rel="nofollow" href="#ulink_d6e7265f-27cf-5f80-9b3b-22c9690b0bbf">Command and Do
This activity develops
skill in following directions
listening skills
language development
eye-hand coordination
an understanding of affection shown by hugging a teddy bear
confidence
Assemble a stuffed teddy bear, the can with the plastic lid and cotton reel that were used in the week 42 activity and a medium size ball. Place them in order from left to right. Show the baby how to hug the stuffed animal as you remove it from the left position. Say,‘Mummy hugs Teddy.’Tell the baby to hug the teddy bear. Say,‘(Baby’s name) hugs Teddy.’ Praise the baby if he responds positively. If he just watches you, hug the bear again and encourage the baby to do likewise. Continue to do this until the baby responds correctly or loses interest.
Put the teddy bear back in place and pick up the cotton reel and drop it in the hole of the plastic lid on the can. Say,‘Mummy put the cotton reel in the can.’Since the baby has done this before, he may readily respond. If not, keep trying until he follows your command. Once the baby has responded correctly, clap your hands, praise him and say,‘(Baby’s name) put the cotton reel in the can.’ Roll the ball a short distance and say, ‘Mummy rolled the ball.’ Encourage the baby to go and get the ball and roll it back to you. Help the baby if he has difficulty retrieving or rolling the ball back to you. Respond to him again by calling him by name and praising him for his positive actions. Continue to do this until the baby understands how to go and get the ball even though it was not rolled directly to him. Try not to roll the ball a long way, because it will be difficult for the baby to retrieve and roll the ball back to you.
This activity develops
listening to and following directions
language enrichment
association skills
confidence and independence
Obtain a mitten that is larger than the baby’s hand. (An oven mitt will do.) Also, find a large bedroom slipper and a hat that is easy to put on the baby’s head but is not too large.
Put the mitten or mitt on your hand and take it off. Encourage the baby to put the mitten or mitt on either one of his hands. (Do not be concerned about the thumb as long as the baby gets his hand inside.) Help the baby put the mitten on if necessary. Talk to the baby as you do this. Practise putting the mitten or mitt on and taking it off until the baby is confident in doing this.
Put the slipper on your foot and take it off. Then encourage the baby to try it on his foot. Allow him to choose either foot. Help him if necessary. Practise this as long as the baby is interested.
Place the hat on your head and encourage the baby to take it off your head. Does he put the hat on his head? If not, encourage him to do so. Repeat the process if he does not seem to understand. Do this until the baby gets the idea.
Place the mitten or mitt, slipper and hat in a row. Tell the baby to put the mitten or mitt on. Does he put it on his hand or just watch you. Show him how, if he does not understand.
Then tell the baby to put on the slipper. Can he do that independently? Assist him if he does not quite understand. Point to the hat and tell him to put the hat on. Does he put it on his head or just watch? Help him if necessary. Continue doing this activity at various times and allow the child to play with the items independently. Be sure to praise him whenever he makes a positive response.
This activity develops
listening skills
an awareness of the parts of the face
skill in associating different parts of the face
Cut a picture of a baby’s face from a magazine or draw a face and show it to the baby. Point to the left eye on the picture of the face and say,‘Eye’. Gently touch the baby’s left eye and then touch your left eye and say the word eye again. Follow the same procedure for the right eye, the nose, the mouth, the left and right ears and the hair. Repeat this activity several times or until the baby loses interest.
Throughout the week and whenever possible, stress the parts of the face. If the baby seems confused, spend several days on the eyes, then progress and spend several days each on the nose, mouth, ears and hair. When the baby is confident, encourage him to point to or touch a part of the face on command. Clap your hands and use good voice inflection to motivate the baby’s interest and give him confidence.
Point to pictures of faces in magazines and books whenever possible and allow the baby to point to the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair of each face. This will enable the baby to associate the facial parts in pictures, as well as those in real life.
This activity develops
an awareness of home sounds
skill in associating home sounds with the correct object
verbal stimulation to imitate the sounds of home objects
listening for a purpose
Stress one familiar home sound each day throughout the week. For example, you may choose the washing machine sound. Exaggerate the sound verbally, and encourage the baby to imitate the sound that you make. Listed below are some suggestions that you can use in making some home sounds. Many other sounds may be added to this list.
washing machine—‘swish, swish’
dryer—‘mmmmmm’
telephone—‘ring, ring, ring’
dishwasher—‘squish, squish’
vacuum cleaner—‘zzzzzz’
electric saw—‘brr, brr’
electric drill—‘drr, drr’
person walking—‘clip, clop’
door bell—‘ding, dong’
car—‘brm, brm’
This activity develops
an awareness of the concept ‘over’
eye-hand coordination
association skills
vocabulary enrichment
independence
confidence
Cut some cardboard into five pieces that are approximately 8 × 12 centimetres or assemble five plastic lids to use for this activity. Select five simple, colourful pictures of things such as a ball, a house, a bird, a baby and a dog. Glue the pictures to one side of each card or lid. Place them on a flat surface in a row with all of the pictures facing up. Begin on the left side and