Your Baby

• I React to the World… and the World Reacts to Me

  Does your baby pull his feet up when you try to sit him in the grass? Does he cry when sand gets between his toes? These sensations are new and different to him, but he’s learning how to navigate his physical world. Does he turn his head when you raise your voice? Jump when the lights come on? Maybe he wants to flip the light switch himself to see what happens. Let him! He’s discovering cause and effect and reacting to his environment. He’s a little scientist in the making!

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Let the sun shine in! Light–especially natural light–is important for babies. So is a variety of different spaces to explore –from water tables to sandboxes. Little hands, noses, eyes and ears love to experience new things. Make sure your baby’s classroom has many things to explore!

  Learn more about ideas to learn and play together below.

• I Like to Feel the Sun on My Face

  As your baby gets older and her sleep patterns stabilize, she’ll begin to understand the difference between night and day. And when the sun comes up, she’ll be ready to explore and learn! Perhaps she’ll test the taste of a fallen leaf or toss a rock to see what happens. Watch her when she hears the sound the rock makes, when she crinkles her nose at the taste of the leaf, when the wind blows her hair. She has so much to discover!

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  “Let’s play outside today!” When the weather permits, little ones should be given a chance to explore the great outdoors. And when it’s too cold or pouring rain instead, listen for teachers to talk about the clouds, rain, and wind.

  Learn more about ideas to learn and play together below.

• I Know My Toes and Where Flowers Grow

  This is a huge time of exploration and discovery for your baby. He’s fascinated by what he finds outdoors–from rocks to plants to small, crawly critters–and he loves to share this knowledge with you and the other people in his life. Not only is he interacting with the world around him, but he’s discovering things about himself, too… fingers, toes, eyes, nose. Ask him where his ear is and watch him demonstrate how much he knows!

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Little green thumbs? Yes! Animal lover? Yes! Social butterfly? Yes! Your little one needs interactions with plants, animals, and people… and the classroom is the perfect place. Whether it’s a hands-on experience or an imaginative one, be sure to look for lots of opportunities for little ones to engage with other living creatures.

  Learn more about ideas to learn and play together below.

• I Love Learning about the Things Humans Make

  Is your baby mesmerized by your phone? The buckles on her carseat? The zipper on her winter coat? Good! That means she’s right where she’s supposed to be–exploring and appreciating the things her fellow humans have developed. Perhaps someday she’ll engineer something of her own, but for now, she’s too busy exploring all the exciting human-made creations in her world.

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Humans create some pretty amazing things, and babies love exploring those inventions. “Vroom, vroom…” goes the motorized car. And what a fun sound those blocks make when they come crashing down! Make sure your baby’s classroom has lots of different human-made items to discover and explore!

  Learn more about ideas to learn and play together below.

• I Can Make Things Happen!

  He smears ketchup across his tray to create some food art, and when you put him in the bathtub after dinner, he kicks his feet in the water to see how big a splash he can make. Your baby is discovering cause-and-effect–and even though it’s sometimes a messy process, it’s an essential part of his scientific growth!

  Look for Signs of Learning at Your Child's Care

  Bubble–blowing leads to bubble-popping, and babies love the whole experience! A healthy classroom includes a wide variety of both teacher–led and baby–initiated exploration. From creating music by shaking maracas to painting masterpieces with little fingers, these babies are ready to make things happen!

  Learn more about ideas to learn and play together below.

• Let's Roll

  Babies have a pretty solid exploring game. When your little one is scooting, rolling or crawling all over the place, he learns about the world and how it works. So, let’s roll! Want to keep a play space exciting? Change it up—rotate toys, play outside instead of inside, or add a new box to explore.

• Keep It Simple, Silly

  Simple toys are usually the best! There’s no need for pricey gadgets. After all, your baby loves balls, blocks, measuring cups and small containers. Just watch her create her own world of play. Help her explore by putting toys in a basket and then put them down.

• Fingers & Toes

  Your baby is aware and learning about his body. He explores his hands, feet, fingers and toes while he plays. So spread out the blanket and join along, “I am going to kiss all those wiggly little toes.” Who knew learning could be so much fun?

• Bounce It, Roll It, Throw It

  Your little one is changing every day. You can help them learn about all the many things toys can do. Play with a ball in many different ways. You can roll it or bounce it. And don’t forget to throw it! Then, talk about what it does. “Oh, the ball rolled down the sidewalk!”

• The World At Your Fingertips

  Little one wide awake after dark? Most parents have been there — more than a few times. You can turn that challenging moment into a learning experience. Take your baby outside on sleepless nights. Let her look up at the night sky, watch lightning bugs, and hear the sounds of night. Things are so different at night than when we normally take our little ones outside. The more exposure to new and varied experiences the more your baby is learning.

• Snow!

  When it’s cold and snowy, get outside and explore together. Talk to your sweet one about the snow, its color, its temperature and its texture. “The air is so cold today.” Then, try taking a small bowl of snow inside. Your baby can explore it while seated in a high chair or on your lap. Little fingers get cold quickly, so a warm rag on hand to soothe the cold away is helpful.