Being a new mum is overwhelming. Believe me, I know. My first 12 months as a mother were some of the hardest months of my life. And that was at a time when we could still go along to baby groups, chat to other mums and have someone make us a hot cup of tea! That is why I have made this website, to support as many other mamas as I can! And one of the areas I know we all need a little help, is entertaining our babies. So I have put together this list of my Top Ten Play At Home Activities for Babies, just for you! You can also grab my FREE New Mum’s Guide by clicking here.
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top ten activities for babies
At the very top of my list, I had to include a game that Joseph and I learned in a baby class and have loved recreating at home.
No.1 The ‘What is in the box?’ Game
My number one Play at Home Activity for Babies is ‘What is in the box?’. This is a game we learned at our Tiny Talk baby signing class. In this example, we used farm animals but it is a really versatile activity and you can adapt it to fit any theme!
I had already made a post box for playing at home out of an old cereal box. So to play ‘What is in the box?’ I just flipped the post box on its front. That way the big opening was at the top and the posting slit was facing the floor. I popped some of Joseph’s toy animals inside and then we sang the ‘What is in the box?’ song. Sing these lyrics to the tune of the popular nursery rhyme ‘Jelly on a Plate’.
“What is in the box? What is in the box? What is hiding? Hiding in the box?”
Then I would pause to help Joseph pull a toy from the box. I would say the name of the object and make the British Baby Sign Language sign or the animal’s noise. Once you have done that, it’s time to sing again:
“The horse is in the box. The horse is in the box. The horse is the animal, hiding in the box. Neigh!”
This game can be used with all types of toys. You could use coloured blocks or balls, a variety of shapes, clothing, play food or anything else your baby loves!
You can see another version of this game on Baby Club TV called ‘What is in the bag?’ . I absolutely adore Giovanna Fletcher and the idea of joining a baby group from home is perfect for the COVID-19 situation right now! You can find the Baby Club programme on the Cbeebies website or subscribe to their videos on YouTube.
No.2 Sensory Play
Second on my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies is Sensory Play! But don’t worry. I won’t tell you to go online and shell out loads of cash on special sensory toys. You can use every day items from around your home!
The basic idea of sensory play is to stimulate your baby’s senses. So think about items that are colourful and bright. Babies generally like to explore the world with their mouth, so it is important to consider taste-safe play items. For example, teething toys, edible paint made from berries and yoghurt, or taste-safe sand made from ground up cereal. Use sensory play to explore different textures with your baby and introduce descriptive language. Words like soft & hard, or rough & smooth are all easier to understand when we have a real example to experience at the same time.
Another great skill we can encourage through sensory play is visual tracking. Include some movement in your play by waving scarves, or use balls to roll, throw and drop. Musical instruments can also be used for visual tracking when we shake them up high and then down low.
Musical instruments are also a great way to introduce new sounds to your baby and help them to learn about the world around them. We can also teach our babies about cause and effect through sensory play. For example, when you move your arm, the scarf you are holding moves too. Or when you shake the maraca, it makes a noise. Use your imagination and whatever safe objects you can find around your home. Remember to stay with your baby and help them explore the items safely.
No.3 Ball GAMES
Ball Games are number three on my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies! Simple activities, like playing with a ball, are actually incredible learning opportunities. Our babies can learn about the world around them and how they can effect it. They can also begin to explore scientific concepts, such as movement and force, just by playing a simple game of throw and catch!
Ball Runs are a fantastic way to play with your baby. You can buy ready-made versions, like the plastic one pictured above which we bought from the Early Learning Centre. But you can also make your own using cardboard tubes. Anything flat can be propped up and used as a ramp too! Why not try making your own ball run out of books or a wooden chopping board?
We love to make our own toys and these Bowling Skittles were one of Joseph’s favourites. I saved some hot chocolate tubs from the recycling and made sure they were clean and dry. Then I set the skittles up on my yoga mat and gave Joseph some wooden boules balls to roll at the skittles and knock them down. If you don’t have wooden boules balls don’t worry! You can use any balls you have to hand. In fact, bigger balls like a basketball or a football will make the activity even easier for younger babies. Balled up socks could work as a DIY ball too!
Ball games appeal to children (and adults) of all ages. Collecting balls and putting them into a basket, filling a paddling pool like a ball pit, or even putting balls into the bath – we have done it all! And Joseph has loved every minute of it!
No. 4 Treasure Baskets
Number 4 on my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies is Treasure Baskets! Babies love to explore and what could be better than an exciting basket filled with a variety of different toys to discover? The great thing about babies is that they see every day household items as treasure. So this activity is easy to put together on a budget!
I find it easiest to come up with a theme first, then make the treasure basket with items that I find to fit the theme. For example, a wooden treasure basket filled with items like a wooden nail brush, a wooden spoon or a wooden coaster. Other themes we have loved include shiny treasure, green treasure, animal treasure, and even baking treasure! Use your imagination and think about what the world looks like to your baby. There is treasure everywhere!
No. 5 Posting Games
Next up on the list, is Posting Games! I mentioned earlier that I made Joseph a DIY Post Box out of an old cereal box. All I did was cut a thin rectangle on the front of a cereal box at the top end. And another larger rectangle flap on the other side at the bottom of the box. Then I decorated it very simply using wrapping paper. Easy peasy! I even made Joseph some letters to post using a bit of card and some stickers. You don’t have to use a post box and letters though. You can post almost anything!
Posting games are a fantastic activity for entertaining your baby. They are simple to set up, easy to adapt and they will encourage your baby to develop their fine motor skills. Posting Games will also teach your baby that, once posted, an object will disappear from sight, but they can find it again by looking inside the box. This helps to develop your baby’s understanding of ‘object permanence’.
Object Permanence is the fancy name for knowing that something still exists even if you can’t see it. Young babies haven’t yet realised that objects hidden from their view will still be there. It is one of the reasons babies get so upset when we leave a room and why Peek-a-Boo is such a popular game. You reappear as if by magic!
As they get older, your baby will learn to look under and behind other objects to find their toys again. But posting will still be a fun game to experiment with.
No. 6 Shapes and Colours
Number six on my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies is Shapes & Colours! This is always a popular idea in baby toys. And for good reason! Teaching our babies about shapes and colours is important because we are laying the foundation for all of their future mathematical and scientific learning. Learning about shapes and colours will help your baby to categorise the world around them. Learning the labels for these categories will then help your baby to communicate with others about what they are seeing.
Shape sorters are lovely toys for babies. You can even make your own and save on all the plastic too! To make your own shape sorter, very simply cut out shapes from an empty cereal box. Leave the wider box intact so your baby can push the shapes back through. They can use the opening at the top to find them again. You could also decorate the shapes together by finger painting with non-toxic, water based paints which are available to buy in most supermarkets.
If you already have shapes or building blocks, why not offer a sorting activity? Create piles or baskets for each colour or shape. Try to sort only by colour OR shape to begin with, as your baby needs time to consolidate these concepts separately first. Then you can make the task harder through combining two concepts to sort by.
Everything has a shape and a colour so remember to look around your home for new items to play with. Clothes, spoons, cups, balls, even cleaning cloths and sponges! Remember it’s important to talk about the shapes and colours too! Dark blue, light pink, green triangle – name the shapes and colours you see every day to keep developing your babies language skills and build their vocabulary.
No. 7 Story Time
And speaking of language skills, what could be better to boost your baby’s development than reading? Number seven on my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies is Story Time and it is an essential activity for every child!
We love to read. I have been reading to Joseph since he was a newborn! At 22 months, it is now part of our daily routine. Joseph has a basket full of books in almost every room of the house and stories definitely make our trips to the potty more exciting. And don’t worry, because even if reading doesn’t come naturally to you, I have lots of ideas for making it super fun!
In Scotland, babies are entitled to a free bag of books from BookBug which is part of the Scottish Book Trust. You can find their videos and nursery rhyme library here. Our local libraries have also been doing a click and collect service throughout lockdown. Why not find out what your local libraries offer?
Once you’ve got some books, make them fun by creating Story Sacks. Put items relating to your story in a bag and let your baby pull them out one by one as you read. Propping picture books up around your baby’s playmat is also a great incentive for tummy time. And you can even play the baby version of ‘Spin the Bottle’ by making your own lentil shaker and spinning it on a Book Roulette. If you need some inspiration, check out my Top Ten Books for Babies here.
No.8 Song Time
You can keep on boosting your babies language development by introducing Song Time to your weekly routine too! Not everyone knows the words to nursery rhymes before they become a parent. So don’t worry if you need a bit of a refresher course. The Scottish Book Trust have got a wonderful library of videos and lyrics for you to learn from. There is also a fantastic app by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra called Astar. It even has Joseph’s favourite Scottish nursery rhyme ‘Ally Bally Bee’.
One of the best ways to engage your baby in music is using actions. We have loved our Tiny Talk Baby Signing classes and still use the signs every day! But you don’t have to learn sign language to use action songs. Some nursery rhymes tell you what to do (like ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes) and for others you can make up your own! The important thing is to keep your baby interested and engaged.
Joseph and I also love to use musical instruments like egg shakers, maracas, sleigh bells and a tambourine. Did you know you can teach your baby about rhythm by keeping time with a shaker? Exploring instruments now will help to build the foundation for your baby to learn about more complex musical concepts in the future.
Nursery rhymes are also a fantastic way to teach your baby the animal names and noises. ‘Old Mcdonald has a Farm’ is a favourite with most children under the age of five. Don’t be embarrassed about snorting like a pig or mooing like a cow. Your baby will love it! And even if you are out and about, most people will love to see you engaging with your baby and bringing them joy!
You can use songs and rhymes to help soothe, distract and motivate your baby. They help to calm baby at bedtime, get them excited to get dressed in the morning and distract them from their meltdown in the afternoon! Start off slow and learn two or three nursery rhymes, then try to start adding them into your daily activities. You will be amazed when your little baby grows into a toddler and starts singing them back to you!
No.9 Fine Motor Activities
‘Fine Motor Skills’ is the phrase used to describe our ability to coordinate the tiny muscles in our hands and wrists so that we can manipulate small objects. For example when your baby engages in a posting game, they are using their fingers to pick up a small object and then coordinating their movements to drop that object through a small hole. It is important to provide lots of safe opportunities for your baby to manipulate small objects and develop their ‘pincer grip’.
Children under three years have a narrow airway, so it is important to make sure that you only give your baby objects that are safe to play with. This means objects which are too large to fit in your baby’s mouth or be swallowed. If you aren’t sure, take an empty toilet roll tube around your home. If the object can fit through the tube, then it is too small for your baby to play with. The only exception to this would be very tiny things, like puffed rice cereal or oats. It is vital that you supervise your baby at all times and explore the items together.
One of Joseph’s favourite Fine Motor activities, was the Toy Rescue. I filled a cupcake baking tray with some of his toys. Then I wrapped string over the top so he had to use his fingers to carefully pull the toys free. We also played with jelly and Joseph practiced squeezing jelly pouches out into a dish. Introducing utensils can be another great way for babies to develop their Fine Motor Skills. You can see our baking inspired Tuff Tray in the photo above. Joseph still loves to stir, scoop and shovel with spoons of all shapes and sizes.
No. 10 Gross Motor Activities
It is also important for babies to move their whole body, even before they can do it themselves! That’s why the final activity on my list is Gross Motor Activities. As you might expect, Gross Motor Skills are the opposite of Fine Motor Skills. They involve the biggest muscles in the body. We use the muscles in our limbs and torso to complete bigger movements like crawling, walking, running and dancing. It is important to give our babies opportunities to develop these muscles and learn how to coordinate them for whole-body movements.
We can give our baby a chance to try out their larger muscles by supporting them to sit or stand. Once your baby is a bit stronger you can try helping them to rock side-to-side or forward and back. This will develop their ability to balance. Sing ‘Row Row Row your Boat’ at the same time and you will have your baby laughing in no time! The NHS also have some great ideas for playing at home on the Health Scotland website, including ‘Early Situps’ which are a perfect example of a gross motor activity.
When your baby starts to move, encourage crawling by putting toys just out of reach. Provide safe opportunities for pulling up to standing by putting toys on a low table or couch. Make sure you are there to stop your baby hitting their face or falling over.
One Gross Motor activity that Joseph loved was a Sensory Couch. I took all the couch cushions off and put them on the floor. Then I taped all kinds of sensory stimulating toys to the base of the settee. I encouraged Joseph to stand and explore the toys. Because the toys were in a line, he began to move and was cruising along the couch in no time!
What was your favourite?
So that’s it, my list of the Top Ten Play at Home Activities for Babies. What will you try? I would love to know! Leave a comment below or tag me @athomewithmrsblake on social media!
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