VISUAL STIMULATION

Your babies sight is continuing to develop in the first six to eight months of age and we can do various things to assist their development. We play games such as pulling faces, tracking objects, reaching and grabbing and mirror play to help them with hand eye coordination. Sometimes our sessions will have a specific colour theme, focussing upon; monochrome, red, blue and yellow. Where a venue makes it possible to make the room dark we explore light and dark using torches and disco lights. Communication skills are developed using hand puppets, marionettes, masks, props and costume. The end of the session is, as always the babies favourite; bubble play. Bubbles help the eyes to focus and track, develops hand and eye coordination as well as stimulating or relaxing the babies.

AUDITORY STIMULATION

My own daughter is auditory impaired and so I know the importance of sound as a means of stimulating the brain and developing speech. Our classes are accessible for all hearing and hearing impaired babies. We do ‘sing and sign’ nursery rhymes which are simple to learn. Every session will include a story; listening to a story narrated well increases creativity and imagination. Our stories provide opportunities to sing along and embellish with sound effects and percussion instruments. This kind of reacting and interacting to stimuli is great for bringing the story alive. In Shakespeare’s day they had to describe the environment; “I heard the Owl scream and the crickets cry” but we can make those sounds for our little ones and they will love it! Classical music is also played in our sessions when moving or playing with the parachute or scarves. Classical music is proven to be perfect background music increasing the brains alpha wave state.

SENSE OF TOUCH

Babies need to touch and be touched, it is imperative to their emotional well being and develops empathy and spacial awareness. Our action games, stories and songs all include actions that involve touch for instance in ‘Incy-Wincy Spider’ we recreate the rain pattering on top of babies head using very gentle finger taps. The spider climbing up the spout uses tickle fingers up your babies body to their nose. They love the feeling of a fine water spray and wind in their face*. Each session we explore objects of different shape and texture finding out ‘what’s in the bag’?

*Due to Covid-19 precautions; water and wind play has been temporarily suspended.