Who's hands on top?

FOR ALL AGES:
Here is a silly fun game needing nothing more than two pair of hands and a goofy spirit.

WHOSE HAND IS ON TOP?

MATERIALS:
None

DIRECTIONS:
Put your hand on the table and ask your little one to put hers on top of yours. Then put your other hand on top of her hand and ask her to put her other hand on the top of the hand pile.

Then you pull your first hand out from under the pile of hands and put it back on top. Encourage her to do the same with her hand that is now on the bottom.

Keep repeating this pattern with the hand on the bottom of the pile moving to the top. Start very slowly at first until she gets the idea and then begin to speed up the action.

Got three pair of hands or more wanting to play? Silliness ahead!

Sock on a Bottle

FOR BABIES:
When babies are old enough to hold their own bottle, you can enrich that experience by creating a textural and visual delight with nothing more than a sock.

SOCK ON A BOTTLE

MATERIALS:
A variety of clean socks in different colors, patterns, and textures.

DIRECTIONS:
Place your child’s bottle into a pretty sock and hold it in front of your baby so he can see the new look. Change to a different sock on another day to add the element of surprise and enhance his ability to notice details.

Follow the Floating Feather

FOR AGES: TODDLERS

As mesmerizing as watching dancing dust motes, following the trajectory of a feather is both compelling and calming.

FOLLOW THE FLOATING FEATHER

MATERIALS:
Feathers

DIRECTIONS:
Hold a small feather up high and then let it go and encourage your child to watch it as it slowly falls. To help him keep his eye on the feather's movement, suggest that he catch it as it falls.

Drop the feather from different heights or outside to let him notice how air currents affect movement.

Also, blow the feather to your child and ask him to blow it back to you. If there are a few of you playing, see how many times you can blow it to each other before it touches the floor.