WEEK 1: I Can Use My Hands

Parents Day Out Infants and Toddlers • Unit 1: Discovering Self WEEK 1: I Can Use My Hands __________________________________________________________...
Author: Robert McGee
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Parents Day Out

Infants and Toddlers • Unit 1: Discovering Self WEEK 1: I Can Use My Hands _________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Focus on a gentle, loving touch today as you use your hands to hold, diaper, and feed children. • Talk with children about the ways they use their hands—to reach, crawl, pick up, push, pull, eat, clap. • Give special attention to washing your own hands frequently during the day, especially after diapering a baby or wiping her nose. Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and running water before handling food or feeding a child. • Studies have shown that contaminated hands can pass along germs which result in colds, diarrhea, hepatitis, and other infections. • Be aware that your cold hands are uncomfortable to a child when you are changing his diaper. If your hands are cold, wash them in warm water before handling a child.

Concepts to Be Emphasized • God gave me hands to enjoy touching, holding, carrying, and playing with toys and other objects. • I can use my hands to enjoy working with friends at home and church. Bible Verses and Phrases • God made us (Psalm 100:3). • Work with your hands (1 Thessalonians 4:11).

LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Provide the books All About Baby, Baby’s Toys, and God Made Kittens. Place a book in a crib or on a mat on the floor near a baby for him to look at and handle. When a baby pats a book or when a toddler turns the pages, say, “Thank You, God, for Heather’s hands.” Make a feel book for children to enjoy touching. Cut a four-by-six-inch piece of each of the following fabrics: fake fur, corduroy, dotted swiss, velvet, silk, burlap, netting, and so forth. Sew a seam down the left sides to make a book. As an infant or toddler touches and examines the feel book, say, “Our hands can feel soft (or bumpy or smooth) things.” Music Play a clapping game with the children as you play the song “Rhythm!” on a recording. Hold a younger infant’s hands in your own as you clap and sing the song. A toddler will enjoy clapping along with you. Use your hands to cover your eyes as you sing the song “Peekaboo!” As a toddler stacks cardboard blocks, sing the song “Helping at Church.” Using this tune, make up your own words about hands, such as “John can help, John can help, John can help, John can stack the blocks, John can help at church.” Add other stanzas to relate to what John is doing. Nature Place several pinecones (without prickly points) in a bowl on the floor for toddlers or hang the pinecones from a coat hanger (molded plastic) mobile for infants. As a child touches a pinecone, talk about how his hands can feel the rough ridges. Supervise this touching activity so children do not mouth the pinecones.

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Parents Day Out

Unit 1 • Discovering Self Teaching Pictures Locate the pictures “I Love My Family,” “Enjoying Music,” “Girl Putting Flowers in Hair,” and “Friends Playing Together” (pictures 20, 24, 40, and 46 from WEE Learn Teaching Pictures for Two-Year-Olds). As you hold an infant or sit beside a toddler, show him a teaching picture and talk about how children in the pictures are using their hands. Say, “A Bible verse is ‘Work with your hands.’ ” Toys and Games Place large, empty thread spools on a nonelastic cord across the rails of a crib for five-month-old Kim to reach for. Be sure the cord is attached securely. Toddlers will enjoy dragging spools on a 9-inch string across the floor. Before each use, check to be sure the string is attached securely. Supervise the toddlers as they use the spools and string. Provide a Busy Clutch Ball for older infants to grasp. Pata-cake is a good game using hands, also. Additional Ideas for Toddlers • Blocks—As toddlers carry and stack cardboard blocks, thank them for working together. • Homeliving—Place one inch of water in a dishpan and provide plastic dishes and towels for washing dishes. As toddlers wash dishes, say, “God gave us hands for helping.” Remain nearby to help toddlers take turns with the water play. • Puzzles—Large, colorful Snap-Lock Beads help the development of eye-hand coordination as toddlers put them together. Place the picture “Friends Playing Together” nearby. Evaluation • Did children experience many ways to use their hands? • Did children hear you thank God for their hands? ________________________________________________________________ WEEK 2: I Can Use My Feet ________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Talk with infants and toddlers about ways they use their feet during the session—to kick, bounce, jump, walk, and climb. • Obtain equipment for use with this emphasis which will help children exercise their legs and feet. Toddlers exercise leg and feet muscles when they climb step units or ride sit-and-scoot toys. • Eliminate all unnecessary furniture in infant and toddler rooms to free up floor space for children to use in crawling, toddling, and walking. When younger preschoolers are in confined spaces and cannot explore freely, they do not have opportunities to exercise legs and feet or to learn coordination. • Evaluate how your own feet and shoes affect the learning environment for the children in your room. Do you wear low-heeled comfortable shoes so you can move about the room efficiently and safely? Are your shoes clean? Many teachers find that nonskid sock-like house slippers are comfortable to wear and keep floors cleaner in infant and toddler rooms. Infants and Toddlers

Concepts for Emphasis • God gave me feet to enjoy kicking, bouncing, crawling, walking, and climbing. • I am growing and learning to use my legs and feet in new ways everyday. Bible Verses and Phrases • God made us (Psalm 100:3). • I am wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). 2

Parents Day Out

Unit 1 • Discovering Self LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Locate the books Daddies at Work, God Made Puppies, and On My Own. Talk with babies about pictures in the books. Stimulate toddlers to look at books by attaching paper footprint outlines to the floor leading to the books propped against a wall. Attach the footprints to the floor by covering the footprints on the floor with larger pieces of clear contact plastic. As toddlers step onto the footprints and walk to books, say, “We enjoy using our feet to walk to our books.” Music Use the song from last session, “Rhythm!” Sing stanza 3 as you march around the room holding baby Sara. Nature Place several flowers inside a clear plastic bottle, fill with water, and seal tightly, wrapping tape securely around the lid. Babies will enjoy seeing the floating flowers and handling the bottle. Toddlers will carry the bottle around the room, shake the bottle, and so forth. As a child examines the flowers in the bottle, say: “God made the flowers. God made you, too, Tammy. A Bible verse is ‘I am wonderfully made.’ ” Teaching Pictures Locate the pictures “A Family Walking” and “Baby Jesus at Church” (pictures 12 and 17 from WEE Learn Teaching Pictures for Two-Year-Olds). Place the picture “Baby Jesus at Church” in a crib or on the floor by a child. Ask the child, “Can you find Baby Jesus’ feet?” Then ask the child to find his own feet. Say, “Thank You, God, for Eric’s feet.” The picture “A Family Walking” opens the door for you to talk about the family walking together. Toys and Games Securely sew bells on the toe-ends of a pair of socks. Place the socks on the feet of an infant who is in a crib or on the floor. As the baby kicks her feet, jingling the bells, talk about her feet. Toddlers enjoy walking up and down the room with a Pull-A-Tune Xylophone or Corn Popper. Play a game with toes. As you gently grasp a child’s toes, sing: “One-little, two-little, three-little toes; four-little, fivelittle, six-little toes; seven-little, eight-little, nine-little toes. Ten-little baby toes.” Additional Ideas for Toddlers • Blocks—Place a sturdy cardboard grocery box near the cardboard blocks. Toddlers will climb in and out of the box, stack blocks in it, and find other uses for the box. • Homeliving—Position several colorful carpet pieces in the homeliving area. Encourage toddlers to step from one carpet piece to the other. Say, “Thank You, God, for Tracey’s strong legs and feet.” • Puzzles—Locate wooden puzzles “Animals” and “Pet Pals.” Gather several sizes of clean shoes and put them in a clothes basket in the puzzle area. As toddlers handle baby shoes and adult shoes, say: “Show me the baby’s shoes, Eric. Can you find the daddy’s shoes?” Infants and Toddlers

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Unit 1 • Discovering Self Evaluation • Did children hear you thank God for their strong legs and feet? • Did children use their legs and feet in different activities? _________________________________________________________________ WEEK 3: I Can Use My Mouth _________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Because most infants and toddlers place items they handle in their mouths, a clean environment is essential for their good health. An effective disinfectant is one-fourth cup of bleach in a gallon of water. After rinsing toys in clear water, allow items to air-dry on a clean towel. • An important way infants and toddlers explore their environment is to “mouth” items. Provide appropriate toys which are safe for children to place in their mouths. Discard toys with small parts, sharp edges, or surfaces which cannot be sanitized. LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Locate the books Baby’s Good Morning, Baby’s Toys, and On the Farm. Looking at a book with a preschooler provides time for closeness. Infants will enjoy being held while you look at a book together.

Concepts for Emphasis • God gave me a mouth to enjoy tasting and eating foods. • I can use my mouth to talk, sing, cry, and make many sounds. Bible Verses and Phrases • God gives food to us (Psalm 136:25). • Sing thanks to God (Psalm 147:7).

Older infants and toddlers often like the independence of sitting beside you, however. Respect a child’s desire to be held or not to be held. As you look at the book On the Farm, encourage a child to imitate words or sounds of animals you say. Even the infant who is babbling and cooing enjoys trying to imitate your sounds as she responds to you. Say to a child, “I am glad you are using your mouth to make sounds.” Music Playing a recording of quiet music often helps establish a calm atmosphere, especially when babies are resting or sleeping. Your singing voice probably is more comforting than any recording, however. As you look at the book On the Farm, sing “The Animal Song,” encouraging children to use their mouths to make the animal sounds. As a child drinks milk from a cup or bottle, say: “God gave you a mouth to drink milk and to taste good food. Thank You, God, for Jennifer’s mouth.” After singing the song “Thank You, God,” say: “In our Bible we read, ‘Sing thanks to God.’ We can thank God for our mouths to sing.” Nature Bring an orange, grapefruit, and lemon. As preschoolers handle, mouth, and smell the fruit, say, “God gave us mouths to taste food.” After one child has handled the fruit, wash them before another child licks or mouths the fruit. If children are not allergic to orange juice, squeeze a small amount of fresh juice for them to taste. Infants and Toddlers

Allergy Alert! Post an allergy alert on the door notifying parents of the fruits to be used in the session. 4

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Unit 1 • Discovering Self Teaching Pictures Locate the pictures “Joey Eats an Apple” and “Fruit” (pictures 8 and 9 from WEE Learn Teaching Pictures for Two-Year-Olds). When feeding infants and toddlers, show children the pictures. Say: “God gave you a mouth to eat good food. A Bible verse is ‘God gives food to us.’ ” Toys and Games Provide an assortment of teething toys for babies. As a child is mouthing a toy, ask, “Where is your mouth, Justin?” Play a game with a child by asking him to show you his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Use an unbreakable mirror such as the Peek-at-You Mirror to show a child his mouth, eyes, and so forth.

Caution! Be sure to disinfect each teething toy after a child has mouthed it.

Play a game with older toddlers as you sing about various actions, such as “This is the way we brush our teeth,” or “This is the way we eat our food,” or “This is the way we drink our milk.” Talk with toddlers about their mouths, lips, teeth, tongues, and throats. Additional Ideas for Toddlers • Blocks—Count blocks as toddlers stack them: one, two, three. Say, “Mary, let’s count the blocks you are stacking.” Do not place an emphasis on using numbers with toddlers. However, you can verbalize to a toddler when he brings you one block or two toys. • Homeliving—Provide two vinyl dolls. Encourage toddlers to show you body parts on dolls. For example, ask a child to show you the baby doll’s mouth, eyes, nose, and so forth. • Puzzles—Make two or three face puzzles for toddlers. Find large pictures of several faces of people. Cut each picture into two pieces; then mount the pictures on cardboard and cover them with clear contact plastic. Toddlers are challenged when they try to fit the halves of the faces together. Evaluation • Did infants and toddlers enjoy using their mouths to eat, babble, and talk? • Did children hear songs and conversation thanking God for their mouths? _________________________________________________________________ WEEK 4: I Can Use My Eyes _________________________________________________________________ Guidance Tips • Look at your preschool room through the eyes of an infant or toddler. You will need to sit on the floor and move around on the floor to get the true perspective of a small child. What do you see on the child’s eye level? If you see dust and clutter, do some housekeeping. • Place interesting items about your room on the eye level of children in cribs and on the floor: mobiles, teaching pictures, and toys. Store extra toys and equipment in cabinets or closets out of sight of children, rather than dumping them into toy boxes. • Give infants and toddlers loving eye contact—eye contact which communicates: “I really see you. I think you are special, and I enjoy being with you.” Infants and Toddlers

Concepts for Emphasis • God gave me eyes to enjoy and learn about things around me. • I like to look at my teachers and friends, and I especially like to focus on their eyes and faces.

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Unit 1 • Discovering Self LEARNING ACTIVITIES Books Provide the books Big Like Me, In the Yard, and I See, the Read to Me Bible for Kids, and a teacher-made book of happy faces. Prior to the session find faces of happy people in magazines and mount them on pieces of cardboard about the size of quart-sized zip-lock plastic bags. Insert the pictures in the bags, placing the sealed openings on the right side. Bind the left edges of the bags, using large metal rings or sewing the left edges.

Bible Verses and Phrases • I am wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). • God gave us eyes to see (Proverbs 20:12).

As you sit on the floor with a child in your lap or beside you, encourage the older baby or toddler to turn the pages of the books. Say: “God gave us eyes to see the things in our world. In our Bible we read, ‘God gave us eyes to see.’ ” Open the Read to Me Bible for Kids and show the pictures to infants and toddlers. Use the Bible often during the session, encouraging preschoolers to touch pictures and turn pages gently. Say, “Thank You, God, for eyes to see our Bible.” Music Frequently sing to infants and toddlers during the session, thanking God for their eyes to see as you name a friend, point to the ball, look at a picture, and so forth. Sing the songs “Thank You, God” and “Peekaboo!” as you talk about eyes. As a toddler pulls the Pull-A-Tune Xylophone, say: “Your eyes found the xylophone, David. Can you make pretty sounds on the xylophone?” Nature Before the session find several leaves for children to examine. Seal each leaf in a zip-lock bag for toddlers to touch and handle. Tie leaves from molded plastic coat hangers to make mobiles for infants to enjoy. Hang several of these leaf mobiles around the room. Always supervise infants and toddlers near leaves to prevent children’s mouthing the leaves. As the children look at leaves, say: “God made your eyes to see the pretty leaves He made. Thank You, God, for eyes to see leaves.” Teaching Pictures Locate the pictures “Friends Playing Together,” “God Made Water,” and “At the Beach” (pictures 46, 47, and 48 from WEE Learn Teaching Pictures for TwoYear-Olds). Place the appropriate picture near a puzzle. Say: “God gave you eyes to see the puzzle” or “God gave you eyes to see the beautiful world He made.” Toys and Games Play the game peekaboo with all ages of younger preschoolers. Older babies and toddlers will imitate you and actively play this game. Hide-and-seek is another excellent game for infants and toddlers. Hide an object under a blanket or in a small box; then help the child find the object.

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Unit 1 • Discovering Self Additional Ideas for Toddlers • Blocks—Place a large cardboard grocery box near the cardboard blocks. Play a game with toddlers by turning the box upside down and placing several blocks under the box. Toddlers will enjoy finding the blocks you have hidden. • Homeliving—Provide two molded plastic dolls, a sturdy doll bed, and a childsized rocking chair for toddlers. As children take turns rocking dolls, talk about the dolls’ eyes. Say: “Doug, can you show me the doll’s eyes? Where are your eyes? God made you, Doug. A Bible verse is ‘I am wonderfully made.’ ” • Puzzles—Place the wooden inlay puzzles “Butterfly” and “Rooster” on the floor in a corner of the room. As a child works a puzzle, say, “God gave you eyes and hands for working puzzles.” Evaluation • Name ways the children enjoyed using their eyes. • Did you use opportunities for positive eye contact with infants and toddlers?

RESOURCES Bible • Read to Me Bible for Kids • 155819844X (NIrV) • Read to Me Bible for Kids • 1558198458 (KJV) Books • All About Baby! (Dorling Kindersley) 1564585301 • Baby’s Good Morning: A Super Chubby Board Book (Ricklen, Little Simon) 067176084X • Baby’s Toys (Ricklen, Simon and Schuster) 0671620789 • Big Like Me (Hines, Greenwillow) 0688083544 • Daddies at Work (Mirriam, Alladin) 0689809980 • God Made Kittens (Bennett, Standard) 0784702683 • God Made Puppies (Bennett, Standard) 078470256X • I See, (Isadora, Greenwillow) 0688040608 • In the Yard (Brown, Dorling Kindersley) 1564582671 • On the Farm (Brown, Dorling Kindersley) 1564582698

Music • ‘Specially Special Songs: Music for Early Childhood Songbook • 0767334884 Double Cassette • 0767334825 Double CD • 0767334817 Pictures • WEE Learn Teaching Pictures for Two-Year-Olds 0767333381 Puzzles (Constructive Playthings) • “Animals” • DL-4002 (4 pieces) • “Rooster” • MTC-2033 (6 pieces) Puzzles (McGraw-Hill Children’s Publishers) • “Pet Pals” • J48086 (4 pieces)

Parents Day Out curriculum is published by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, Tennessee 37234. © 2002 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. All rights reserved. Infants and Toddlers

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