Begin introducing your child to water at an early age and teach her/him basic water and rules when she/he can understand them.

The following are ideas to try:

1)      Water Bowl Fun – Fill plastic bowls with two cups of water. Ask your child to carry the bowl to different places in the backyard.

2)      Sponge Balancing – Use a large wet sponge try a couple of the following activities: balance it on her head while walking, balance it on her leg, hand, shoulder, etc.

3)      Bucket Throw – Place a bucket or basket some distance away from your child. Ask him to throw slower and then faster.

4)      Plastic Bottle Fun – Fill a large plastic bowl with water, Use a funnel and cup to fill up different sizes of plastic bottles. Cap the bottle and walk around the yard to “water” the flowers, trees, or other objects. Place it in a wagon and putt it around the yard, Dump the water back into the bowl.

5)      Car and Truck Wash  -Put some liquid soap in some water. Give your child a sponge. Wash all the toy cars and toy trucks.

Remember – Supervise a child around water at all times.

Did you know that the baby’s brain produces connections faster in the first year than at any other time of life?

Pick 5 Baby Brain Games

1. Hold your baby and say; “Nose, nose, snuggle nose.” Gently touch your nose to his.
2. Look through a window together and talk about what you see. Watch birds fly from one place to another. Watch cars moving down the street. Loving care and talking about what you see provides a baby’s brain with an emotional challenge.
3. Mirror, mirror. Sit in front of a mirror, say ,”Hi, baby.” “Hi, foot.” Shake heads and clap hands.
4. Read together. Babies love to look at human babies and animal babies.
5. Talk, talk, talk. Have a conversation about what you are cooking for dinner.

Tell baby everything you are cooking.

The number of words an infant hears each day influence his intellectual skills.

1. Go fly a Kite – Make your own streamer kite. Gather lots of crepe paper streamers in different colors. Take your kite to your favorite kite flying location.
2. Gather pine cones or milk cartons, spread peanut butter and bird seed for a homemade bird feeder. Read a book together on birds.
3. July 6^th is Festival of the Tooth. Celebrate with a toothpaste scavenger hunt and invite the neighborhood children to join in.
4. Have a July 4^th parade. Decorate bikes and slowly ride them around a park or neighborhood.
5. Invite friends to a campfire sing-along. If your location allows, build a campfire for the sing-along. If not use flashlights and be creative.
6. Create hats for a hat party. Use puff paints, glitter, artificial flowers, small toys, etc. Talk about events where hats are the center of attention, such as The
7. Kentucky Derby.
8. Make Strawberry Divine. Put soften ice cream into a heart-shaped cake mold.
9. Freeze. Un-mold by dipping into hot water for a count of 8 and invert into a serving dish.
10. Invite kids to plan a menu for a picnic. Make your favorite picnic recipes and take your picnic to a favorite park or backyard.
11. A Sea Horse Noodle Race. Have kids ride noodle floats like sea horses. Sit on them like jockeys and paddle to the other side of the pool. Check a book out of the library on sea horses.
12. Make funny fruit faces for breakfast. Set out bowls of fruit – grapes, strawberries,  star fruit and melon. Kids create a funny face on a plate with fruit.