Ideas for Infant Activities #whenteachersHAVEbabies

Okay, I think I got all of the cobwebs down from this blog! If you don't follow me on my Instagram or Facebook pages perhaps you are unaware, but we had a baby!

A precious baby boy on January 11, 2019 that I have been fortunate to be spending my days at home with. However, as an early childhood educator I think it was inevitable that my brain would start to compile "teaching ideas" or ideas for "awake time" with little, little babies! I also quickly realized that what I assumed everyone knew, they didn't. Lots of moms in my babies group were frequently asking each other, "What are you doing during awake times?" "We sing, but what else can we do?"

I quickly started sharing suggestions for activities that we were doing, or books/items we had purchased and we’re using. I also compiled an Amazon list with suggestions for books or activity items for young babies.

It's SO easy to find stimulating activities for babies at this age if you think about it.

Sounds, lights, just walking around your home even is a stimulating activity for them. 

Babies initially see black and white first and then red is the first color they pick up. Anything with a high contrast or large bold patterns and shapes will get their attention at this age. 

For us our awake time could include looking at books— ones that are mostly black and white designs like these below. 

 

The 3 are from Amazon and the mini board book set is from Usborn books. (So keep you eyes open the next time you get an online invite 😆) 

We also enjoy mirrors! There’s lots of fun floor mirrors available on Amazon and I regret not registering for one. We ended up with an extra car mirror so that’s what’s we’ve been using. I also love this Eric Carle book that features a mirror! 

As the weeks go by we start to enjoy/tolerate more and more time on our activity mat too! 

I especially love this one because it features black and white with some color and it also lights up along the top. 

There’s a play mat by a company called Lovevery that I totally recommend if you play mat budget is on the higher end. It’s simple and clean design is very appealing and if you're struggling to know what activities to do with your little one you can sign up for a box that they send monthly that may include items compatible with their mat. Seems like a super awesome concept that I never saw until after baby was born! 

We have this soft book too that goes with the same collection of our activity mat. This is fun to prop up for baby to look at or stick in your diaper bag since it’s soft and easily portable. 

In our diaper bag I have these two toys that were a steal from Ikea! The black and white plushie mini blanket is great in the car seat and even though it’s not black and white, this soft book features simple bold designs of fruit with fun lift the flaps! 

If baby starts to get fussy we simply switch up the activity, change our location, or change our sitting position. When none of those swap outs are working then I know we’re really done and probably ready for our next nap! 

To see the Amazon idea list I put together for various infant activities just click the photo below! 

I’d love to hear your feedback on whether or not you’d like me to feature more posts for infants or not! I have a few more ideas already and I’m sure will generate more as I go. 

Let me know and let me know if you have any topics in mind! (Let's also keep in my mind that our little one is now 10 weeks old, and I started this blog post about 3 or 4 weeks ago! haha)

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