September 2021 Fun Book Activities and Curriculum

Group 1
​Read A Loud or Play the Above YouTube Video
  • ​Start by reading your Infant/Toddler the title on the cover of the book.
  • As you read each page name and point to the pictures.
  • Describe what you see on each page. Point to animals and objects and name them. If you come across something on a page and there is a simple song or fingerplay that goes with it add that in and sing with your child before turning the page.

​Why Should You Read to Your Baby?

Nurtures Bond
As a newborn, your baby is learning to trust you and understand that you are there to meet their needs. Bonding plays a key role in your baby feeling safe and cared for.

When reading to your newest family addition, you’re taking the time to create an experience to spend quality time with your little one. You are connecting with them by holding them and sharing something with them.
It doesn’t matter if your newborn baby understands what you are reading, it is the act of connecting and strengthening the bond between you that matters.

Children of any age aren’t able to learn if they feel unsafe or threatened. By increasing the bond, you have with your child from birth, you are providing them with a sense of security, allowing them to release their fears of survival and focus on learning.

Reading Supports Communication
One of our basic instincts from birth is to communicate.
Communication can take many forms: orally, through pictures, through words, through body language and facial expression, and through gestures to name a few.

When you are reading to your infant, you are modeling this communication and demonstrating the different ways to communicate.
Tips for Reading to Your Baby
  • Snuggle up with book
  • Choose baby-friendly books
  • Read at a slow pace
  • Use your voice and hands to be interactive
  • Allow your baby to touch the books as you read them
  • Point to pictures and connect them with words
  • Keep books where your baby can reach them
  • Talk with your baby- all day long
  • Encourage your baby's coos, growls, and gurgles
  • Help your baby build strength in the muscles in their hands
  • Develop a daily routine for reading and other activities
  • Sing, Read, Repeat
  • Pay attention to how your baby reacts to different books
  • Don't focus on the reading the exact words
  • Read daily no matter the amount of time you have
  • Pick a time that when your baby is calm and alert
  • Choose a good place that is quiet and comfortable
  • Build a positive association for your baby with reading. Stop reading if your baby is unhappy. 
Types of Books for Early Learning

Cloth Books
Cloth Books are great for baby book play as little one’s love to explore things with their mouths. From birth and on, these durable books will become quick favorites! They are also easy to wash in your washing machine.  
High-Contrast Books
High-Contrast Books are best for newborns as they cater to an infant’s nearsightedness. The stark contrast in colors make them easier for infants to see and encourage them to focus and follow the pictures.
These are also all board books, so they are highly durable for baby play.​

​Examples of High Contrast Books include:
Touch-and-Feel Books
Touch-and-Feel books are perfect to add to your baby’s library around 5-6 months. When baby is reaching out to touch things and starts seeking sensory stimulation, touch-and-feel books provide plenty of textures for baby to explore.
Sound Books
Sound books are really engaging, especially starting at around 9 months. They allow your child to explore concepts through sight and hearing giving them a better understanding of the concept. Sound books also work on the “cause and effect” skill as when your child presses the button, it makes a sound!
Lift-the-Flap and Peekaboo Books
These books are particularly perfect as your baby becomes more interactive with the world around them (great for 6 months and up). They will love to look at what is hiding underneath flaps.
Group 2
​Read A Loud or Play the Above YouTube Video
​• Read the title of the book to your child.
• Ask him where his ears are and ask him where your ears are.
• Tell him, “It’s time to listen!”
• Count the number of children on the front page.
• Read each poem’s heading and show or act out each of them. Being animated will help keep your child engaged.
• As you read body parts, locate them on your child’s body: “Feel your toes, on your feet” or “My nose sneezes! Achoo!”
• Ask your child if he likes to do the things seen in the pictures.
• Play peekaboo with you child and say, “I’m here!” when you reveal your face.
• Point out the items listed in each heading during your everyday activities: “Let’s get in your car seat!”
• Read the book once a week to help increase your child’s vocabulary and memory.
• Try some of the ideas above. Continue to use your own imagination during book play, too. Have fun with the book and enjoy your time together.
​New words and sounds your child might learn:
I, see, toes, walking, nose, sneeze, tongue, noisy, puppy, ball, bird, dogs, car, chair, belly, music, snooze, cats, daddy, bath
Other Poetry Books for Children 0-4
​With this book, you will introduce your child to the wondrous world of poetry! This collection of poems covers the everyday activities that occur in every toddler’s life. The poems are paired with vibrantly colored illustrations for you and your child to enjoy!
Poems and Rhymes
Poems and rhymes are important for language development for babies and toddlers. Here are some helpful hints as you are reading to your baby.

• Literacy helps word development even in infants. They soak everything in like a sponge even if they show you what they have learned later on in life. Filling their day with words and songs are important for language development.
​
• Read the book to your child and describe what you see on each page. Point to animals and objects and name them. If you come across something on a page and there is a simple song or fingerplay that goes with it add that in and sing with your child before turning the page.
Transportation Sounds
Group 3
Build a Train with Your Toddler

Train Shapes
Cut out construction paper shapes into the shape of a train (rectangle – boiler, triangle – cow catcher, square – engineer’s cabin, upside down triangle – funnel, 3 circles – wheels). Have your child glue together. Add cotton on for smoke.
Shoe Box Trains
Have your child paint and decorate shoe boxes. Add two wheels on each side of each shoe box. String them together. Sort toy trains by type, color, size, etc. Sort pictures (stickers on cards) of trains.
​
Egg Carton Train
Supplies: bottom half of egg carton, scissors, glue, empty spool (one per child), toilet paper tube (1 per child, black construction paper, small paper cup to trace, chalk, black and red paint.
  1. Cut the bottom of an egg carton in half lengthwise and give one half to each child. Have each child glue a toilet paper tube on top of their first egg cup and a spool on top of their last. Have them paint the spool and the adjourning egg cup red, this is the caboose.
  2. Have them paint the rest of the egg carton black and let dry. Using the small paper cup, trace ten circles on the black construction paper. Cut these out to be wheels. Glue five wheels on each side of the train.
Number Train
You need: cardboard, markers, paste, construction paper, railroad shapes.
  1. Prepare several cardboard cutouts of railroad engines and cars. Help your child trace a train onto large sheets of construction paper.
  2. Write the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on each car and the words first, second, third, fourth, fifth on each, respectively. Have your child try to arrange the railroad cars in order on another sheet of paper and paste them in place when they are correctly laid out.​
  3. ​Encourage verbalization of the names of the ordinal positions. Use this activity to reinforce counting as well. Let your child imagine a very long train and ask, “How many cars can you count?”
Children Love Trains! The following activities and games can help children development early literacy skills. Click on the game for details.

Little Engine that Could Alphabet Game
​
Train Shape Matching Game
Other Books to Read about Trains
Group 4
Building Activities
There are so many creative ways to build and construct with your child at home.  Yes, you can use blocks and Lego.  But you can also use recycled materials such as boxes and containers as building supplies as well. 
  1. Hammering golf tees into cardboard is fabulous for developing fine motor and hand-eye coordination, and when you write letters on the cardboard you add a literacy component as well! 
     2.  Do you have paper cups or red Solo cups at your house?  They make 
           great building materials as well.  You really could build something
​           new every time with cups and imagination.  
3.   Use nature and playdough to build. Sticks work great!
4.   Pool noodles can be used for literacy and building. Cut up pool noodles and a paper towel holder to make word towers. Write letters on the pool noodles and create words with your child. You can also cup up a paper towel tube and do the same thing.
Benefits of Constructive Play in Early Childhood
Constructive play (also known as constructing play or construction play) involves manipulating elements to make something new. This may involve all sorts of different construction methods – stacking, assembling, disassembling, sorting or molding, to name just a few.

Construction or block toys boost hand-eye coordination. This will happen gradually as your child learns to grasp, collect, and move the blocks or construction toys. They may also compare the many pieces of construction toys before building something. This will enable them to distinguish between same and different. When your kid joins school, his ability to count the pieces will improve his math skills. Building blocks for math comes in handy! Not only that, his reading and understanding abilities will also improve as he tackles the construction pieces to build something. In fact, block play and child development go hand in hand.
  • It helps improve the problem-solving skills of a child.
  • It helps a child explore symmetry, sizes, shapes, and other aspects of the objects.
  • It helps a child understand the concepts of cause and effect, balance, and gravity.
  • It helps a child in building up his self-esteem as the child is in control of his surroundings and his own environment.
  • It helps a child learn to play together with his friends and assimilate the concept of coordination.
  • It ignites a child’s curiosity and triggers his interest.
  • It opens a world of imagination for a child.
  • It helps a child understand the world around him by exploring his options and by representing one object with another.
  • It helps shape up a child’s physical skills, which include both gross motor and fine motor skills.
  • It helps a child learn about planning and implementation.
Other Fun Reads about Construction
Making the Most of Constructive Play
  • Add a range of open ended loose materials to your child’s block play (or to other construction sets) – pieces of vinyl, pieces of fabric, balls of wool, small tiles, shells, bottle tops, lengths of ribbon, planks of wood, stones.
  • Add lengths of PVC pipes, clean tin cans, and measuring tapes to your block play area.
  • Add a variety of figurines and vehicles to your construction area, to be used with construction sets.
  • Look for interesting block shapes to stretch the child’s constructing abilities.
  • Add clipboards, paper and pencils to your construction area so that children can draw their building ideas.
  • Buy a bag of wood off cuts and some strong glue as an introduction to woodworking. Over time, add a small handsaw, nails and small hammer.
  • Build cubbies or blanket forts from sheets, chairs, milk crates, large boxes, paint, hay bales, tyres, lengths of bamboo or dowel.
Group 5
Baby Bear
You Will Need:
Paper Plate
Glue
Brown Construction Paper
Popsicle Stick
Scissors

Directions:
1) Take a paper plate and cut out a hole in the middle as big as your child’s face.  
2) Next cut out brown paper ears (or white ones and color them brown) glue the ears to the top left and right corners of the plate.  
3) Next if you have a popsicle stick glue or tape it to the bottom so you can hold the mask up to your face.    See picture below.  
Porridge Play
Cooking with your toddler has many benefits. Your child will be excited to help out in the kitchen and reap the benefits in their tummy.
  • Social-Emotional Development: Hands on cooking activities help children develop confidence and skill. Following recipes encourages children to be self-directed and independent, it also teaches them to follow directions and develop problem-solving skills.
  • Physical Development: Fine motor and eye-hand coordination skills are developing by chopping, mixing, stirring, squeezing, and spreading.
  • Cognitive Development: Cooking encourages children’s thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. It also allows children the opportunity to use the knowledge they have and apply it by counting, measuring, following a sequence, following directions, and cause and effect.
  • Language Development: Cooking offers the opportunity to develop language development by linking it to all other areas, including Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts, and Literacy. This is done by encouraging children to talk about what they are doing, counting, and watching materials change color, texture, and medium.
Follow the recipe below by clicking on the link:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears – Porridge « Bites from Books

Offer your child fresh fruits to add to their porridge like strawberries, blueberries or peaches. Introducing new foods and tastes will expand your child's taste buds!​
Fun Activities

Take your child on a Scavenger Hunt throughout your house.  Look for different items like beds, chairs and tables like in the book.  You can also do an I spy sort of game. 
 
Talk to your child about things that are too big to small, too hot, too cold. Create a sorting activity with things that are too big and too small like Goldilocks in the book from items throughout your house.  
Let’s learn about Antonyms (Opposites)
Allow your child to learn about opposites such as hard, soft, cold, hot, rough, smooth, by using this sensory bin as touch game. Fill a basket with objects of opposites and watch how your child use his/her senses to differentiate the opposite properties. This is also a great sorting activity!
Act out the Story
You Will Need:
3 Stuffed Bears and a Doll or Make Puppets
 
Using the stuffed animals, the doll or puppets, act out the story. This is a great way for your child to use their imagination.
Other Books To Enjoy ​
Introducing the Number 3
The number 3 is used throughout Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You can help your child begin to recognize the number 3 by asking your child to find and gather different items in quantities of 3. For example, help your child find 3 rocks, 3 crayons, or 3 buttons. Have them count each item and name it. 
Writing the Number 3
  1. Have your child watch you draw the number 3 on a large piece of paper.
  2. Ask you child to trace it with their finger or have them use a toy car to trace it.
  3. Next, have your child use a crayon, pencil, or other writing utensil to trace the number 3. 
  4. Once, your child has successfully traced the number 3, have them practice drawing it on another sheet of paper while looking at the picture.
Group 6
Other Books About the Beach
Non-Competitive Sports
Many families prefer non-competitive physical activity and sports for their children. Some of the benefits of non-competitive sports include:
  • Shifting the focus of the game to fun
  • Accepting all children no matter skill level, body type, and ages
  • Promotion of life-skills
  • Establishing healthy habits and ways to reduce stress
  • More balanced scheduled
  • Learn how to follow instructions
  • Spending more time in nature or with the family

If this sounds important to you, try dance, bowling, karate, cycling, hiking, or any activity that promotes well-being.
Children of all ages having the opportunity to play games and sports is very beneficial.  Playing outside with your child is fun and healthy.  Running around, laughing, and connecting with your child indoors or outdoors is important. 
​
10 important reasons why young children benefit when introduced and play sports:
  1. It provides companionship and helps them make friends.
  2. Helps them learn how to lose
  3. Learning discipline and respect for authority
  4. Develop persistence, dedication, and patience
  5. Develop self-esteem
  6. Sports is a mood-enhancer
  7. Body composition and weight
  8. Building a healthy heart
  9. Strengthens your bones
  10. Building a healthy adult
Kick the Cup
Materials Needed:
Plastic Cups
Permanent Maker
Ball

Directions:
1. Write a letter on each plastic cup with permanent marker. Write the lowercase letter on one side of the cup and the uppercase match on the other side. This way you can turn them around to work on both versions of each letter.

2. Line the cups up in a row on the floor.

​3.  Have your child face the cups with the ball in front of him. When instructed to kick, have him kicked the ball towards the cups and knocked one or two of them over.  Then have him go over to the cups he knocked over and identified the letter on each cup and the sound each letter makes. Could also us cones and sight words.  
Our Mission: To create synergy within and between systems, organizations, families, and individuals that result in a strong culture of health and quality services for our communities. 
85 N. Main Street, Wellsville New York 14895 ● Phone:  585-593-5223 ● Fax: 585-593-5217
© 2015 Ardent Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved . Site Designed and Maintained by Ardent Solutions.