Right now my son is 4 months old and we do the following. We use my iPhone a lot because my computer kicked the bucket.
Little Reader x2
Babies Don’t Count x2 or more
Themes to Remember
The Miracle Math System
Count to 100
Count to 100 by 10s
Count to 100 by 2s
Sing the Alphabet
Read a minimum of 2 stories
Your Baby Can Read
Your Baby Can Discover
Read 2 of our 3 YBCR sliding books
play a lifting game where he holds our finger and we lift him to his feet.
-practice holding his Baby Oball rattle http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3579710
I put it in his hands. He shakes it and moves it around and eventually drops it. Then repeat.
I’m hoping that next week we can start up LM and LMs if my hubby is allowed to load it on his work laptop. Also I plan on starting Memoflix, Monkey See and Tweedlewinks.
I also plan on starting a Doman Dot program. However after taking it over with another EL mom, I’m going to focus on counting too. Since a lot of children, heck most lose the ability to know what each set of dots is, I may as well use the time he does know to instill counting to 100.
We are working on Tummy Time, but boy he hates it! Must be because his body is in the 10th precentile and his head is in the 85th.
My 3.5 month baby is mostly along for the ride as far as EL learning is concerned. I try to do LR and LMS with my older kids when she is awake so that she can witness it, hopefully she’ll pick something up along the way. We love our Oball toy too!
We do have a crawling track that we made when I was pregnant with our second, and I have her crawl down it twice a day.
I actually don’t give her that much tummy-time per-say, but I do something else that is just as good at this stage, and that’s baby-wearing. Tummy time happens sometimes, but it’s not safe for me to just leave her on the floor with an over-loving toddler standing by unless I stay right with her. The purpose of tummy time, in addition to learning how to crawl and roll over, is to get children off their backs, and out of car seats. Ergonomic baby-wearing (Not forward facing) has many benefits for babies, and not just because they are close to mommy. By observing the world from an adult level, they can better see how conversations work, develop their balance, and, well, observe! We have “How Smart is Your Baby” by Doman, and we try to implement a lot of his activities, but I think that a lot of the benefits of his activities can be achieved by simply wearing the baby. That’s good news for a busy mom with 4 little ones! It keeps her safe, lets me get my chores done, and helps her learn all at the same time. It also helps me get out of the house. I can carry her hands-free, and still be able to keep track of my other kids. I know baby-wearing isn’t as much of an EL thing, but it is part of what works for our family. Where your little one hates tummy time, it may be a nice alternative for you. I have had a lot of people comment on how well my baby holds her head up, and I think it is largely because of how much she has been worn from birth.
It sounds like you are doing a lot of great things! Enjoy this precious time.
Tamsyn,
That’s funny that you mention that. I babywear as well. It’s easier to get things done with my 7 year old and 2 year old daycare kiddo.
What carrier do you use? I use a wrap called the Cuddley Wrap by Peapod.
There are a lot of good ones out there. Ergos are nice, any kind of mei tai (pronounced “May Tie”), as well as wraps and ring slings. Stretchy wraps are really only good for newborns because with a heavier baby, the wrap will sag and you’ll find yourself having to carry them anyway. I have an Ergo that I plan on using when my baby is old enough to put her on my back (I bought it on sale when I was very pregnant). I also just got a ring sling. It’s very comfortable for the baby, and is nice for quick in-and-out errands, but it isn’t as comfortable for me.
The one I use and really love is a “Storchenweige”. I bought it from my neighbor who actually teaches baby wearing certification classes to students all over the USA. It’s her favorite wrap too. http://childrensneeds.com/index.html It’s pricey, but I don’t like to sew, and with all of the use it has had, and countless washings, it’s still as good as new, so I think it was a good investment. But on the flip side, I have a neighbor who bought a large, woven tablecloth, cut it in half lengthwise, surged the edges, and got two wraps out of it. They paid $15 each for the materials and the wrap looked very decent. The following article has a lot of good information about baby wearing. http://www.storchenwiege.com/babycarrierresearch.htm . My baby has slept for more than two hours with this wrap while I have been out and about, and it’s by far the most comfortable one for me. The weight is really distributed well once you get over the learning curve of how to do it.