Running out of ideas to keep the little people busy during the quarantine? No worries…ditch the fancy activities and try daily routines instead! Daily routines such as getting dressed, having lunch, and doing household chores offer excellent opportunities to establish and expand developmental skills for the littles. Here are a few activities to try:
BEAT THE CLOCK
Picking up toys, clearing the table, getting dressed, a race to beat the clock is always exciting. Set the timer on the stove, watch, or phone and get moving. With a focus on fine motor skills (picking up objects, letting them go, placing them into containers), spatial concepts (in, under, behind), attention and memory (staying on task and remembering where the items go).
SCAVENGER HUNT
A scavenger hunt is a great way to get your little moving while putting groceries away, cleaning the pantry/fridge, going for a walk, or getting items ready for bath time! Try focusing on joint attention, eye contact, and pointing (look…found it while pointing to items/objects), expanding vocabulary by labeling items around the house and in the environment, REMEMBER…reward all attempts at vocalizations to keep them encouraged about using sounds and words to communicate with you.
SIMON SAYS
Playing Simon Says during bath time is a wonderful way to work on identifying body parts, following directions, and imitation skills. You can also work on expanding vocabulary (faucet, knob) and use of descriptive words (hot, cold, wet, empty, full).
READY, SET, GO
Don’t let your laundry basket go to waste, it’s a great tool to encourage reciprocal play (you push, my turn to push), requesting (push me, go fast), object permanence (hide items under towels and have littles find it), and classifying (sorting socks and then matching pairs).
Need More Ideas? Don’t forgot to follow us on social media! @Chatternola
Leave a Reply