I've been stuck inside more days than not for the past month. I had to revive some of our last winter indoor activities, adjusted for age.
Alex loves books - so we go over the books he's chosen to read. For a different twist, I make up a different story with sound effects to go with the pictures. If you have baby photo books, those are great too, I've found. Alex LOVES looking at family photos. I'll also hold him up and go over all of the hanging photos on the wall (almost all of him) and tell him a story about each photo or the age he was when I took it. He LOVES that game.
'The Dinosaur Game' - so named because I happen to be doing it with a lot of stuffed dinosaurs. I use Alex's stuffed animals in various 'chase' scenarios or I will sit them all in a circle and pretend to do a song session with them. Alex could go for hours crashing into the circle or when he does, giggling and laughing when the dinosaur gets 'revenge' and wrestles with him, with me growling the sounds of the dino. I've done similar games with hand puppets, but you can just make his stuffed animals 'talk' to the same effect.
Lessons - I'll take things like his colored baby teething rings and go over the colors or I'll take the numbers from his foam square playmat and go over the numbers with him. I've made up 'rewards' for his playing along, such as a tickle, a wrestle, a nursery rhyme, etc. I also go over 'What Words Do you Know?' or 'What does the ____ say?' to go over sounds he knows, such as animals or machines.
Song Games - I learned a bunch of song games that involve physical play to nursery rhyme songs. We can get at least a half hour to forty minutes of "The Grand Old Duke of York" knee bouncing or "Little Bunny Foo, Foo" hand acting along with many other songs. If you don't recall nursery rhymes independently, you can look them up online to get rhymes, MIDI files to tell you the melody and suggestions for hand or play acting with them.
Coloring - I'll set out a time for us to both color in both coloring books and blank paper. I got some chunky crayons that have been easier for him to use.
Pretend Games - Using some cartoon he knows as an inspiration for a story, I'll get items that aid making up some profession Alex could do. I'll play "construction worker" or "professor" or "fireman" with him, casting him in the role of the main character. This game cracks him up so much, he has a hard time paying attention to the story line. LOL
I'll also use television with Alex. We have a Baby Einstein collection, but I'll use PBS shows and interstitials just as often. I'll set out a time for us to watch a DVD or show together and I comment on the show. Sometimes I point out things to him, sometimes I make it silly. I'll sing along with songs if that's applicable. I'll also use recorded music for dancing and singing sessions.
I've found that these kinds of activities can fill a LOT of time and attention space. Alex will often want to redo some part of it that really makes him laugh or that he really enjoys. The big plus is that all of these games make him think, so a normal naptime is a near guarantee.
October 6, 2008
