Alone Time with Annie at Last!!!

Annie's finally ready to explore her board books on her own. This is the absolute best set of learning board books ever! Real pictures and simple words. I love them all! I waited until she chose one, and then looked through it with her, naming objects/animals that she looked at. She wanted to be pretty independent with it, though, so I spent lots of time just watching.

"Annie, where's the block?"

"There it is!"

A word about this last fun game. Growing Child suggests the following developmental activity: "Sit down with baby and hide her toy two or three times beneath the same cover--let's say a hat--letting her take away the hat each time to get the toy. Now find another possible cover, like a pillow, and place it beside the hat. This time, with the toy in her full view, place the toy under the hat. As soon as the toy has disappeared, she will attempt to find the object--under the hat! . . . Thus, while the object is permanent, the permanence is associated rather rigidly with a particular covering, . . . while the simple act of pushing aside a cover shows baby knows the cause of her inability to see the object. Reinforce the cause and effect relationship by playing this game."

Annie did exactly what the book said she would do, although for us the familiar covering was a pillow and the new covering was a cup. The only other difference was I added signs.

Ah, the simple joys of banging bowls with a wooden spoon. Yet another age-appropriate task. ("If I hit these bowls with this spoon, then it makes a neat sound!") Great cause and effect teaching!!! : )

I have enjoyed the summer so much with both of my girls at home, but I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say that I wasn't looking forward to having some alone time just with Annie. It seemed like so much of the summer she was just carted around where we needed to go, . . . and with Leia always wanting to play with me (which IS in itself a wonderful thing), I wasn't able to concentrate on Annie developmentally. I have two main books (Baby Play and Learn and Growing Child) that give such good ideas for wonderful games to play with a child during the first year. I used them daily with Leia, . . . and although I used them with Annie lots before school was out, I feel like this summer they were just collecting dust. Well, last night I whipped them both out and read what I needed to read to create some really fun games, . . . or just age-appropriate developmental fun-times. : ) Therefore, everything above (even the bowls and books) were not my idea, . . . but came from some really great resources! What would I do without my "how to's", . . . or my schedules/itineraries for that matter. : ) Quite honestly, I'm just not a good mom (or at least not as good of a mom) without them.