- Giraffe Kids Academy
Activities Across Developmental Domains
Infants and young children learn at a rapid pace. Giraffe Kids Academy support their growth and development at each stage with this list of activities across developmental domains.
INFANT ACTIVITIES ACROSS DEVELOPMENTAL DOMAINS (0-1 YRS OLD)
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Expressive Language Activities
Start a “conversation” by mimicking the infant’s sounds Use sign language to express “more” and “all done” Make sounds such as “ma” “da” and “ba” and encourage them to repeat back Model animals sound and encourage them to repeat them back Use different voices during finger puppet play Receptive Language Activities
Narrate all care routines (e.g., diaper change) Model following directions such as “put in” and “take out” Look at a book and point to colors and other relevant items. Ask the infant, “Where is the yellow sun?” and point to it Clap your hands and encourage the infant to clap Play “Where is Your______” and call out familiar items
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Cogntive Activities
Hide objects under a cover and play hide n’ seek or peek-a-boo
Sing simple songs (e.g., patty cake)
Put a shatterproof mirror near the infant bringing attention to their reflection
Read a short picture book
Play with toys that can be pushed and rolled
SENSORY DEVELOPMENT
Sensory Activities
Offer fabrics with different textures (e.g., silky scarf) and narrate how it feels
Play a gentle tickling game
Massage infant with lotion and narrate how the lotion feels (i.e., cool, smooth, etc.)
Offer infants, eating solids, a variety of food textures (be mindful of food size and consistency that may be a choking hazard)
Offer clean and safe objects to mouth
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
Gross Motor Activities
Tummy Time—place the infant on their stomach and sing songs or offer materials to look at and explore
Place the infant on their back and put a toy within sight but slightly out of reach to encourage rolling over
Place toys at a distance to encourage crawling
Place toys on sturdy furniture to encourage pulling up
Introduce rolling a ball back and forth
Fine Motor Activities
Offer items that can be held in one hand (e.g., rattle, small lightweight scarf)
Offer a container with items to put in and take out
Offer soft books or board books and model flipping pages
Offer infants who are eating solids Cheerios (or similar foods) to practice raking and scooping
Offer finger paint and paper
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Social-Emotional Activities
Make different facial expressions and narrate the corresponding feeling (e.g., happy)
Narrate the needs the infant may be communicating (e.g., “sounds like you’re tired”)
Offer “down time” with infant-safe soft materials and quiet activities such as listening to low instrumental music or using a quiet voice to read
Model taking turns, “your turn” and “my turn”
Use puppets to talk about feelings