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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET MOVING

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET MOVING

ACTIVITY When outside today, blow some bubbles for your baby. Show him or her how to pop the bubbles using hands and fingers. If your child is more mobile, demonstrate popping bubbles with different parts of your body such as your elbow and knee.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials Bubbles

Get movingGet Moving activities are designed to start your day with a way to either engage your child’s full body in a physical activity to start the day with a jump, OR to start the day planning for play, a critical area of development in organizational thinking.

ACTIVITY Hop along with this movement activity and your infant. Sit with your legs extended together in front of you. Place your baby on your legs, facing you or looking outward. Gently bounce your baby by bending and lifting, experimenting with slow and medium paces.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials N/A

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET MOVING

Get moving

ACTIVITY Sing and move, using the tune of “If You’re Happy.” For each verse, use the suggestions below.

If you’re special and you know it touch your head. (Touch your baby’s head.) If you’re special and you know it touch your tummy. (Touch your child’s belly.)

Try other verses with various body parts.

LEARNING SKILLS Music and Movement

Materials Lyrics and tune for reference

ACTIVITY Lay your little one on a blanket or other soft surface. Take his or her legs and bend them gently so the knees come close to the belly. Stretch your baby’s legs out again. Quietly sing this song to the tune of “London Bridge.”

Bend your knees and stretch your legs, Stretch your legs, stretch your legs. Bend your knees and stretch your legs, I see a happy [boy/girl].

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials Blanket, towel, soft surface, lyrics and tune for reference

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET MOVING

Get moving

ACTIVITY Sit your little one on a blanket outside across from you. Gently roll a large ball to his or her right side and have your little one roll it back to you. Next, roll the ball to the left side and so on, alternating sides each time.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials Blanket, ball(s)

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET MESSY

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET MESSY

Get mESSYGet Messy is a section designed for your child to engage in sensory play. Sensory play allows learners to make sense of the world around them by taking in as much information as possible from an experience by using as many intake receptors as possible on their bodies. It allows information to absorb better and with more meaning.

ACTIVITY Take off your shoes and enjoy the sensory experiences of bare feet for a bit. Make a little bit of mud if you like, splash in a puddle or just explore a safe grassy space. You might enjoy the book Whose Toes Are Those? by Jabari Asim.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials Book or read-aloud

ACTIVITY Provide soil and a few items for exploring, such as a plastic shovel and a bucket. While outside, enjoy touching and smelling the soil together. You could also add a few colorful toys such as toy insects or cars.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials A container garden area with soil, shovels, buckets, toys, etc.

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET MESSY

Get mESSY

ACTIVITY Experiment with ice cubes on concrete. Talk about how the ice cube is beginning to melt and turn into water. Encourage your baby to feel the ice and the water, talking about how it feels to the touch: cool, wet, slippery, etc.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials Ice cubes

ACTIVITY Mix one cup of flour and some baby oil (as needed, to form dough), creating a fun texture that you and your baby will enjoy. If appropriate, add plastic cookie cutters or other items that will create impressions in the dough.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials Flour and baby oil

ACTIVITY Use descriptive language when exposing your little one to colors in the environment. Show your baby crayons and paper and let him or her hold a crayon to explore on paper.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Crayons, paper

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET FOCUSED

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET FOCUSED

ACTIVITY Fill a clear wide-mouth plastic bottle or container halfway with water (you can add food coloring if you’d like). Then work with your baby to collect items to place in the container. Gather twigs, pebbles, blades of grass, soil and whatever else you would like to add. Once you add the objects, seal the container using hot glue or tape. Give your baby the bottle and talk about what is inside, shake the bottle, listen and describe the sounds. *Keep a close watch on your baby in case of choking.*

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature, Fine Motor Skills

Materials Plastic bottle or clear container, glue or tape, natural objects

Get FocusedGet Focused is a time of day devoted to learning a specific skill. It is a time that is best for children to engage independently or with their parent to fully concentrate and build new skills through hands-on lessons.

ACTIVITY Focus on the sounds of nature. If you can go outside, stop and actively listen to the sounds in your environment, then talk with your baby about what you hear. If not, pull up a nature-sounds app such as the free app Ambiance, available in all play stores.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials App (optional)

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET FOCUSED

Get Focused

ACTIVITY Take a blanket outside and read or listen to It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw. Point to the pictures in the book as you read, and then look up at the clouds in the sky, talking about what they look like.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Book or read-aloud

ACTIVITY Sit with your baby in your lap and have a singalong. Using your hand to count down, sing “Five Little Speckled Frogs” with your baby. Count down one finger as each frog jumps off the log. Sing and be silly, enjoying the song together.

LEARNING SKILLS Music and Movement

Materials Website

ACTIVITY As you prepare to go outside today, talk to your baby about what is needed. Do you need sunglasses, a hat, sunscreen, a jacket? Talk about the weather and why you need each of these things.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, etc.

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET OUTSIDE

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET OUTSIDE

ACTIVITY Enjoy relaxing outside. Bring your baby and a blanket outside, find a comfortable spot, lie on your back together and talk about what you see in the sky. “I spy big fluffy white clouds, a bird flying high, an airplane.” Add a reading of Little Cloud by Eric Carle if you wish.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Book or read-aloud, blanket

Get OutsideGet Outside is a time of day designed to do just that- get outside and explore. Exploring offers children new ways to relate to their world and engage in physical activities and inquiry-based learning.

ACTIVITY Make some music outside with yogurt containers or other small plastic containers with lids. Fill with outside materials such as pebbles, sticks and rocks to create a homemade nature-sounds shaker. Go to the Tinkergarten website for a full description of this activity and other outdoor fun. *Keep a close watch on your baby in case of choking.*

LEARNING SKILLS Music and Movement

Materials Plastic containers, natural objects, website (optional)

Enrichment provided by Tinkergarten®

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET OUTSIDE

ACTIVITY Make friends with a tree. Intentionally select a tree to go visit with your little one. If possible, try this activity multiple times, visiting the same tree. Allow your child to touch the bark of the tree and the tree leaves. Use language such as “tall,” “big” and “large” as you visit and talk about the tree.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials Tree

Get Outside

ACTIVITY Set up a water bin or bucket for your little explorer. Fill with water and provide sponges, cups, funnels and whatever else is available and sit with your baby to splash, pour and experiment.

LEARNING SKILLS Science and Nature

Materials Water table or shallow bin or bucket, sponges, cups, funnels

ACTIVITY Put your baby in the stroller or carrier and head out for a walk. As you walk, describe the sights around you, the colors of the foliage, the birds flying by and the puddles on the sidewalk. If possible, allow your infant to touch to deepen the learning.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Stroller or carrier

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET RELAXED

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET RELAXED

ACTIVITY Engage in tummy-time yoga by lying on your stomach facing your baby. Stretch up, giving yourself a good cobra stretch, as described on Namaste Kid, while your baby strengthens his or her core muscles.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials Yoga pose

ACTIVITY Name-singing builds connection and bonding between you and your little one. Give your baby a genuine smile and take a deep breath, filling your lower belly, heart and chest. When you are ready, exhale, releasing tension. At the top of your next inhale, sing your baby’s name. Observe your baby’s reaction. Try this three to five times.

LEARNING SKILLS Music and Movement

Materials N/A

Get RElaxedGet Relaxed is a time of day to unwind and do something low-key. This allows your child to take a brain-break and rest their bodies so that they can enjoy more active play after they relax or take a rest.

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET RELAXED

ACTIVITY Enjoy a mindful moment together by simply being present with one another. Bring your baby close to your chest and mindfully feel him or her close to you. Feel your hearts connecting and take some deep breaths together. There’s no need to rush this; just enjoy the moment together.

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials N/A

Get RElaxed

ACTIVITY Engage in the “so big” arm stretch to relax and bond. Sit baby up and hold his or her arms. As you gently raise them over his or her head, say, “So big.” Then lower them down to his or her sides. Repeat this a few times and watch your child’s reaction.

LEARNING SKILLS Gross Motor Skills

Materials N/A

ACTIVITY Try some bunny breathing. Hold your baby against your chest and breathe in three inhalations through your nose and one exhalation out through your mouth.

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials N/A

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

INFANT

GET CREATIVE

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET CREATIVE

ACTIVITY Provide your child with a paintbrush and water cup on the sidewalk or in the driveway. Observe the water paintings and talk about what is happening with your baby. If your baby is very small, try this with water and his or her hands on colorful paper.

LEARNING SKILLS Creativity and Discovery

Materials Water, paintbrush, colorful paper (optional)

ACTIVITY Make child-safe sidewalk paint by mixing one cup of dyed water with one cup of cornstarch. Use a muffin tin or other shallow container to provide the paint for your baby. Give your child a chunky paintbrush and encourage him or her to paint on the sidewalk or driveway outside. You can vary this activity by letting him or her play in the cornstarch-and-water solution. It is amazing how it is a solid and a liquid at the same time. You’ll have fun too! Name the colors as you paint with them and the colors that form if they are mixed.

LEARNING SKILLS Creativity and Discovery

Materials Cups or a shallow container, water, food coloring, cornstarch, paintbrushes

Get CreativeGet Creative is a time of day designed for your child to have open-ended experiences with a variety of mediums. By giving them opportunities to create with no specific outcome in mind it exercises their creative thinking skills allowing them to be better communicators and problem solvers.

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET CREATIVE

Get Creative

ACTIVITY Take some pots and pans and wooden spoons outdoors and have a nature jam with your infant. Demonstrate the different noises for your infant and then hand him or her the spoon to make music.

LEARNING SKILLS Music and Movement

Materials Pots, pans, wooden spoons

ACTIVITY Name the areas of the room as you walk around with your baby. Encourage him or her to look or move toward different areas of the room in search of a favorite toy.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials N/A

ACTIVITY Place a large cardboard box in the middle of the floor for a few days. Encourage your little one to explore by crawling or sitting inside the box or placing his or her toys in and out of the box. Comment on what your child is doing. Say, “[Tommy] is inside the BIG box.” Focus on descriptive language, using adjectives and prepositions to describe what and where your baby and the toys are.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials Large cardboard box

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SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANS

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GET CONNECTED

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET CONNECTED

ACTIVITY While outside, arrange to connect with a loved one, if possible, who is also outside via video chat. Talk about how you are both outside enjoying the fresh air. This is a great article from NAEYC with best practices on technology use such as video chat with young children. Also, check out Goddard’s Educational Advisory Board (EAB) member Dr. Jennifer Jipson’s article on virtual playdates.

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials Video chat, website or EAB Article

ACTIVITY Arrange for a loved one to explore a favorite book with you and your little one using technology. If possible, use a book that you both have access to so your child can have a hands-on experience with the book. If you’d like more information on reading online with children, here is another article from our EAB.

LEARNING SKILLS Language and Literacy

Materials EAB Article

Get ConnectedGet Connected is a time of day to connect with family members or loved ones in a variety of ways. Social and emotional connections are imperative to all learning. If a child does not feel secure and connected, they cannot engage appropriately and cannot learn effectively. So, have fun with these ideas for both virtual and personal connections!

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SUMMER LEARNING SUMMER LEARNING FUN WEEKLY PLANSINFANT • GET CONNECTED

Get Connected

ACTIVITY Enjoy getting outside with a loved one. Call one of your loved ones on video chat while outside and talk about the weather, the things you see outside, anything that inspires interest and curiosity.

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials Video chat

ACTIVITY Engage in and interact with a digital photo album with your little one. Access photos on your device – the larger the screen the better – and talk about whom you see on the screen.

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials Digital photo album

ACTIVITY Place your baby close to you in your arms and swing him or her gently back and forth, then bring your little one close to you for snuggle time. While doing this, sing a song quietly such as “You Are My Sunshine” or “Hush, Little Baby.”

LEARNING SKILLS Social-Emotional Learning

Materials Songs for reference