My little guy is now 8 months already! He is cruising and able to get to anything. I recently pulled out my book, (aff) Active baby, healthy brain by Margaret Sasse, and have been inspired (again) to intentionally have some developmental activities for him too. I’ve had my younger girls help me plan and set up some “baby play” activities.

What is Baby Play?

Developmental play time for babies! Honestly, many of the activities in the book I did without evening knowing it was beneficial.  The book did however, inspire me to set aside some intentional movement, play and active exploration time for my little guy. The goal is to keep it simple, fun and safe for both you and your baby!

This week we introduced him to the giant jingle bell bin!

Umm, it’s a ball. Hey wait! It makes noise! Yeah!

Disclaimer: If you have a migraine, don’t introduce this activity! If you are wanting some peace and quiet, don’t introduce this activity! 😉

I picked up giant jingle bells at my local hobby store in their Christmas section. I love the size and the fact that they make noise. I knew it would be something that would interest my little guy.

Put in. Dump out. Put in. Dump out.

I placed the 5 bells in a basket and let him explore. The bells were the perfect size for grasping. Once he heard them jingle, he was sold! He would place the bells in the basket and dump them out. He also would roll them and crawl after them. His sisters joined in the fun and would roll the bells to him.

We also set up a baby obstacle course!

I can get the ball on my own!

Ok, it was a very simple obstacle course! My goal was to encourage my son to practice pulling up and start cruising between furniture. We put several ottomans and a toddler table close enough together so that he could hold on to one for balance while getting to the other. In order to motivate him to try, we put a ball on one of the tables. He immediately went after that ball!

So What’s the Point?

These activities:

– piqued his curiosity

– gave him practice picking objects up and placing them in a basket (eye-hand coordination)

– gave him incentive to crawl (gross motor practice)

– introduced cause and effect: shake the bell and it rings; roll the bell and it rings.

– was an organized activity that allowed his sisters to play with him too (sibling love)

– practiced creeping (creeping is crawling on hands and knees with stomach up)

– practiced pulling up

Other Baby Play Ideas:

Here’s an older post I did when my daughter was 8mo. old: Odds & Ends Bucket and a here’s a review of the book, Active baby Healthy Brain.

You can also find more ideas on my Baby Activities Pinterest board.