Village: Hickory Dickory Tickle & Bounce Week 2

FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING

VISUAL-SPATIAL SKILLS: The more experience a child has with movement, the better her brain can interpret and integrate sensation from her eyes and body. Later on, these visual-spatial skills will manifest in your baby when she: can match shapes, letters, and numbers; can pick out objects in the fore-and background; has developed spatial awareness and an awareness of form constancy, directionality and position in space.

WHEN TO START AND WHEN TO STOP: Offer an activity when the child is alert, calm, and in a good mood. Offer something new when current interest lags. It is also important to know when to stop and activity. Watch the child closely. Young children, especially infants, have a limited tolerance for stimulation and new things. When the infant looks away, turns her head, drools, or seems less ‘together,’ it is time to stop. Let the child set the pace.

RELAXATION: Relaxation is a learned behaviour. Setting aside this time each week not to be engaged in an active, thinking activity helps your baby learn to enjoy quiet play and learn that quiet, relaxed moments can include times other than nap time and bedtime.

AUDITORY & VESTIBULAR SYSTEMS: The auditory system and vestibular system work together and are both processed in the ear. The more opportunities a child has to process vestibular information (e.g. by being moved in a variety of ways in this activity), the better he is able to differentiate sounds and discriminate sound and language.

OBJECT EXPLORATION: This fun activity allows your baby to use his sense of touch to explore a new object. Through exploration, your baby learns to use whole arm and simple wrist movements and learns to adjust the amount of pressure he applies to the drum to play it loudly or quietly. He also enjoys the cause and effect – the way his actions produce a sound on the drum!