Tuesday, August 14, 2007

• Today's Toss and Slide encouraged your child to make his way through step boxes, under zoo box and inside octagon tunnel. At this stage, children are very interested in communicating back-and-forth with you. Your child may have played peek-a-boo with you from the other side of the tunnel or reached out to you for more balls. When you respond to your child's attemps to get your attention, you are telling him he is a good communicator!
• The Bridge Party provided children with lots of incentive to stand, reach, grasp, and cruise as they dropped balls and beanbags through the rungs of the overturned Bridge. Cruising offered your young toddler an opportunity to develop muscle strength and dynamic balance as she worked to stay steady while walking and perhaps even carrying a ball at the same time! Did your child seem proud when she tossed a beanbag? She is becoming more skilled at communicating her feelings--and is validated and encouraged to communicated more when you respond.
• In Toddler Bowling, children climbed up to roll balls down large wedge to knock over foam blocks at the bottom. This presented a challenge to bilateral coordination (using both sides of the body), hand-eye coordination and dynamic balance. What was your child's reaction to knockin gover blocks? Clapping your hands at the accomplishment?) Shared activities like this one are an important way that you support your child's growing skill at back-and-forth communication.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME:

As you try these activities with your child, watch for ways she is developing physical and communication skills:

• Push it! Help your child practice walking by filling a laundry basket with toys and letting her stand and push it. You stand on other side and make sure basket remains steady and doesn't go too fast. This game will help your baby develop muscle strength and dynamic balance skills. Be sure to watch what your child is communicating as he plays. If he is feeling tentative, slow things down and let him take his time.
• Hello, Good-bye. Make a tunnel from a large cardboard box by opening both ends. Place your baby at one end of the tunnel. You sit at opposite end. Peek your face in tunnel and say, "Hi!" Then lean away from tunnel (so baby can't see you) and say, "Bye!" Does your baby try to communicate with you by crawling to find you, or by making sounds to copy your "hi" and "bye"?

THIS WAS THE HANDOUT GIVEN DURING TODAY'S CLASS AT GYMBOREE! HELPFUL!

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