Infants. Sweet little lesson plans for the sweet little ones.
Eating Time!
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Sensory
Explanation
Feeding time is the perfect transition opportunity during the day for the caregiver to bond with the baby. Meanwhile filling the infant’s empty tummy, an engaged interaction can take place when the caregiver talks to the baby as he/she is being fed, talking about the present occurring event of eating time. The caregiver can talk about the food to the baby as he/she is being fed, letting the infant know that the food is coming to their mouth after they finish chewing each time and what type of food it is that’s coming to them. If the infant attempts on feeding him/herself, then let him proceed and further their move and do development.
Materials
High chair
The infant’s meal
Goals
Using several senses
Taste-preference engagement
Development of self-feeding
Social interaction in wants-something quality time together
Rationale
Feeding time engages the infant to use the different senses due to the smells, looks, feel and taste of the foods, and with this, the baby can determine what it has found liking and/or disliking. This opportunity of bondage will allow the infant to see the difference between themselves and the rest of the world in this stage at their age and they start to display a wider variety of feelings, which will allow them to display discomfort/comfort in one sense of one part of the meal to another. With due respect to cultural diversity, the child will have a chance to explore the meals of their family’s culture or any approved presented meals or portion of foods in the early childhood program. The child has a chance to learn further in his language skills when spoken in his home language in response to the food that he/she is eating. Culture needs to be kept in mind when it comes to taking care of children, because parents that raise their children in a different way the school caregiver might must be respected and that can make a difference to how food served and what food is served to the child.
###
Tummy Time!
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Movement
Explanation
During Tummy Time, an infant has the opportunity to engage in movement in a variety of ways when a caregiver places an infant on their tummy on the floor, or for issues like vomiting or caregiver-missing view, the baby can be placed on the lap of the caregiver. Movement can be encouraged by showing toys out of the infant’s reach in hand or on the floor and encouraging him/her to reach/grasp for them, putting a manipulative toy in his/her hand, like a rattle or a bottle with beads/bells to shake, or a wagon/cart they can pull-push, or an instrument like a drumstick to bang on a drum or a kitchen utensil to bang on a pot/pan, making tunnels in an open space with chairs/cardboard boxes they can crawl through, and/or placing the infant near stable furniture to encourage pull-ups to sit up or stand up for walking.
Materials
A toy, a book or any other developmentally appropriate item(s) that can engage this activity
Goals
Gross motor skills development
Using several senses
Manipulates toys with precision
Social interactions in wants-nothing quality time together
Rationale
It is great to have the choice of the floor or the caregiver’s lap for tummy time, because sometimes infants have trouble getting sick or becoming distressed because they miss seeing the face of the caregiver. Placing the baby on the lap will put less pressure on their tummies, helps reduce problems like reflux, and the infant can see the caregiver’s face more easily. If an infant does not become sick with their tummy on the floor but misses their caregiver, then that caregiver can get on the floor with the baby and let them know of their presence by talking/singing, tickling their hands or stroking their back. Like the Eating Time activity, in an an activity like Tummy Time, the infant has a chance of gaining more language development based on the words coming from the caregiver, and in an activity like this, it is the perfect time to use the infant’s cultural language even if it is known in the slightest to create a bond.
###
Time For Peek-A-Boo!
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Problem-Solving
Explanation
Using the infant’s favorite toy/book or their current toy/book of interest, the caregiver can play an exciting game of peekaboo by having the baby solve the problem of the toy’s or book’s whereabouts after the caregiver hides it partially under the blanket in front of them and asks the infant about the toy/book. To create a variation and further development, the caregiver can take the toy/book and hide it completely under the blanket this time and encourage the baby to find it.
Materials
Small toy/book
A blanket
Goals
Fine motor skills development
Object permanence
Repeats action for same reaction in Peekaboo
Social interaction in building security and trust
Rationale
Playing a game like Peekaboo helps any infant build a relationship with someone else in the world they are getting to know and build security and trust because the human face is important to them. This is crucial to their learning and development because without the social/emotional skills, they will become absent mentally, even though they are physically present in an environment. Just like in the Tummy Time, the infant has a chance of gaining more language skills in this activity, for it is the perfect time to use the infant’s home language even if the knowledge of it is limited. The caregiver will be able to create a relationship with that particular child when empowering their problem-solving skills in this game of Peekaboo.
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Sensory
Explanation
Feeding time is the perfect transition opportunity during the day for the caregiver to bond with the baby. Meanwhile filling the infant’s empty tummy, an engaged interaction can take place when the caregiver talks to the baby as he/she is being fed, talking about the present occurring event of eating time. The caregiver can talk about the food to the baby as he/she is being fed, letting the infant know that the food is coming to their mouth after they finish chewing each time and what type of food it is that’s coming to them. If the infant attempts on feeding him/herself, then let him proceed and further their move and do development.
Materials
High chair
The infant’s meal
Goals
Using several senses
Taste-preference engagement
Development of self-feeding
Social interaction in wants-something quality time together
Rationale
Feeding time engages the infant to use the different senses due to the smells, looks, feel and taste of the foods, and with this, the baby can determine what it has found liking and/or disliking. This opportunity of bondage will allow the infant to see the difference between themselves and the rest of the world in this stage at their age and they start to display a wider variety of feelings, which will allow them to display discomfort/comfort in one sense of one part of the meal to another. With due respect to cultural diversity, the child will have a chance to explore the meals of their family’s culture or any approved presented meals or portion of foods in the early childhood program. The child has a chance to learn further in his language skills when spoken in his home language in response to the food that he/she is eating. Culture needs to be kept in mind when it comes to taking care of children, because parents that raise their children in a different way the school caregiver might must be respected and that can make a difference to how food served and what food is served to the child.
###
Tummy Time!
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Movement
Explanation
During Tummy Time, an infant has the opportunity to engage in movement in a variety of ways when a caregiver places an infant on their tummy on the floor, or for issues like vomiting or caregiver-missing view, the baby can be placed on the lap of the caregiver. Movement can be encouraged by showing toys out of the infant’s reach in hand or on the floor and encouraging him/her to reach/grasp for them, putting a manipulative toy in his/her hand, like a rattle or a bottle with beads/bells to shake, or a wagon/cart they can pull-push, or an instrument like a drumstick to bang on a drum or a kitchen utensil to bang on a pot/pan, making tunnels in an open space with chairs/cardboard boxes they can crawl through, and/or placing the infant near stable furniture to encourage pull-ups to sit up or stand up for walking.
Materials
A toy, a book or any other developmentally appropriate item(s) that can engage this activity
Goals
Gross motor skills development
Using several senses
Manipulates toys with precision
Social interactions in wants-nothing quality time together
Rationale
It is great to have the choice of the floor or the caregiver’s lap for tummy time, because sometimes infants have trouble getting sick or becoming distressed because they miss seeing the face of the caregiver. Placing the baby on the lap will put less pressure on their tummies, helps reduce problems like reflux, and the infant can see the caregiver’s face more easily. If an infant does not become sick with their tummy on the floor but misses their caregiver, then that caregiver can get on the floor with the baby and let them know of their presence by talking/singing, tickling their hands or stroking their back. Like the Eating Time activity, in an an activity like Tummy Time, the infant has a chance of gaining more language development based on the words coming from the caregiver, and in an activity like this, it is the perfect time to use the infant’s cultural language even if it is known in the slightest to create a bond.
###
Time For Peek-A-Boo!
Age Group: 5 to 8 months
Learning Activity Area: Problem-Solving
Explanation
Using the infant’s favorite toy/book or their current toy/book of interest, the caregiver can play an exciting game of peekaboo by having the baby solve the problem of the toy’s or book’s whereabouts after the caregiver hides it partially under the blanket in front of them and asks the infant about the toy/book. To create a variation and further development, the caregiver can take the toy/book and hide it completely under the blanket this time and encourage the baby to find it.
Materials
Small toy/book
A blanket
Goals
Fine motor skills development
Object permanence
Repeats action for same reaction in Peekaboo
Social interaction in building security and trust
Rationale
Playing a game like Peekaboo helps any infant build a relationship with someone else in the world they are getting to know and build security and trust because the human face is important to them. This is crucial to their learning and development because without the social/emotional skills, they will become absent mentally, even though they are physically present in an environment. Just like in the Tummy Time, the infant has a chance of gaining more language skills in this activity, for it is the perfect time to use the infant’s home language even if the knowledge of it is limited. The caregiver will be able to create a relationship with that particular child when empowering their problem-solving skills in this game of Peekaboo.