Let's Play! Different Drums & Kicking Back

1.Different Drums

It's quite a thrill (for her, at least!) when your baby reaches the banging age. Seeing that one pound of her fist can make a satisfying whomp is a powerful affirmation that actions can get results. Make it a bang-up time by giving her a range of high and low notes to aim for.

Skills developed: auditory, sense of rhythm, sense of cause and effect
What you'll need: empty oatmeal containers, ice cream tubs, coffee cans, or any other container with a flexible cardboard or plastic lid; plastic wrap

Make a few drums with different sounds so your baby can hear the difference between deeper and shallower tones. Turn any can or round-shaped container into a drum by stretching several layers of strong plastic wrap or a piece of thick paper over the top and taping it down. Or, even easier, use containers that already have drummable lids, such as Tupperware and oatmeal canisters. Tape the different drums together with duct or packing tape to make a drum set. Sit on the ground facing your baby and place the drums between you. Demonstrate how to tap the drums with your palms, fingers, and the heel of your hand. You might even try singing some doo-wops to demonstrate different rhythms as you play.

Variation: If your baby can grasp, make homemade drumsticks too. Chopsticks are ideal, but wrapped pencils will do just fine. Use some cotton or tissue paper and wad it around the ends of the sticks, then wrap it up in masking tape. Show your baby how to tap the drumsticks on both the tops and sides of the drums. Pretty soon you'll have your own rhythm section going.

2.Kicking Back

As your baby becomes more mobile, kicking is one of his favorite ways to exercise his restless limbs. And kicking in water — and feeling the water splash — is a wonderfully wet lesson in cause and effect.

Skills developed: gross motor, sense of cause and effect
What you'll need: a bathtub

Fill the bathroom tub or a small baby bathtub with four to six inches of water (no more). Lie your baby down in the water on his back, keeping your hand under his head to keep the water out of his ears and, even more important, his face out of the water. Most babies love the stimulation of the water and the new bathing position and start kicking their legs delightedly. The more they kick, the higher the splashes, and as they discover that it's their legs that are causing all the splashing, watch out!

Remember: Each baby develops at a different pace, so if yours isn't quite ready for this week's activities, don't worry — just try them again in a few weeks.

source from http://www.babycenter.com