During the course of one to four months, an infant acts through circular reactions, according to MentalHelp.net. This means that the infant repeats actions that bring her pleasure. At the same time, her brain develops the ability to see correlations between an action and an outcome ("if I suck on my thumb, my gums feel better").
The cause and effect game works to teach one to four-month olds cause and effect. For this educational game, you need a stuffed animal. Hold the stuffed animal up so that the child can see it. Whenever you say "drop," release the stuffed animal and catch the animal with the other hand. Smile and make this game enjoyable for the child. At a more advanced level, the infant may begin to think that her motions cause the dropping animal. Look for her "cue" motions and drop the animal when she cues you.
Around the age of eight-months to a year, a baby begins to explore the effects of different actions, according to MentalHelp.net. To develop a curriculum for this age group, try allowing them to see the different outcomes of their actions.
For "cause and effects," an example of a curriculum game for infants just under a year old, you need three different objects of differing hardness (i.e., a wooden block, a teddy bear, and a large plastic ball). Drop each of the three items one at a time. Although the items themselves make a different sound on the floor, accent the sound with your own linguistic interpretation. Say "ratatat" for the wooden block when it hit's the floor. Say "puff" for the teddy bear and say "tick tick tick" as the plastic ball hit's the floor. Make the game fun using large motions, sounds and facial exaggerations.
After a year, an infant begins to develop the ability to remember that an object exists, according to MentalHelp.net. At this point, help your child to remember the object by playing the "which hand is it in?" game. To do this, hold a small, shiny object in a hand so that the baby can see it. When the baby notices the item, close your hand around the object. Place both hands in front of the baby as closed fists and allow the infant to choose which hand holds the object. When the baby chooses the correct hand, cheer. At a more advanced level, place your hands behind your back and allow your infant to try to pick which arm holds the object.