Learning Activities for Infants and Toddlers

They say a baby doesn’t remember their early years, yet they end up being the most crucial time for their brain development. And that’s exactly why learning activities for infants and toddlers end up being so important. It doesn’t just foster cognitive growth but also nurtures their emotional, social, and physical development. When you’re looking to introduce infant-toddler learning activities, here are some ideas that you could take into consideration:

Introducing Sensory Activities for Infants and Toddlers

Sensory Bins

These are containers that are filled with various materials to stimulate the senses. Common fillers can include:

• Rice
• Beans
• Water beads
• Sand
• Aquarium rocks

You might also want to add items like small toys or scoops to encourage exploration. These bins can help develop fine motor skills and enhance sensory processing. 

Water Play

Set up water play for a relaxing, stimulating, and fun learning activity for infants! It begins with filling a shallow container with water and providing toys like cups, funnels, and sponges. Infants can feel and splash around water, while toddlers will practice pouring and measuring. Water play is good for hand-eye coordination and introduces basic science concepts. 

Texture Exploration

Introduce your child to various textures while using everyday items like:

• Silk scarves
• Rough sponges
• Soft cotton balls
• Bumpy plastic toys
• Pieces of cloth (suede, leather, lace)

They can be filled in a bin, and your child can touch and explore each item. They can further begin describing the textures to you, increasing their vocabulary and sensory awareness.

Developing Motor Skills for Infants

Tummy Time

This is an essential time for infants to strengthen their neck and shoulder muscles. While it might not always be considered a learning activity for infants, there are many ways to spice it up! Provide toys or mirrors to keep them engaged, as tummy time can prepare them for crawling and other motor milestones. 

Obstacle Course

It’s time for your infant or toddler to have fun! Set up an obstacle course using pillows, tunnels, and toys. You can encourage your baby to crawl through, under, or even around the obstacles. It promotes gross motor skills, problem-solving, and spatial awareness. 

Dance Party

Amp up the music and encourage your toddler to match the tunes! Dancing is a great way to develop gross motor skills, rhythm, and coordination. You can use songs with different tempos (think everything from Single Ladies to Hey Jude) to keep your child both engaged and entertained. It’s a fun activity for infants that can be done even as they grow older!

Helping Cognitive Development

Peek-A-Boo

One of the best learning activities for infants has to be the classic Peek-a-boo game. It helps infants understand object permanence (the concept that objects still exist when they are out of sight). Use your hands, a blanket or a toy to hide and reveal your face, which encourages your baby to anticipate and react. 

Puzzles

Another learning activity for infants and toddlers that can teach them immensely is puzzles. Choose simple pizzles with large, easy-to-grasp pieces to place before them in their high chair. You can gradually begin increasing the complexity as your child’s skills improve. It develops cognitive abilities, hand-eye coordination, and even patience. 

Shape Sorters

These can teach your toddlers about shapes, colors, and spatial relationships. Simply settle your toddler on their high chair, and provide a variety of shapes and corresponding holes for them to match. This activity can enhance problem-solving skills and fine motor coordination. 

Enabling Social and Emotional Development

Finding learning activities for infants can be challenging, especially when you’re looking to improve their emotional development. To encourage social interaction, consider organizing playdates with other infants or toddlers. Supervised play can help toddlers learn skills like sharing, taking turns, and empathy.

For toddlers, consider providing dress-up clothes and even props for some imaginative play. Role-playing activities like pretending to cook or care for dolls can help your little one understand social roles and develop empathy. Encourage your child to express their feelings and ideas through play. 

Other infant-toddler learning activities that allow emotional development would be mirror play. Believe it or not, babies are strangely fascinated by their own reflection – and can remain fixated by it for a while. Think about strapping them into your baby carrier and standing in front of an immovable mirror. Let them explore their own image, as it can help with self-recognition and emotional development. 

Finding Everyday Learning Opportunities

You might not know it, but there are plenty of everyday learning activities for infants and toddlers all around you. For starters, carrying them around in your baby carrier ensures that you are hands-free to do your daily errands while they can participate (passively) in them too. Think about involving your toddler in age-appropriate cooking tasks like stirring, measuring, and pouring ingredients. It promotes healthy eating habits and helps them learn practical skills needed for life. 

Or you could create a cleanup song to turn cleaning into a fun learning activity for infants and toddlers. Encourage your child to put away toys and tidy up. It helps them understand the importance of helping out. With a baby carrier, you could also involve your infant or toddler in activities such as nature walks, park visits, and even picnics. 

If you have a high chair at home, you could also look to introduce learning activities for infants like finger painting or building blocks. Be careful to use only non-toxic, washable paints with paper to help your child explore colors and textures with their hands. 

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From our award-winning Beyond Junior® Y High Chair to our unbreakable baby dishware, explore Abiie®’s catalog today to find the perfect baby gear for infant-toddler learning activities and more!