Young infants should spend some time each day on their tummy, which helps develop neck and upper body strength. Place a child-safe unbreakable mirror on the wall near floor level so infants can look at themselves and each other while on their tummies. Infants love to look at faces, and the mirror adds a fun aspect to tummy time.
Exposing infants to a variety of textures will help in their sensory development, yet fingerpainting is not always the best option because babies put their fingers in their mouths. Mix up a quick batch of instant pudding to provide a great substitute for traditional fingerpaint. Infants can enjoy the pudding's texture and tasting their work will be no problem at all.
On nice days, teachers and children are often anxious to get outside and enjoy the fresh air. This is important for children, but take the time to stimulate language skills while walking. Talk about the things that babies see as they ride. Point out a bird, or pick a flower for the infants to see. While you talk, you will be filling their brain with language. This helps infants build vocabulary and develop curiosity. It also promotes their visual and sensory development.
Babies can be rough on books, but heavy-duty board books should be made available to infants. Teachers who spend time each day reading to babies help them develop good reading habits later on in their development. Reading is not only important for language development, it helps prepare older infants for more advanced classes where sitting in circle time is an expectation.
Babies in the crawling stage love to explore, so acquire some large padded shapes to make an obstacle course. Babies can work on their motor skills as they crawl up a ramp, under a bridge or up a step. Even a large appliance box can make a tunnel that enhances playtime fun.
Older infants who can sit up like to play with items that they can scoop and dump out. Place on the floor a large container filled with beans, rice, or corn kernels and provide lots of spoons, cups and bowls for scooping and dumping. Teachers should observe carefully to ensure infants do not put these items in their mouths. Infants enjoy using water for this activity as well, but teachers need to use extreme caution since an infant can drown in a small amount of water.