Educational games for children under one year old

One of the most crucial things you can do to support your baby’s development in the first year of life is to play with them. Even the most basic activities can help them develop their motor skills, social skills, and senses.

Children learn through exploration at this age because they are inherently curious. Interactive games that incorporate touch, sound, and movement present excellent chances for them to learn about their surroundings. Spending time with your child at these times also helps to improve your relationship.

These early games, like peek-a-boo, singing, or introducing soft toys, can help your baby develop the foundation for learning as they get older. The secret is to create an atmosphere where your child can flourish by making these activities engaging and fun.

1 month

The baby’s senses are actively "tuning in" at this age. Since a baby can only understand the world through tactile experiences, developmental activities should be centered around these senses. Talk to him and stroke it more frequently. The infant can’t see toys well, but for a few moments, his attention is fixed on something specific—basically, he’s trying to study his mother’s face. For him, this is the lesson that is most fascinating. As a result, base "conversations" on smiles and changes in facial expression.

2 months

The infant can now hold his head while lying on his stomach. He attempts to turn it left and right while concentrating for a minute on a bright toy. The goal of creating games for this age group is to gradually train the child’s vision by putting them 35–40 centimeters away from each other. This will enable him to gain experience in subject monitoring. His hearing will improve when he hears the rattle call slightly to the left and then to the right of the crumbs.

3 months

At this age, the child begins to communicate emotionally,. There are first attempts to walk, he recognizes mom, dad, smiles. Build developmental activities on the development of the emotional sphere. Recite poems to him with expression, while trying to intonate your voice as brightly as possible. Cat"s counting rhyme One-two-three-four-five, The cat wants to count. That"s why she adds a little cat to the mouse. She has this answer – There is a cat, but no mouse! Baby"s counting rhyme One-two-three-four-five, My baby will go for a walk. Very soon my little one Will stomp along the path. My dear friend will grow up – He will count everything around!

Even though nature did not give the baby the perfect ear or voice for music, it is still very beneficial from this age on to sing your songs to him and spend fifteen minutes or so listening to peaceful, enjoyable music.

Simple, interactive activities that support infants’ exploration of their environment and the development of critical abilities like motor coordination, sensory awareness, and early communication are the main focus of educational games for kids under a year old. These games ought to stimulate curiosity and foster play-based relationships between caregivers and the infant. They should also be age-appropriate, safe, and entertaining.

4 months

A youngster this age is highly curious. He can already pick up objects and even try to put them in his mouth. Create developmental tasks that focus on your child’s tactile sense development. If you give him various fabrics (velveteen, satin, chintz, silk), he will gladly sort through them and experiment with his fingers’ new sensations. You can string large, vibrant beads and buttons on an elastic band or sturdy thread. The baby should be able to reach out and touch the items with his hands if this "garland" is hung close to him. Babies often sort round, flat, textured objects with great enthusiasm.

5 months

The baby is very active, he can already roll over from side to side, some try to sit. Movement is what occupies the baby the most now. Build developmental games on simple physical exercises, during which you can read him already known poems, sing songs. For example, the game “Let"s go, let"s go” is well suited for this age: Mom lies down on her back on the sofa, puts the baby on her stomach so that his back rests on her bent legs: We went, we went to the forest for nuts! Over bumps, along paths, over small stumps! Suddenly there is a hole, Kolya (Petya, Dima, Olya, Lena, etc. d.) into a hole BOOM! At the same time, the mother slightly spreads her legs, holding the baby by the arms, so the baby loses support in the back area. For a few seconds, without letting go of his hands, you can lower him down, and then lift him up again. Talk more to your child: now his so-called internal speech is actively developing – he cannot speak yet, but he already remembers how it should sound. Show your baby different objects more often and name them loudly and clearly. Encourage babbling, because now is the time to move from cooing to emotional babbling.

From 6 to 12 months

• "Hide and Seek". This game develops the child"s emotional sphere, short-term memory, reaction. In a year or two, the baby will be happy to run and hide for real, but for now, mom can imitate the process of disappearance. It is enough to cover your face with your hands and say: "Where is my baby?», and then open your palms, smile and answer yourself: "Here it is!».

The majority of kids come to life when they play such basic games, and they particularly enjoy playing mini-hide-and-seek. Once the baby is 8 or 9 months old, you can show them a toy and then conceal it in a nearby area so they can discover where it is. and then jointly "search for" it.

• “Magpie”. This game, known to all of us from childhood, develops fine motor skills, coordination of movements, imagination and speech of the baby. With the index finger of one hand, move it in a circular motion on the palm of the other:

Thief Magpie, prepared porridge,

Next, begin to bend the fingers of the hand that the porridge was "cooked" on.

She contributed to this one, this one, this one.

She contributed to this one as well as this one.

And this one, which is indicated by the little finger, received none.

Next, you must begin bending each finger individually in the opposite order:

You chopped wood, you carried water,

You served cereal, and I used a spoon to stir it.

You, the tiniest one, offered absolutely no assistance!

Usually, a few repeats of this amusing game are sufficient to get him to start repeating himself after his mother of movement.

Should this fail, you can assist the infant by holding his hands and demonstrating the process.

• “Brave pilot”. The good old “fly-fly” has always been the best way to distract a child from whims and bad mood. But for this game it is best to invite dad or grandpa, because babies after 6-7 months already weigh enough that it is difficult for mom to lift them with outstretched arms above their head. The essence of the game is quite simple – the child needs to be lifted horizontally, putting your hand under his chest, and imitate the sound of a flying airplane. Such a game perfectly trains the child"s vestibular apparatus, gives him the opportunity to look at the world around him from a great height for him.

• “Building a house”. If the child sits well and crawls confidently, you need to scatter bright cubes on the floor (without sharp corners), preferably plastic ones. The child"s task is to get to the cube, take it and give it to mom, who will build a house or a tower from the elements collected by the child. This is not only a great physical workout, but also the development of logic, imagination, and coordination of movements. Each successful attempt to take the "building materials" should be emotionally praised, then the baby will really enjoy the process.

• "Ladushki". One of the best games of many generations: even our great-grandmothers, without the advice of teachers and psychologists, guessed that clapping hands is very beneficial for the development of motor skills, coordination of movements, reaction and imagination. The actions are simple and accessible to children 6-8 months old – you just need to clap:

Ladushki-ladushki, how did you get on? at grandmother’s house!

What food did you consume? Malashka, porridge, porridge!

Pancakes that granny made for the trip!

After we had our fill, we took off!

The next step is to begin waving your arms as though you’re in flight:

Fly-fly, perched atop the head!

Mother and child lift and place their hands atop their heads.

• "Big and small". Give the child a large box (from a microwave, from dad"s shoes), put smaller toys or objects in it and close the lid. The baby"s task is to open, take out and put back. The game can be complicated as the child grows – hide one of the objects so that the baby can understand what is missing in his box.

Fine motor skills, reasoning, thinking, cognitive abilities, attention span, and memory are all enhanced by the game. The most important thing is to make sure the tiny items you place are not small enough to swallow. You can use a ring box, a tea strainer, a teaspoon, a tangerine, etc.

• "Who lives in the house"?. For this game you will need pictures depicting a variety of animals. You can download them from the Internet and print them out, or you can draw them yourself (if you know how to do it!). In a large dense envelope or box, fold the pictures. During the game, take them out of there one by one, loudly and clearly call the child the name of the animal (tiger, cat, elephant, bird, dog), and show what sounds this animal makes (cat – meow, tiger – r-r-r-r, elephant – top-top, dog – woof-woof, etc.).

The infant will eventually be able to identify different animals and mimic not just their sounds but also their names. Such imitation is highly beneficial for the development of voice and inner speech abilities, as well as for attention span and world knowledge stimulation.

• “Let"s draw anything!". For such free creativity, you will need whatman, and preferably two large batman, glued together, and finger colors. Paints must be food so that the baby can draw and taste them without hearing the prohibitions from the mother. Spread the sheets of paper on the floor, release a small artist on them and give a jar of paint.

Such sketching fosters creativity, improves motor coordination, and stimulates thought. Young children can paint with their fingers for extended periods of time and with great enthusiasm.

• "Forms". To develop logic and cognitive processes, you can buy special developmental constructors for the baby, in which you need to place the corresponding figures in the base with slots of different geometric shapes. You can also cut out the shapes yourself, from colored cardboard, and make the base for them from white cardboard. The baby will be able to understand that a round shape does not fit into a square shape, and a triangular shape cannot be stuffed into an oval shape. Show the baby the shapes several times, name them, and then praise each time the baby selects the shape correctly.​

A quick and easy method to aid in your baby’s development is to incorporate educational games into their daily routine. These exercises sharpen their senses, enhance their motor abilities, and promote cognitive development. Fun learning moments can arise from simple everyday interactions; they don’t have to be complicated.

Pay attention to how your child responds while you play with them and modify the games to suit their interests. Recall that the objective is to enjoy ourselves while learning. A little imagination can help you build memorable experiences that serve as the basis for skills that last a lifetime.

In the end, the relationship you create with your infant during these formative playtimes is just as significant as the abilities they acquire. Savor this unique moment, understanding that you’re assisting your child in making meaningful, playful discoveries about the world.

Video on the topic

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