Enrichment activities for ADVANCED 11 month old???

[JennTheMomma]

I'd just let her take the lead. See what interests her, coloring, playing with blocks, imaginative play, dressing up, etc. Not all play has to be educational either, many kids (girls and boys) just like to run around the yard and jump in mud puddles (and some educators say that is the best education)

[solarbabies]

look up 'busy bags' for toddlers. Lots of great little activities.

I have a 23 mth old and we do stringing, sorting, stacking, COLORING (she is in love with crayons right now) magnets, painting.... she is really starting to pretend a lot more....pretend cook and eat with her kitchen, she 'drive' cars around, changes her babies, swings her babies, nurses her babies lol. She is starting to get pedaling down with her tricycle.

I don't see an issue with tv. We do lots of signing (some signing time as well as a baby einstein that has signing) because signing is her major way of communication right now. Don't just plop her in front of the tv....but to watch some with her and explain things or do things together (like I do all the signs with her/tv)

[MariaLA]

Originally Posted by bobbyjk I'm learnign that my DD is pretty advanced too. She is now 18 months old and knows all her letters, numbers, counts, knows colors, shapes (including pentagon, octagon and such) and is now on to learning the letter sounds. She has a vocabulary of probably at least 500 words, knows about 50 signs. She sings along to songs and is now putting 2 word sentences together. When she colors she obviously does not stay in the lines, but she colors over specific objects, not just the whole page. OK, this sounds like a Mommy brag but my point is that if your LO is advanced, these are all things you can work on in a fun way. We've NEVER forced any of it, but just casually teach her during the day through books, counting flowers outside, talking about the colors and smells of the flowers, pointing out numbers at the store or on addresses on houses, etc. She helps me "cook" and we explain each step to her and she dumps "1 cup" etc. I really don't believe in pushing that stuff on little ones, but my DD just seems to pick it up from real life education. We did a lot of chalk outside (letters, colors, shapes) and organized things like rocks based on color or size (big, small). I would do a lot of sensory things (warm, cold, bumpy, soft) With the warm weather coming up you can do sand and water tables. Bead frame maze things are great. At that age, we would hide toys under different cups or boxes and see if she could find them. I've done flashlight fun in a dark room (she loved that even early on, just get a lightweight flashlight). READ READ READ Hope that gives you some ideas. My DD didn't walk until 13 months though

I agree with all of this! My almost 5 year old is ahead of her peers, and my son is too, but not as much it seems as she was. He is being moved to the 18month+ room at daycare at "only" 16 months.

[Green Decals]

Originally Posted by javabarnes look up 'busy bags' for toddlers. Lots of great little activities. I have a 23 mth old and we do stringing, sorting, stacking, COLORING (she is in love with crayons right now) magnets, painting.... she is really starting to pretend a lot more....pretend cook and eat with her kitchen, she 'drive' cars around, changes her babies, swings her babies, nurses her babies lol. She is starting to get pedaling down with her tricycle. I don't see an issue with tv. We do lots of signing (some signing time as well as a baby einstein that has signing) because signing is her major way of communication right now. Don't just plop her in front of the tv....but to watch some with her and explain things or do things together (like I do all the signs with her/tv)

I saw somewhere recently that the AAP recommends ZERO screen time for kids under 2 Not that I agree with them on much (other than maybe that and extedned rear-facing/harnessing in car seats) but I thought it was good to see it coming from a "trusted" source

Anyway, the "problem" with TV (IMO) is that it is a gateway to consumerism, and more importantly, little ones can't differentiate between real life and make believe, so the pretend world of the TV shows can migrate into their play in an unfiltered, misunderstood way, thereby blocking what room they would otherwise have for creativity. Maybe that was poorly said, but basically kids need to learn how to exist in this world in their own way, on their own terms, and in their own time... Television shows (especially those geared towards little ones) give them pre-scripted ideas of how to play, without any room for feedback or time for processing. Their precious little heads just aren't made for that kind of stimulation. We don't see it as adults, because we have the filters and processes with which to interpret and understand it all (and block out or ignore that which we don't like) - but young children don't. A perfect example of this came to me when my son remarked, quite excitedly, about a car on my computer screen. I was checking my email and didn't even see it, but it was in a small advertisement on the sidebar - an advertisement that I had probably been subjected to hundreds of times while checking email, but had never once looked at, because I knew it was an advertisement and I disregarded it. He, on the other hand, like all kids, is a sponge - they see and absorb EVERYTHING!

So anyway, my point is, less/no TV = more time and space for creativity and learning - the important kind of learning in the formative early years - that is, the learning how to "be" and "do". There is plenty of time later for those other experiences, once the filters and comprehension are in place.

[EmilytheStrange]

Originally Posted by Green Decals I saw somewhere recently that the AAP recommends ZERO screen time for kids under 2 Not that I agree with them on much (other than maybe that and extedned rear-facing/harnessing in car seats) but I thought it was good to see it coming from a "trusted" source Anyway, the "problem" with TV (IMO) is that it is a gateway to consumerism, and more importantly, little ones can't differentiate between real life and make believe, so the pretend world of the TV shows can migrate into their play in an unfiltered, misunderstood way, thereby blocking what room they would otherwise have for creativity. Maybe that was poorly said, but basically kids need to learn how to exist in this world in their own way, on their own terms, and in their own time... Television shows (especially those geared towards little ones) give them pre-scripted ideas of how to play, without any room for feedback or time for processing. Their precious little heads just aren't made for that kind of stimulation. We don't see it as adults, because we have the filters and processes with which to interpret and understand it all (and block out or ignore that which we don't like) - but young children don't. A perfect example of this came to me when my son remarked, quite excitedly, about a car on my computer screen. I was checking my email and didn't even see it, but it was in a small advertisement on the sidebar - an advertisement that I had probably been subjected to hundreds of times while checking email, but had never once looked at, because I knew it was an advertisement and I disregarded it. He, on the other hand, like all kids, is a sponge - they see and absorb EVERYTHING! So anyway, my point is, less/no TV = more time and space for creativity and learning - the important kind of learning in the formative early years - that is, the learning how to "be" and "do". There is plenty of time later for those other experiences, once the filters and comprehension are in place.

you said it well. Basically, research has shown that kids who watch TV regularly under the age of 2 generally play out things they've watched on tv instead of fully creating imaginative play on their own. It hinders their imagination.

Just like it's generally better to give a child a toy and not show them how to use it. Because that hinders their curiosity and desire to really investigate the toy. Instead, they will play with it how you showed them.

Same problem with the young 'learning tv shows'. They teach the child 'how to learn' things and that limits them later when they need more advanced problem solving skills.

no one has to agree, really. It's just not something I'm willing to risk. Because logically, it all makes sense to me. I highly recommend watching 'The Baby Human' that shows them doing lots of research on the little ones and showing how they learn things. It's sorta boring and sorta fascinating all at once.

[mcpforever]

Someone failed to tell my kids that.

[EmilytheStrange]

Originally Posted by mcpforever Someone failed to tell my kids that.

There are exceptions to all research.

[mcpforever]

Originally Posted by EmilytheStrange There are exceptions to all research.

I like to think my kids are exceptional.

[EmilytheStrange]

I'm sure they are

[escapethevillage]

Read LOTS of books.

Paint.

Buy some pegs and a peg board.