Early Conversations

Time

• 5 to 10 minutes

Materials

• None

Directions

Babies are fascinated with faces and voices, and your first communications are through the sounds you make and the nearness of your face. It doesn't matter what you say, as long as you are up close and personal, so chatter away

Extensions

• Take the baby's hand and run it gently over your mouth, hair, eyes, and nose, talking about what you are doing.
• Repeat, using your hand on the baby's face.
• Watch carefully and repeat any sounds the baby makes, responding enthusiastically with your attention, smiles, and laughter.
• Bounce the baby to the rhythm of your words, particularly as you repeat phrases and sounds.
• Use nursery rhymes as you play. They have a rhythm and cadence that children have loved for hundreds of years.

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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