Babies need plenty of space and freedom to simply stretch and move their bodies. Encouraging children to be active supports their physical skills, such as control, manipulation and co-ordination, which in turns boosts their confidence and sense of well-being.
- Resources
Motivate babies to be physically active by incorporating new and exciting resources in to their play.
- Ribbons tied securely around the top of a wooden dolly peg make an excellent play resource for smaller hands to grasp and wave.
- You could also tie chiffon hair bands around large wooden curtain rings to make it easy for babies to grip and manipulate.
- Put together a basket of voiles, ribbons, netting and silk scarves for babies to explore. These materials are tactile and eye- catching and have a wonderful fluid movement when moved through the air.
- Collect plastic bottles and fill with buttons, rice and pasta to create noisy shakers.
- Adult role
- Babies love repetition, so recite rhymes over and over as you move.
- Get down on the floor with babies to encourage 'tummy time' and crawling.
- Hold babies while making different movements. Explore ways of carrying, rocking, swaying, swinging and turning with babies.
- Dance with babies holding brightly coloured scarves, voiles or ribbons.
- Play and listen to a variety of music. Dancing with babies enhances their brain activity, stimulates growth and prompts delight and laughter! Find music with different rhythms and use types from around the world. Clap and move to the beat. Introduce words such as slow, fast, loud and quiet.
- Play instruments (bells, shakers, drums, rhythm sticks, pots and pans) in front, next to, above and behind babies. Encourage them to focus on the instrument and eventually hold and play the instrument themselves.
- Note how babies respond to the different types of music.
- Play calming music to wind down and relax.
- In practice
Babies bobbing to music will be a familiar sight to many practitioners, but by observing closely, staff have noted that they reacted to the music with their bodies in individual ways. Some kicked their legs, others turned their heads, one baby patted the floor and another simply turned around and around.
Babies were fascinated by the ribbon pegs that were made as part of the Northamptonshire Baby Room Project. Babies could grasp the pegs easily. One baby had the skills to shake the pegs and practitioners observed that he was clearly pleased with his efforts. The more mobile babies took pleasure in having space to move around the room, trailing the voiles and silk scarves behind them.
Claire Stevenson is Birth to Three Adviser for Northamptonshire County Council
References
(DFES) 2007, Early Years Foundation Stage
Links to the EYFS
- UC 1.1 Child Development
- LD 4.4 Areas of Learning and Development