Play with Baby Day

Night

Before dark, hold your baby in your arms and go on a texture walk outside. Encourage your child to notice all of the things you see and help him "feel" the objects as you describe them. Find and describe things that are rough, sticky, smooth, soft, hard, prickly, silky, tickly, and bumpy. Let your baby spend time enjoying his sensory exploration, but protect him from anything dangerous.

Sing this song that reinforces the senses used on your texture walk to the tune of "The Mulberry Bush."

This is the way my fingers touch,
Fingers touch, fingers touch.
This is the way my fingers touch
On my nature walk this evening.

Add other verses as you walk along, talking about what your eyes see, nose smells, and ears hear.

At the end of the day, you may wish to sing a lullaby to help your baby nod off to sleep. This song shows how animals take care of their young as well. Tuck your little one in for the night the same way animals put their babies to sleep. Sing this song with a soft voice and whisper the animal sounds. Use the tune, "Frère Jacques," ("Are You Sleeping").

Mother dog, mother dog,
Sings to her puppy, sings to her puppy,
Woof, woof, woof,
Woof, woof, woof,
Sleep baby puppy, sleep baby puppy.

Continue with other verses about animals and their babies.

Good night—sleep tight!