asq activities 2024.pdf

Activities

2 HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AGMONTHS

Try these fun and easy activities with your 2-month-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Gently shake a rattle

or another baby toy

Take turns with your baby when he makes cooing and gurgling sounds.

Put it in your baby’s hand.

See if she takes it, even

Have a “conversation”

Rest your baby tummy down, on your arm, with your hand on her chest. Use your other hand to secure your baby—support her head and neck. Gently swing her back and forth. As she gets older, walk around to give her different views.

Read simple books to your baby. Even if he does not understand the story, he will enjoy being close and listening to you read.

Put a puppet or small sock on your finger. Say your baby’s name while moving the puppet or sock up and down. See whether he follows the movement. Now move your finger in a circle.

With white paper and a black marker, create several easy-to-recognize images on each piece of paper. Place the pictures so that your baby can see them (8"–12” inches from her face). Tape these pictures next to her car seat or crib.

Place a shatterproof mirror close to your baby where she can see it.

Start talking, and tap the mirror to get her to look.

Sing to your baby (even if you don’t do it well).

Repetition of songs and lullabies helps your baby to learn and listen.

Activities

E G

6 HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AMONTHS

Try these fun and easy activities with your 6-month-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Gently rub your baby with a soft cloth, a paper towel, or nylon.

While sitting on the floor, place your baby in a sitting position inside your legs. Use your legs and chest to provide only as much support as your baby needs. This allows you to play with your baby while encouraging independent sitting.

Common household items such as measuring spoons and measuring cups make toys with interesting sounds and shapes. Gently dangle and shake a set of measuring spoons or measuring cups where your baby can reach or kick at them.

Let your baby hold them to explore and shake, too.

Play voice games.

Talk with a high or low voice. Click your tongue. Whisper. Take turns with your baby. Repeat any sounds made by him.

Place your baby so that you are face to face—your baby will watch as you make sounds.

With your baby lying on his back, place a toy within sight but out of reach, and move a toy across your baby’s visual range. Encourage him to roll to get the toy.

Your baby will like to throw toys to the floor. Take a little time to play this “go and fetch” game. It helps your baby to learn to release objects. Give baby a box or pan to practice dropping toys into.

Your baby can watch you change facial expressions (big smile, poking out tongue, widening eyes, raising eyebrows, puffing or blowing). Give your baby a turn. Do what your baby does.

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AG 1 // Try these fun and easy activities with your 1-year-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Let your baby “help” during daily routines.

Encourage your baby to “get” the cup and spoon for mealtime, to “find” shoes and coat for dressing, and to “bring” the pants or diaper for changing. Following directions is an important skill for your baby to learn.

Babies love games at this age (Pat-a-Cake, This Little Piggy). Try different ways of playing the games and see if your baby will try it with you. Hide behind furniture or doors for Peekaboo; clap blocks or pan lids for Pat-a-cake.

Tape a large piece of drawing paper to a table.

Show your baby how to scribble with large nontoxic crayons.

Make puppets out of a sock or paper bag—one for you and one for your baby. Babies enjoy push and pull toys. Make your own pull toy by threading yogurt cartons, spools, or small boxes on a piece of yarn or soft string (about 2 feet long). Tie a bead or plastic stacking ring on one end for a handle.

Cut up safe finger foods (do not use foods that pose a danger of your baby’s choking) in small pieces.

Allow your baby to feed himself. This is the time your baby learns that adults can be useful!

When your baby “asks” for something by vocalizing or pointing, respond to his signal. Name the object your baby wants and encourage him to communicate again—taking turns with each other in a “conversation.”

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

Try these fun and easy activities with your 18-month-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Pretend play becomes even more fun at this age. Encourage your toddler to have a doll or stuffed toy do what he does—walk, go to bed, dance, eat, and jump. Include the doll in daily activities or games.

Toddlers love movement. Take him to the park to ride on rocking toys, swings, and small slides. You may want to hold your toddler in your lap on the swing and on the slide at first.

Toddlers will begin putting objects together. Simple puzzles (separate pieces) with knobs are great. Putting keys into locks and letters into mailbox slots is fun, too.

Put favorite toys in a laundry basket slightly out of reach of your toddler or in a clear container with a tight lid. Wait for your toddler to request the objects, giving her a reason to communicate. Respond to her requests.

Your toddler may become interested in “art activities.” Use large nontoxic crayons and a large pad of paper. Felt-tip markers are more exciting with their bright colors. Let your toddler scribble his own picture as you make one.

Play the “What’s that?” game by pointing to clothing, toys, body parts, objects, or pictures and asking your toddler to name them. If your toddler doesn’t respond, name it for him and encourage imitation of the words.

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AG 2 // Try these fun and easy activities with your 2-year-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Action is an important part of a child’s life. Play a game with a ball where you give directions and your child does the actions, such as “Roll the ball.” Kick, throw, push, bounce, and catch are other good actions.

Take turns giving the directions.

Take time to draw with your child when she wants to get out paper and crayons.

Draw large shapes and let your child color them in. Take turns.

Play “Follow the Leader.” Walk on tiptoes, walk backward, and enhance listening skills by playing both slow and fast music. Songs with speed changes are great.

Children at this age love to pretend and really enjoy it when you can pretend with them. Pretend you are different animals, like a dog or cat. Make animal sounds and actions. Let your child be the pet owner who pets and feeds you.

Add actions to your child’s favorite nursery rhymes. Easy action rhymes include “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush,” “Jack Be Nimble,” “This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes,” “Ring Around the Rosy,” and “London Bridge.”

Activities

30 HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AGMONTHS

Try these fun and easy activities with your 30-month-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Give a cup to your child. Use bits of cereal or fruit and place one in your child’s cup (“one for you”) and one in your cup (“one for me”).

Tell or read a familiar story and pause frequently to leave out a word, asking your child to “fill it in.” For example, Little Red Riding Hood said, “Grandmother, what big ________ you have?”

Trace around simple objects with your child. Use cups of different sizes, blocks, or your child’s hands.

To improve coordination and balance, show your child the “bear walk” by walking on hands and feet, keeping the legs and arms straight.

Try the “rabbit hop” by crouching down and then jumping forward.

Have your child help you set the table.

First, have your child place the plates, then cups, and then napkins. By placing one at each place, he will learn one-to-one correspondence. Help your child learn new words to describe objects in everyday conversations.

Describe by color, size, and shape (the blue cup, the big ball). Also, describe how things move (a car goes fast, a turtle moves slowly) and how they feel (ice cream is cold, soup is hot).

Cut pictures out of magazines to make two groups such as dogs, food, toys, or clothes. Have two boxes ready and put a picture of a dog in one and of food in the other. Have your child put additional pictures in the right box, helping her learn about categories.

Put an old blanket over a table to make a tent or house. Pack a “picnic” sack for your camper. Have your child take along a pillow on the “camp out” for a nap. Flashlights are especially fun.

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AG 3 // Try these fun and easy activities with your 3-year-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Make an adventure path outside. Use a garden hose, rope, or piece of chalk and make a “path” that goes under the bench, around the tree, and along the wall. Walk your child through the path first, using these words. After she can do it, make a new path or have your child make a path.

Make a necklace you can eat by stringing Cheerios or Froot Loops on a piece of yarn or string. Wrap a short piece of tape around the end of the string to make a firm tip for stringing.

While cooking or eating dinner, play the “more or less” game with your child. Ask who has more potatoes and who has less. Practice following directions. Play a silly game where you ask your child to do two or three fun or unusual things in a row. For example, ask him to “Touch your elbow and then run in a circle” or “Find a book and put it on your head.”

Listen and dance to music with your child.

You can stop the music for a moment and play the “freeze” game, where everyone freezes, or stands perfectly still, until you start the music again.

Find large pieces of paper or cardboard for your child to draw on. Using crayons, pencils, or markers, play a drawing game where you follow his lead by copying exactly what he draws. Try to “freeze” in unusual positions for fun.

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

Try these fun and easy activities with your 4-year-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Invite your child to play a counting game. Using a large piece of paper, make a simple game board with a straight path. Use dice to determine the count. Count with your child, and encourage her to hop the game piece to each square, counting each time the piece touches down.

Play “bucket hoops.” Have your child stand about 6 feet away and throw a medium-size ball at a large bucket or trash can. For fun outdoors on a summer day, fill the bucket with water.

Play the “guess what will happen” game to encourage your child’s problem-solving and thinking skills. For example, during bath time, ask your child, “What do you think will happen if I turn on the hot and cold water at the same time?” or “What would happen if I stacked the blocks to the top of the ceiling?”

“Write” and mail a letter to a friend or relative. Provide your child with paper, crayons or pencil, and an envelope. Let your child draw, scribble, or write; or he can tell you what to write down. When your child is finished, let him fold the letter to fit in the envelope, lick, and seal. You can write the address on the front. Be sure to let him decorate the envelope as well.

Make a bean bag to catch and throw. Fill the toe of an old sock or pantyhose with 3/4 cup dry beans. Sew the remaining side or tie off with a rubber band. Play “hot potato” or simply play catch. Encourage your child to throw the ball overhand and underhand.

Go on a walk and pick up things you find. Bring the items home and help your child sort them into groups. For example, groups can include rocks, paper or leaves. Encourage your child to start a collection of special things. Find a box or special place where he can display the collection.

Activities

HELP YOUR CHILD LEARN AND GROW!

AG 5 // Try these fun and easy activities with your 5-year-old—a great way to have fun together and encourage your child’s healthy development.

Encourage dramatic play. Help your child act out his favorite nursery rhyme, cartoon, or story.

You can use cardboard boxes for jumping over or climbing through, broomsticks for laying between chairs for “limbo” (going under), and pillows for walking around. Let your child help lay out the course. After a couple of practice tries, have him complete the obstacle course. Play “mystery sound.”

Then try hopping or jumping through the course. Select household items that make distinct sounds such as a clock, cereal box, metal lid (placed on a pan), and potato chip bag. Put a blindfold on your child and have him try to guess which object made the sound. Take turns with your child.

Play the “memory” game. Put five or six familiar objects on a table. Have your child close her eyes. Remove one object and rearrange the rest. Ask your child which object is missing.

Practice writing first names of friends, toys, and relatives. Your child may need to trace the letters of these names at first. Be sure to write in large print letters.

Let your child help you with simple cooking tasks such as mashing potatoes, making cheese sandwiches, and fixing a bowl of cereal. Afterward, see if he can tell you the order that you followed to cook and mash the potatoes or to get the bread out of the cupboard and put the cheese on it.

Supervise carefully when your child is near a hot stove.

Look for a license plate that contains the number 1. Then try to find other plates with 2, 3, 4, and so forth, up to 10. When your child can play “count-up,” play “count-down,” starting with the number 9, then 8, 7, 6, and so forth, down to 1.