Activities for 6-12 Months

I'm not sure I fully appreciated the beauty of this age range with my first two. It's the age of movement- rolling and sitting and crawling. Maybe even walking for some munchkins. They can finally move to get to that much desired toy instead of screaming their heads off for an adult to come help them. Or not help that as is the case in our house more often than I like to admit. 

While we can't have a floor bed with our little one we can still provide an environment that encourages movement and freedom.  

 Balls are a huge hit. Especially one with different textures, sizes and shapes. We love the B. Oddballs (you can find them cheaper at target). 

Bucket of matchbox cars. 

Or a bucket of large wooden items with wheels if you are the type concerned about the previous idea's choke-ability factor. Your big kids may even join in on the fun. 

Our baby friendly shelf with some large handle puzzles, shape sorters, books and a place for those highly coveted balls. 

Space to move, something to move for and plenty of time is really all these little guys need. 

Fabric and Music- Sensory Fun

I don't know how well you guys are able to blend activities with the whole family but I find that it is becoming increasingly difficult. Bear is learning to read and very much in a numbers sensitive period while Indie is, well, a baby. 

Music Time

 This week we seemed to hit a nice stride though when we started an intentional music time in the afternoon before dinner. We pull out our really fun Bee Bop Band and turn on some music- mostly from Pandora Radio. It's a blast. Our favorite "stations" so far have been the Children's Indie and Zumba Fitness stations. Indie shakes and tried to dance while Bear tries to keep beat on the drums or his glockenspiel. 

Fabric Box

 The other activity that was a huge hit was using fabric squares. Indie got a chance to join us while I introduced the activity and had fun just getting to feel and toss around the fabric pieces. For the bigger kids, use a blindfold and have them try to match the pieces by touch. It's harder than you would think! While you can purchase fabric squares from www.montessorioutlet.com I simply went through my scrap bag of fabric and cut out pieces that were the same sizes. You could also use old clothes you have lying around as well. 

Good Questions:

Do these match? (hand child a matching pair)

How about these? (hand them a non matching pair)

(note: it's a good idea to introduce three different fabrics at a time to avoid confusion)

How does this one feel? Slippery? Scratchy? Light? Soft? Bumpy?

Can you match these three pairs? (give them three pairs to match)

Can you match all of them? 

Younger kids can manage without the blindfolds as long as they are trying to feel the fabric. 

 Matching Pairs (mine are NOT exactly the same size, I would recommend trying to keep them the same)

All the squares back in the box. 

Fabric I used:

Flannel

PUL (waterproof and "slippery")

Fleece

Bumpy Fleece

Cotton

Burlap

Duck

Terry Cloth