etc.

These are just a few samples and use your judgement as to what puzzle is best for your child.  I also enjoy the 3D puzzles (putting a strawberry together) or puzzle blocks that make sounds because it helps them learn what goes together.

Next time I'm going to look at something I absolutely love to introduce to children to help build cognitive skills.  Please leave me your thoughts and any suggestions for future reviews.

Thanks!  And until next time, Happy Playing!

~Amy

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Simple and Advanced Shape Sorter

                    

Recommended for: 6 months & Up

Cost: around $20

Shape sorters are great tools to use with young learners and older learners.  They offer children the chance to learn cause-and-effect principles and help build cognitive skills.  The simple 3-piece version is great if your child struggles with fine motor issues and also helps with identifying primary colors, 3 shapes (square, triangle and circle) and simple counting.  The more advanced toy also helps those with fine motor issues because the child can grasp the item and hold it while trying to place in correct shape slot.  I know the sounds it makes when you take them out is fun for little ones as well.  The 5-piece sorter offers more advanced counting (1-5), shapes (adding star and heart) and 5 colors.  Many children may need hand-over-hand assistance to make the shapes fit so language that is simple is best: "Make it fit".  I've also found it helpful to block off the incorrect slots with your hands so that the choice is easier and they do not get frustrated that the shape does not go in the correct tube.

Early Learning Activities (6-18 months):

In & Out concept

Colors: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green (3-piece version); 

Shapes: Square, Triangle, Circle

Counting: 1-3

Activities for Over 18 Months:

In & Out concept

Colors:Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Orange and Purple (5-piece)

Shapes: Square, Triangle, Circle, Star, Heart

Counting: 1-5

Open-ended:  Where does the Square go?  Which shape has the duck on top?  Which shape is purple? Can I have the yellow square?

These are a few examples of how to stimulate language and grow cognitive skills with a shape sorter.  I love using the various different ones to help my students learn.  It's fun and each time you use it, you can use it differently so they don't get bored with the same toys.

Stay tuned for the next review.  I will be looking at puzzles and which ones are appropriate for which ages and when to introduce them.  Let me know what you think and please answer the pool at the bottom.

Thanks!  And until next time, Happy Playing!

~Amy

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics(tm) Rock-a-Stack(R)

Recommended for: 6 Months & Up (per www.Fisher-Price.com website) 

Cost: around $10

This is a great toy that has a multitude of uses and can be used for children up through age 4 or 5.  I specifically chose this toy because I like that it uses primary colors and gives a lot of language opportunities for children to grow.  Provided below is a list of activities that I would recommend to parents or therapists using this tool to help stimulate language or to build cognitive skills.  I will also include simple vocabulary for parents to use when using this toy as a therapeutic tool.

Early Learning Activities (6 months-18 months):

On/Off Concept

Color Names: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue

Counting: 1-5

Activities for Children Over 18 Months:

On/Off: Take the orange ring off. Put green ring on.

Colors: Blue goes on first...which one is blue?

Size: Which color is the smallest?

Counting: Let's count the rings?  How many do we have?

Following Directions: Can I have the yellow ring?

Open-ended questions: Which ring is different?  Why is it different? (Red because it makes sounds); Why can't the red ring go on first? (too small, blue is biggest, etc.)

These are just a few examples of activities to use with a toy that seemingly has only 1 or 2 options.  It's amazing how the simplest toy has so many uses and can encourage your child to talk more and make progress towards goals.

Stay tuned for our next review and please let me know what you think!  Please also comment on our poll and let me know what you thought of the toy.  I'm open to suggestions so if you have anything you want me to review, I'd be happy to include it here.

Thanks!  And until next time, Happy Playing!

~Amy

DISCLAIMER: All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

At the beginning...

I am really excited to bring this blog to the attention of many of the parents that I work with.  I love working with the Early Intervention population and am asked often about what toys or tools do I recommend for their baby, toddler, preschooler that can maximize learning.  Play is extremely important for young children as they grow and learn through experience.  I have spent my career mostly working with Infants and it's surprising the number of comments I get when I show parents how to use a toy in 10 different ways.

This blog will lay out 1-2 toys in a week and cover a wide range of ages from Birth-6 Month up until 2 1/2 to 3 Years Old.  I hope you try each toy and let me know what you think about it.

Thanks for taking the time to read and review the toys.

~Amy