Clueless on Fun, Developmental Activities to Do with My 9 Month Old

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Brain Games-for babies, toddlers and twos
BY: Jackie Silberg

It is GREAT!!! My brother got it for me for Christmas in 2004 when my first was 3 months old. I used it with him and then on my little girl who is now 16 months old. I LOVE it!!!

Great Job, it sounds like you are doing a lot of good activities with him. If you want something a little more than you can get the book Slow and Steady Get Me Ready, you can get on Amazon and it gives you very easy activities to do from birth to 5 years and they are usually simple household items, they tell you what the activity helps with like hand-eye coordination and I have used it with my boys. It gives you a fun activity that also builds skills. Have fun.

The best thing you can do for your child you are already doing. All a baby wants and needs is your time and attention. You are your baby's favorite toy right now.

With that said, I also found myself questioning if I was doing enough. I signed my daughter up for Gymboree and the class was fantastic! I learned so much and got so many great ideas on interacting with my baby. We are also doing Little Gym right now, and it really has seemed to help her mobility. Recently, I learned through another mom on mamasource of a program called Playwisely. We use flashcards to exercise their minds and then we do physical activities. I feel like all of the programs have been really beneficial for my daughter. You can find out more about the programs that I have listed at www.gymboreeclasses.com, www.littlegym.com, and www.playwisely.com or you can message me and I'd be happy to tell you more about my experiences.

Wow! There are some great suggestions out there! Some of the things I did were to walk around w/your baby, wherever you might be(ie, the store, a restaurant, your yard, their room, etc) & let them see what we see. Let them get a good, upclose look at leaves on a tree, for example, & let them touch & feel stuff as you say the name of the item. Later maybe you can start adding more information like the color, or show them the birds that live in the tree, etc. Also, I've read alot of stuff on holding your baby skin-to-skin (daddies too) when they are really young,& talking to them in expressive ways while making eye contact is good for them. Remember you will be the most important teacher they will ever have so just start introducing them to the world a little at a time! Sounds like you're doing a fine job! S.

I am a certified early childhood teacher but I now stay home with my kids. I think what you are doing right now is great for your little guy. Children learn so much through play! One of the best things you can do for him right now is to imitate what he does. If he makes noises, you can make the same noises. If he pounds on the table, you can pound on the table. Right now he is exploring his world, and things that are so common to us are completely new to him each day.

Curriculum is basically the plan or guide of what a teacher or school is going to teach their students. Some schools purchase a curriculum, others make up their own.

I think what you are doing sounds great! Lots of play...try to expose your son to different environments and activities. Keep reading...even if he is snacking on the books! Maybe you could give him a little book to hold while you read another. Children's books are usually written with rhythm similar to songs. Listen to lots of music, when he gets a little older let him bang the pots and pans and make his own music. Talk to him a lot! People used to look at me like I was crazy at the grocery store because I basically narrated our trip to my kids. "We are going to get some apples. I wonder which color tastes the best. These green apples are pretty, but I want to get shiny red apples. Look at the crunchy carrots....."

I'm sure that was more than you wanted to know! Just remember to have fun, and your son will learn more than you'll ever be able to plan!

You're doing exactly what you need to do! You're doing the best by and with your child. Keep up the good work. :)

Here is a list of some baby play books from Amazon. I don't think you really need them, but they probably have some cute ideas you haven't thought of
http://tinyurl.com/2nhk9v

Also, our toddler loves loves loves to climb. We got her these blocks and she has a great time with them.

http://tinyurl.com/2wazua

Hey A.,

what a coincidence?! This sounds so much like my story except my son is almost 6 months. I am trying and eager to learn new things to teach and entertain my son with. I don't know where your located, but I would love to meet up and have a "play" date. Our situations are so similar, we may be able to learn alot from one another. Hope to hear from ya.

This was an e-mail from a friend of a friend that was forwarded on to me. Has some good ideas:

My baby is 10 months old. Here are things I do with him, as well as things I did with my 10 year old when he was a baby.

I started taking him to "Stroller Buddies" class at the zoo. It is moms and babies in strollers. You get to learn inside information about the animals as you push baby around. Baby gets to enjoy the out-of-doors, and animals. They can really see the penguins well, right up next to the glass. The stroller part is then followed by a play part inside a big room with lots of baby toys (and snacks for mom). Check out their website for information.

When my big boy was 3 months old, we did "Gymboree" class once a week until he was 5 years old. It is a play class with activities and songs meant to help develop their gross motor skills, and parachute and bubble time.

In addition, there is a "Musikgarten" class at ****, that babies can go to. It is a musical play class.

All of the Dallas Public Libraries have a toddler story time. But it can't hurt to take a baby to sit on your lap and watch the stories/puppets/activities etc. even this young. The Frisco library has a great one and you can check out the times on their website.

Dallas Museum of Art (free on Thursdays after 5pm if you are not a member). As your baby gets older, they have a toddler play area in the children's gallery. There is also an art movie projected on the wall continuously right now. Museum is full of big colorful art to look at.

Nasher Sculpture Museum...stroll around and look at sculptures. Go outside and look at and touch sculptures.

The Dallas Arboretum has lots of color with all the flowers blooming right now. Learn colors by pointing them out on the flowers. Good for strollering. They also have lots of live outdoor concerts in the evenings. Babies seem to be fascinated by live music/musicians/instruments. Go sit right down in front so your baby can see up close.

Once a month, Dallas Heritage Village (formerly Old City Park) downtown has a Children's Story Hour on a Wednesday morning. Check their website for day/time. They also have farm animals to look at there. Nice place to have a picnic.

Science Place in Fair Park has a GREAT baby play area with water play, plastic toys, gears, blocks, dress up, play house. A sand area. A carpeted hideout. Never too young to start going there!

Watch fish at the Dallas Aquarium in the West End.

Shop for fruit and vegetables (good way to learn names of everything, and when a little older taste everything) at the Dallas Farmer's Market on Harwood downtown. Easy to get in, park, and use stroller.

Whatever big bookstore (its either a Barnes and Noble or a Borders) on Northwest Highway across from NorthPark Mall in that big strip mall has a nice children's storytime once a week upstairs in the children's book section. Then you can just sit there and read all the neato books.

Activities at home (things I've learned from play classes elsewhere):
1. Strip to diaper, give them a big piece of paper or a paper plate and some vanilla pudding (with or without a bit of food coloring). This is their first fingerpainting, and its ok if they stick their fingers in their mouths!
2. Strip to diaper, fill shallow pans like cake pans with water, put in little floating things like ducks, sponges, etc. Let baby have at it.
3. Save formula cans. Fill with a few dry beans. Show baby how to shake or pound on them like a drum.
4. Take baby outside in bouncy seat or car seat and set them on the ground. Blow bubbles all around them. Tracking bubbles helps develop their eye movement.

You sound like you are doing a great job to me, Super Mom!! Not exactly what you were looking for, but GOOD JOB on keeping him active and social.

It sounds like you are doing what matters most, love, cuddles and laughing is in short supply for many babies and toddlers.

We have a newly developing moms group that love to share creative ideas and play time with the kids here at The Nestingplace, as well as a wonderful sign language class for babies and toddlers that really gives some structure to your daily playing and a new form of communication can be developed that is a private language that you and your son understand well. He is at the perfect age for it. We also have Mommy and Me Yoga, Musikgarten is starting up for a new semester and scrapbooking so that there are activities that combine moms and babies, and offer a "curriculum" as well.
These are just a few ideas, I hope they spark your creative juices and if you are interested in any of these classes feel free to call The Nestingplace.
K.

I think you are doing a good job. Babies don't need "school", the world around them is so new that they learn by seeing how you interact with others and your environment. It sounds as if you guys keep pretty busy and that is fine for this age. At least you don't just plunk him down in front of the tv. =) You will be amazed at how quickly he will pick up things and start to respond. Try logging onto babycenter.com and signing up for their newsletter. You can enter your baby's age and there are all sorts of age appropriate activities and games to help them learn. But the bottom line is, you seem like a devoted mama who spends time with your little one and that's what he needs most.

It sounds like what you're doing is great. Kids learn through play at that age, especially things like cause & effect. Don't worry about forceing him to learn things at such a young age...and curriculum isn't needed until much older. He'll even learn colors and shapes just by you playing with him and saying things like "Oh look! Here's a circle, catch the circle." while rolling the round block to him. Or "wow, look at this red bird" ... things like that and he will start learning colors and shapes. Anyway, don't worry too much. You're doing fine!

I teach Kindermusik in Arlington, and I would love to talk to you about my classes. We focus on educating the whole child while helping the parents bond with their children. At the same time, we have absolutely the most FUN time EVER!!! You can check out my website at www.artschild.com or email me at ____@____.com and we could talk more about the program.

I think he is too little yet. But talk to him all the time. My son was delayed in talking right because he had muffeled hearing and until we got tubes in him ears and realized it, he was behind. Talk to him about everything. Give him words to put with things. Also older children we solve problems but some times children do not know how we arrive at solutions until we basically think outloud. Just like mentoring with actions we also need to problem solve outloud. Later get the blocks that are colored. Tell him you are putting in the yellow round shape. Red square shape. As they learn there are different words to every thing the words mean something and putting them together make meaning.

I have a Day Care and find that around 2 and half is when the kids are really getting into puzzles and colors and shapes. My 3 yr old learned the alphabet and how to write her name not always in order but by doing it on a chalk board over and over she got it. Repetition is important. We would spell her name outloud over and over all day. She then started repeating it. At 18 months my friend had a child that knew all his colors, sang songs like, "Take Me Out to The Ball Game". The more I am around these children the more fun it is to teach. At the pool, moms watch the children. I am teaching them to throw a ball that floats and to reach and pull the water and kick.Learnig to swim at a young age could save their lives later. At 2 you can teach how to dial 911. Make sure they do not do it as one of my kids decided to do when I was not looking. Always have a key some place you can get to it. My children have locked me out 30 years ago when I had my own children at home.Hugs and loving is the most we can give our children to know because it models loving and if they repeat your actions later on, the greatest gift is to love others. So keep up the great job. G. W

Infants need your love and attention. All this push for early learning is, IMO, ridiculous! Your child right now is learning the basics of the world around him...who and what he can and cannot trust. He's probably just now starting to figure out that when something goes out of his eyesight, it still exists (object permanence). The more secure a child is in his surroundings and in the love and comfort of the people around him, the more of a success he will be, no matter how much more or less 'ahead' or 'behind' he is with parents who use flashcards and sign language, etc. Does reading at 3 really give a child an advantage in kindergarten? The curriculum is the same for every student...let your son be an infant and just snuggle and love on him as you are right now. It sounds like you're doing fine.

Hi A., Sound's like you are doing great. One thing that may give ya'll a little break from routine would be to join a SAHM's group. I don't know where you live but there are several out there and they are usually easy to find online or in a local magazine. I am a part of the MOMS Club and joined when I too was getting a little bored with our routine and looking to change things up a bit. Joining the group gave my little one friends, a calendar of options for things to do with others, and friends for me to get ideas from. Good luck and keep doing what you are doing! http://momsclub.org/

I know how you feel! Sometimes i wonder if i'm doing enough to stimulate my 9mo old too. I forget how exciting the littlest things are for them. I think you are right on track with what you are doing, right now the reading is basically to get them used to the activity more then to fill them with information. Some social interaction with other babies is good.

There are alot of classes around town that can get you and your little one doing something new. There is a music class for babies that introduces them to instruments and sounds at the Dallas School of Music (they have a website you can google) also the Dallas School of dance has movement classes.

One thing that i enjoy doing, that is free, is to take my little girl to the closest pet store. She enjoy slowly walking around looking at the fish, cats, and birds.

You might try Savvy Source's new activity encyclopedia. It's full of educational, developmentally appropriate activities, and it's sorted by age. Go to www.savvysource.com and click on "activities." I hope that helps.