August 2021 Fun Book Activities and Curriculum
Read A Loud or Play the Above YouTube Video
Farm Animal Peek-A-Boo
It will also be fun using the activity to sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm.
Need help singing the song? Click the link below to sing along. |
Peek-a-boo is a game which you can’t help to play whether it’s with your newborn or toddler! Whether you get a smile or giggle, it’s an infectious game that just keeps going, and when your little one gets old enough it turns to hide and seek!
Peek-a-boo is not only a fun way to play with your baby or toddler it’s hugely beneficial developmentally, below some of its key benefits. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT A big skill your little one will be developing while playing peekaboo is ‘object permanence’, this is the ability to understand that an object or person is still there even though it/they can’t be seen. This skill also links to improving problem solving skills. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT Baby – Encourages reaching. Toddler – When playing hide and seek your little one will be improving their balance, agility, and co-ordination. SPEECH DEVELOPMENT Playing peekaboo can encourage speech, saying ‘peekaboo’, ‘where’s mommy’, ‘here I am’. Giving the foundations to the beginnings of a conversation with your little one. SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT Some social skills your little one will be using and therefore developing are, turn taking, playing with others, increasing their confidence, and playing with others. This game also helps babies experience emotions such as surprise and anticipation. As well as excitement and happiness when you suddenly appear from under your fingers! Play more peek-a-boo with these fun books:
Make your own Peek-A-Boo games:
The number of ways to play peek-a-boo with your baby is only as limited as your imagination. 1. Cut out pictures of simple shapes from a magazine or one's you download. 2. Place a sticky note over the shape and ask your child to find the "red square." When she finds it, say "Peek-A-Boo!" Sing the Peek-A-Boo song with LooLoo Kids |
Read A Loud or Play the Above YouTube Video
Sensory Activities Matierals: Toy cars, blank paper, paper bag, or butcher paper, zip lock bag, washable and non-toxic paint 1. Place paint into bowls or into zip lock bags. 2. Have your child roll the car in the paint covering its wheels. 3. Ask your child to drive the car around on the blank paper adding colors as they go. 4. Make clean-up after a fun sensory experience as well. Have your child use a small bin to wash the cars after painting with them. Washing is just as much fun as painting. New words and sounds your child might learn:
car, subway, bus, firtruck,van, motorcycle, police car, ambulance, airplane Other Books about Vehicles for Children 0-4
Sensory Development
Sensory development in children is probably the biggest benefit of sensory play. Sensory experiences for toddlers and babies help develop skills such as motor skills, language, scientific thinking, and problem-solving. Creativity Sensory play for preschoolers and babies fosters creativity and encourages children to explore their world in new ways. You can introduce your little one into the creative world of art, via painting. Cognitive Development & Problem Solving Sensory development in children is the foundation for cognitive development and problem solving, as sensory experiences engage scientific processes such as testing hypothesis (I think this will happen when I do this), experimenting with new things (what happens when I put this and this together?) and coming to conclusions (this happened when I did that!). A simple sensory activity example are puzzles. Language Development The benefits of sensory activities also apply to language development. As kids build new nerve connections in the brain through problem-solving and sensory play, it leads to the ability to create even more nerve connections and do more complex tasks such as language development. Learning to communicate with friends and family through sensory activities is a positive way to develop healthy social skills as well. Motor Skills Developing motor skills is another benefit of sensory activities. Any activity that involves balancing or body awareness is considered sensory development for children, as those types of physical movements, teach them where their bodies are in space and increase the muscle strength necessary for coordination. |
Hop into the driver’s seat with your little driver! The Kids’ Picture Show books, inspired by the hugely popular YouTube channel, introduce young readers to first words in cool 8-bit style.
This sturdy board book, packed with images of vehicles, is the perfect introduction to things that zoom, fly, and rumble for babies and toddlers. The 8-bit illustration style makes the book even more fun and accessible for young children, and it will also appeal to parents, grandparents, and anyone who has played classic video arcade games. I love car and truck activities - perfect for one-, two- and three-year olds. Don't be fooled thinking these activities are 'boy activities' - girls love cars and trucks as much as anyone. When I've worked in early learning environments the cars and trucks one of the most popular play areas (in close competition with the dress ups and pretend play areas).
Sensory Play: Every parent knows that babies and toddlers have a natural curiosity to engage in the world around them. Sensory play for babies and sensory play for toddlers utilizes that natural urge and helps guide them to further develop cognitive and motor skills. Sensory play for babies versus sensory play for toddlers can look different depending on age, and together we can explore those details and what they look like for your toddler or baby. The importance of sensory play cannot be overstated. Sensory play benefits include brain development, creating stronger connections to sensory information, increased hand-eye coordination, and bonding time with caregivers as sensory play almost always includes you in some way (especially sensory play for babies). In fact, quality time spent with our kids is probably one of the best side-effects of sensory play as children thrive off of love and attention. The definition of sensory play is any activity that stimulates the five senses of a child. These are touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. Sensory play also includes any activity that makes a child move or practice balancing. That being said, the definition of sensory play can be applied to a wide variety of age-appropriate activities for both babies and toddlers. Sensory play is a concept that can be easily integrated into our everyday life and is a fun way to engage with our kids. Transportation Song
(Sing to the tune of Wheels on the Bus) 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 day long. The car on the road goes beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. The cars on the road goes beep, beep, beep, all day long. The motorbike on the road goes brum, brum, brum, brum, brum, brum, brum, brum, brum. The motorbike on the road goes brum, brum, brum all day long. The train on the track goes choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo, choo. The train on the track goes choo, choo, choo, all day long. The boat in the water goes up and down, up and down, up and down. The boat in the water goes up and down all day long. The plane in the sky goes right and left, right and left, right and left. The plane in the sky goes right and left all day long. Transportation Sounds
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Snacks to enjoy with your little reader
Materials Needed for Lake Snacks:
Songs that are repetitive are fun to sing with your child (even if they do get stuck in our heads)!
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Importance of Repetition in Children’s Books:
Repetition makes books predictable, and young readers love knowing what will happen. Picture books with predictable, repetitive text develop language and literacy skills in all ages of growing readers from birth up. Read these to your toddlers, preschoolers, or kindergartener. Read these with your growing readers of any age, particularly readers who need the support that predictability and repetition provide. Bottom line — use these with any child who is learning to read as these books are invaluable to growing readers. Here’s why: predictable, repetitive text structures…
When youngsters anticipate what's coming next in a story or poem, they have a sense of mastery over books. When children feel power, they have courage to try. Pretending to read is an important step in the process of learning to read. Other Books to Read with Repition
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Short Film
Fine Motor Skills Activity
Materials Needed: 1. Large Skein of Yarn 2. Tape 1. Take yarn and cut arm length strands. About 20-25 of them. 2. Put the strands all togther and tie a knot at one end. 3. Tie the taped end to your child’s art easle or the wall. 4. Teach your child how to braid or let them have fun trying. 
Thinking about teaching your child about giving to those in need? How about donating their hair (ponytails of 12 inches or more) to Wigs for Kids? To learn more, visit Wigs for Kids on the web.
Kids helping kids is a wonderful way to teach your child empathy and compassion. It also helps your child grow and think about others. |
Going to the hairdresser, beauty salon or barber shop can be a positive or negative experience for a child depending on their knowledge and personal comfort level with getting their hair cut or trimmed.
Setting up a pretend hair salon dramatic play center, beauty salon dramatic play area, or preschool barber shop theme will give children with both types of feelings, an opportunity to explore hair activities, and to help one another understand more about going to the hair salon or beauty salon and helping one another out with fun hair dressing activities. The preschool children will be able to pretend they are cutting and styling each other’s hair and communicate their specific hairstyles and what they want done to their hair as they all play and re-enact the pretend hair salon together. Hair salon props to add to your dramatic play activity or play space at home:
Other Fun Reads about Hair
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Other Books About the Beach
Learning My Colors Activity
Learning colors is extra fun when you do it during snack time!
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Going to the beach is exciting. But it can also be busy. And loud. Sand can feel hot or itchy or sticky...and it gets everywhere! In This Beach Is Loud! a sensitive boy gets overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds, and sensations at the beach. Luckily, this kiddo's dad has a trick up his sleeve to help his son face these unexpected obstacles.
Sensory: Keep in mind everything a child experiences affects their senses in some way. This can be in a positive or negative way. Helping any child when they get sensory overload is important. Sensory overload anxiety can happen to any children who are just extra sensitive or on the spectrum. Even high-functioning and well-adjusted children are prone to the occasional meltdown due to sensory sensitivity. Their brains are still developing and learning how to respond to different sensory stimulation and sensory information. For autistic children, sensory stimuli like extreme odors, loud sounds, fluorescent lights, learning to share and play, unfamiliar surroundings, and any change in daily routine can trigger tantrums and outbursts. Auditory overload and auditory hypersensitivity are not uncommon for autistic children especially when put in a sensory integration environment that is new, has sensory dysregulation, or even new social interaction. They act out in response to sensory signals as well as physical or emotional stress. Outbursts are their way of expressing feelings of agitation, frustration, fear, anxiety or whatever they perceive as a sensory assault. As a parent, it can be hard to know what to do with a child that has a sensory processing issue. Unexpected meltdowns and fits of rage make it hard for children to make friends, succeed at school or team activities, or even leave the house. However, once you learn to recognize your child’s triggers, you can help them learn to better regulate their responses. Sand Art
Materials Needed: colored sand or mix sand into cups of different colored paint There are 2 ways to do this!
Sandpaper Rubbings Materials needed: variety of different "grit" or roughness's of sandpaper cut into different sizes, paper, peeled crayons.
VARIATION: Let the children color ON the sandpaper! |
Ocean Fish Matching Game
Being able to match items and explain why they go together is important for cognitive skills and ability. By matching objects to pictures children are practising visual discrimination, becoming familiar with one dimensional print and learning to connect real objects to print. All of which are important pre-reading skills.
Download the Ocean Fish Matching Game and cut out the bottom pieces (dotted lines). Ask the chilld to place the fish in the box directly below its matching fish.
Download the Ocean Fish Matching Game and cut out the bottom pieces (dotted lines). Ask the chilld to place the fish in the box directly below its matching fish.
Grow Your Own Family Tree
You Will Need: Large sheet of paper Colored paper Scissors Paste Crayons, markers, or colored pencils Directions: 1) Draw a tree on the large sheet of paper. Be sure to give your tree lots of branches! 2) Cut out a color paper shape to represent you —Write your name on the shape and paste it on the trunk of your tree. 3) Cut out shapes for all your present family members and others important to you — mothers, brothers, neighbors, pets. Write names on the shapes and paste them on the lower branches of your tree. 4) Cut out shapes for all your past family members and others important to you — grandparents, great-aunts, friends. Write names on the shapes and paste them on the upper branches of your tree. 5) Draw a picture on each shape that tells something about that person. 6) Congratulations! You have started doing genealogy — recording your family history! "Grandpa" in Sign Language
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Daisy has learned a lot from her Papi, from engines to determination, she looks up to him. As soon as she hears his truck driving down their street, she runs to get their helmets. The two are going to take a ride through the city together on her Papi’s motorcycle.
The motorcycle passes by all the different shops and churches that make up the city. Daisy thinks about how the city is changing, especially when they find out their favorite place to get shaved ice is closed. Papi takes Daisy to see the new homes he has been building and they even pass by friends and family as they drive. As the two-return home, Daisy’s young brother and Mami wave them home. Daisy knows that even though her city is changing, things will always stay the same with her family in their house. Take an Imaginary Motorcycle Ride Imaginative play is important for your child's development. Children build creativity and problem-solving skills, helps with social and emotional development, and encourages independence.
More Activities about Grandparents
Talk with the children about their grandparents.
Other Books To Enjoy
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