Building Skills Through Play

Help your baby build learning skills. The following activities use materials that you’re likely to have around the house.

Physical skills Over and under: Your baby is discovering that his size is changing. Some spaces are now too small to scoot under. Now he can reach new things. Help him explore his size. Make a tunnel from cardboard boxes taped together. Encourage him to crawl through the tunnel. Place a toy on the sofa just out of his reach. Encourage him to stretch to reach it.

Language skills Animal sounds: Cut pictures of animals from old magazines. Share the pictures with your baby. Tell him the name of the animal. Point out the animal’s features. Say things like, “This is a blue bird. It flies. See its feathers.” Make the sound each animal makes. Encourage your baby to repeat the sound.

Emotional skills Check the hat: Gather several hats, plastic bowls and lightweight pots. Show your baby how to put each on his head. Show him his reflection in a mirror. Laugh and talk with your baby throughout this “fashion show.”

Social skills Cooking together: Give your baby a pot and a wooden spoon. As you empty a container, give it to your baby. He will imitate you—pouring and stirring. Expect some banging, too!

Intellectual skills Balls in a muffin tin: Give your baby a muffin tin and several balls the size of a tennis ball. Show your baby how to put the balls in the holes. Encourage him to move the balls from space to space. Do the same activity using a clean egg carton and plastic eggs.

This content has been provided freely by CMC. Click Healthy Start, Grow Smart—Your-Eleven-Month-Old for your free download. Click GreatDad Free Ebook to download the entire Health Start, Grow Smart series.

Note: For info on sex after delivery, subscribe now to the GreatDad newsletter for new dads.

Previous / Next: Toys, Toys, Toys