What things do you do with your LO to keep them amused but also help develop their intelligence? I have yet again delayed my return to work until January...Yippppeee, so I have more time with Archie but I'm running out of ideas.

So girls....what fun/learning things do you do?

ooohhh we'll be back to work buddies, be able to have a right good moan about work and keep each other going xx

Matthew last few weeks has really come into his own, he didnt really show much interest in stuff until now, Archie's a bit older so prob a bit ahead of Matthew. Things we do:

nursery rhymes and clapping hands games
peek a boo
play on the carpet with various toys
loves looking out the window (right on train line so he loves watching the train - shame its only hourly)
kid on wrestling ie matthew lies across my body on the carpet and beats me up haha - he loves rough play

things im hoping to do more often:

go swimming
feed the ducks (never been bothered before but last time was talking to them haha)
painting and getting in a right mess
trying out a soft play area when its quite

Matthew is really into textures and making noise just now so we play with some wee instruments and make alot of noise (poor neighbours)

also the baby einstein dvd's are great much better than the cbeebies bumf there are baby signinh ones and I do the actions

hmmmm prob most of that you already do anyways, just shower Archie with love and kisses and just BE with him, im finding this very rewarding and I can see him becoming closer to me iykwim? as he doesnt do kisses or cuddles but starting to hug back a bit more which is amazing x

oh oh almost forgot this years must - VISIT TO SEE SANTA!!!! maybe one day in Dec we should try meet half way say George Square in Glasgow let the wee ones see the lights etc and get a proper catch up for any local ladies (and not so local who fancy a meet up???)

all of the above! Iv found tuesday mornings are a good time to go to soft play-as Monday mornings are always chockablock with parents trying to wear their children out after the weekend.

Dona, do you have surestart centres near you? I go to two baby groups with Brooke-both free!-at my local one! One is a stay and play on a monday afternoon, and the other is bumps and babies on a wednesday morning. Its amazing watching Brooke interacting with all these other little people and its nice as she doesnt get trampled by the bigger ones.

we do alot of painting, and I also take her on walks to the country wildlife park too, quite frequently. Its nice just to stick her in the pram and let her look around.

mostly what the other ladies do hun, Emma likes music and lots of interaction and socialising!!

Thinking of taking her to a music/reading group that they run through the local libraries down here in ayrshire. Id like to go to mothers and toddlers but am worried i will feel i have to explain and make excuses for Emma, ie late development and being tiny!!! But i know most people dont judge its just my fear. You thought about anything like that??

xx

I do all the above! We do lots of reading and flash cards, I let him play alone too just to do his own thing.

I want to take him to drop-in but Im nervous about other kids being sick or him playing on dirty floors with dirty toys. Im a germ freak. I know!

Here's some ideas....

Tie several colorful scarves together. Insert one end into a cardboard tube and let him pull them out. See if he's able to stuff them back inside.

Place three toys in a box. Name one, and ask him to give it to you. If he gets it wrong, name the toy he gave you. If he gets it right, say, "Yes, that's a...."

Give his teddy bear an occasional sip when your baby is learning to use a cup. This is a forerunner of later imaginative play.

Take time to sit down with him. He might initiate a game, or you can give him a jump-start by placing a basket of new and interesting items within his reach.

Play back-and-forth games: He'll hand an object to you, and then you hand it back to him, and so on.

Turn toys upside down and put them in front of him. Encourage him to turn the toys right side up. He's learning the difference.

Put some of his toys in a plastic see-through box. Let him try to take the cover off himself. If he has trouble, help him.

Games

*Sponge squeeze*

This is a fun way for baby to explore texture, water and shape and engage in social interaction. This is best played at bath-time.

* Buy a pack or two of sponges and cut each one into a different shape.
* Drop them into the bath one at a time and let him explore them.
* Put each sponge on the side of the bath and press out the water. The sponge should stick to the side of the bath.
* Baby will probably want to make a grab for it.

*Tower demolition*

This game helps build baby’s confidence that he can make things happen, and he will begin to learn that a toy seen in one place can actually be the same toy that he saw somewhere else a mument ago!

* Sit on the floor in front of your baby and build a tower of 4 – 5 bricks between you.
* Encourage her to knock them over
* She will love the excitement of knocking the bricks over and won’t get bored of this game for quite some time!

*Hunt the toy*

In this six months, many of the toys and games that babies enjoy most are those that help reinforce the idea that objects can move and still be the same object, and also that they can still exist even if they are hidden!

Take one of baby’s favourite toys and a cloth or tea towel. Put the cloth over the toy and lift it off to show her the toy. Give her a turn to see if she too will lift it off to expose the toy. You can also try the following ideas;

* Try her with the toy half covered
* Try with the toy completely covered
* If you’re playing with a toy that makes a noise, see what her reaction is if you get the toy to go off from under the cloth.
* Try removing the toy before she (or you) takes the cloth off. Is she surprised?

* Bye-bye baby*

Before children can talk using words they can understand and use hand signs. So include some of these hand signals regularly in play and day to day routine. The easiest one is waving hello or bye-bye.

* Teach her to wave bye-bye.
* Wave bye-bye to everyone when she goes to bed.
* Wave bye-bye to the bus as it disappears down the road.
* Wave bye-bye to the sheep in the field.
* Wave bye-bye to the trains at the station.

Some other awesome ideas from Fisher Price...who knew!
Games

^^ those are fab!!

Abby is too young for all of these yet but I can't wait to have a go!
ooh, ooh, I'm up for that. I love santa!!!

Yeah I am up for that Ladies! Any excuse for going on a train! When? xx

Id be up for that too if im allowed