Rise and Fall

Time

• 5 minutes

Materials

• Small hand drum or other object to beat

Directions

1. Lie down together on your stomachs and beat the drum twice.
2. On the first beat, raise the stomach off the floor.
3. On the second beat, bring it back down flat.
4. Let your toddler feel your tummy go up and down with the count.

Extensions

• Repeat, lying on your backs with shirts pulled up to expose the stomach.
• Decide on another body part to raise and lower on the two beats.
• One of you be the leader, with the other copying the movements.
• Put a small toy on the tummy and see if you can keep it from falling off.

More on: Activities for Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, and Children

Excerpted from:

Copyright © 2004 by Susan Kettmann. Excerpted from The 2,000 Best Games & Activities with permission of its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

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