June Oberlander - Fun Start - An idea a week to maximize your baby’s potential from birth to age 5

An activity a week to maximize your baby’s potential from birth to age 5

Cover Page

Title Page FUNSTART An activity a week to maximize your baby’s potential from birth to age 5

Preface

Introduction

PART I

Move the Body Parts

Response to Light

Moving an Object

Make a Cradle Gym

Mirror and Pendulum

The Sock Ball

Response to a Noise Maker

Awareness

Interaction With Your Baby With Understanding

Large Muscle Activities

Eye-Hand Coordination

Observing Different Faces

The Face Observation

Stomach Position and Free Movement

Listening to Sounds

Developing Grasp and Eye-Hand Coordination

Listen and Do

Nursery Rhymes

Reach to Grasp

More Awareness of Hands

Awareness of Fingers

Awareness of Toes

Move to Grasp

Drop and Fall

Listen to the Sounds

The Sock Ball Throw

Toss the Ball Up and Watch

Awareness of Feet

Stacking and Falling

Paper Noise

Shake, Listen and Find

Watch the Ball

Bowl and Ball Roll

Sizes

Blowing Bubbles and Water Splash

Shoe Box House

Feely Squares

The Magic Mirror

Faces

Move and Roll

Poking

Drop It in a Container

Pull and Let Go

Name and Find

Which Hand?

Listen and Do More

Command and Do

Where Does It Belong?

Point to It

Home Sounds

Over

In and Out

PART II

The Face and Head Game

Cotton Reels

Pick Up

Containers and Lids

Let’s Play Ball

Let’s Go Walking

Look at Me

What Made That Sound?

What’s Outside?

What is Moving?

What Can I Smell?

Let’s Go Fishing

Can I Dress Myself?

Exploring With Dirt, Sand or Rice

My New House

Rhythm Band Music

Exploring With Water

Put It Through the Slit or Hole

Finger-Painting Can Be Fun

Painting With a Brush

Inside-Outside

Upstairs and Downstairs

Home Clay Exploration

Cardboard Puzzles

Drop Small Objects in a Bottle

I Can Carry a Tray

Put the Fish in the Boat

Where Is the Room?

Big and Little

Stepping Stones

Stencil Up and Down

Vegetable Printing

This Side, That Side

On and Off

Straw and Cotton Reel Stack

Stuff It in the Box

Clothes Peg Snap

Shake and Find

Flowers in the Basket

Poke and Print

Collect and Return

Rip It

Saucepans and Lids

Funnel Fun

The Big Button

Fold It

Find and Touch

The Medicine Dropper

Button, Zip, Snap, Velcro

Listen and Draw

Open and Close

Find Me

PART III

Humpty Dumpty

Jack in the Box

Top and Bottom

Big and Little

Toss in the Bin

Let’s Make a Necklace

The Box Walk

My Name

What Colour Am I Wearing?

Moving Hands and Fingers

Jump and Hop

My Family

I Can Paint

Farm Animals

Put It in a Line

Jack Be Nimble

Feely Bag Fun

The Three Bears

Sock Match

Outline the Shape

Up and Down

What Belongs in the Drawer?

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

I Spy Red, I Spy Blue

The Washing Machine

Slide and Roll

I Can Dress Myself

Clapping Hands

Cotton Reel Roll

The Coat Hanger Hoop

Ladder Walk

Eggs in the Carton One Two Three

Fruits to See, Feel, Smell and Taste

The One-Two Walk

Tall and Short

Is It Hot or Cold?

Through the Tunnel

Little and Big

Bowling

Paper Plate Pull

Little Boy Blue

Leaf Matching

Place It On or Under

How Far Can You Throw?

My Colour Booklet

Belongings

What is Its Use?

Food, Ordinals and Eating

Foot Pushing

Sequence Fun

Tiptoe

Colour Pieces

PART IV

Ball Bounce

Early Skipping Fun

Pound, Pound, Pound

Animal Moves

Match Pictures

Colourful Fish

Climb Up and Down

Obstacle Line

Day and Night

Scissors

Me

Circle and Square

Hit or Miss

The Hole Punch Row

Name the Sound

Listen and Draw Book

Guess What?

Create With Tape

Jumping Fun

Where Does It Belong?

Print Painting

Nuts and Bolts

Pouring

Money Talk

Which Egg is It?

Two Parts Make a Whole

In and Out of the Box

On and Off

Tearing Strips

Three Triangles

Hoops

Foot Shapes

How Does It Taste?

Sort the Cutlery

Sink or Float

The Alphabet Song

Fabric Match

Shadow Fun

Gallop Fun

Trace the Shapes

I Can Do It

Fold It and Discover

Magnet Fun

Yes or No

Clothes Peg Toss

Listen and Move

What is Missing?

Tell Me How

Families

Hopscotch Fun

Finish It

Actions

PART V

Playing With Shapes

Junk Box

A Dozen

Mail

Letters and Lines

Sewing is Fun

The Telephone

More About Me

Fun With Letter Aa

Bouncing Bb

Cc, Cc, Cc

Dig Deep

Eggs in the Basket

Let’s Go Fishing

Goo Goo Goggles

The Hat Game

Inchworm

Jack-in-the-Box

The Kite

Lollipop Fun

My Mittens

Night-Time

Octopus

The Pickle Jar

My Quilt

The Rocket

Make a Snake

Tree Tops

The Umbrella

The Pretty Vase

My Wagon

The Musical Xylophone

Wind the Yellow Yarn

Zero

Finger-Writing

Labelling

More Ball

More Actions

Listen and Name

Rope Jumping

Feel and Tell

Foods

Jumping a Distance

Number Stairs and Counting

The Clock

Patterns

Picture Puzzles

My Name

Listen

Clothing

ABC Actions

The Travelling Bag

Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

Learning begins at birth!Research on brain development has shown that any attempt to maximise intellectual growth must begin in the first three years of life; the younger the child, the stronger the effect. Beginning education at age five is too late. Brain development before age one is more rapid and extensive than previously realised. Babies are born with billions of brain cells, many more than they have at age three and nearly twice as many as they have as adults.

Sensory experiences can affect which brain cells and cell connections live or die. Synapses (brain connections) not reinforced by what the baby experiences (e.g., voices, music, sights, smells, touch) shrink and die.

Brain development is much more vulnerable to environmental influence than suspected. Environment affects the number of brain cells, connections among them and the manner in which connections are wired. Ultimately, the adult has an approximate 1.3-kg walnut-shaped mass of grey matter consisting of billions of brain cells and trillions of synapses (the number varies according to whether a child grows up in an enriched environment or in an impoverished one). Nature acts as a sculptor throughout childhood, chiselling away the excessive cells so the brain can function more efficiently. Timing is very important. Therefore early stimulation of the brain is crucial for the development of sensory functions. Learning, memory, emotions and physiological responses are moulded in early development when the brain changes the most. Impoverished children receiving enrichment for three years averaged IQs 20 points above those who did not receive enrichment. Children exposed to inadequate amounts of play and touching developed brains 20-30 per cent smaller than normal.