Gabby is a 6 month old infant in our classroom, and she has started rolling and scooting around to get to toys or other friends. Gabby adores her teacher, Ms. Kate!

Gabby is exploring her environment through her senses. She brings toys to her mouth. This improves her grasping skills and further develops her cognitive development.

Ms. Kate reads the children Old McDonald and Hungry Hungry Caterpillar books. The children listen and look at the pages attentively. Infants are able to focus on meaningful sounds as they listen to people around them.

After reading a story and playing a game of peek-a-boo, Ms. Kate starts the first activity. The children watch as Ms. Kate says "put in" and puts a block into the bucket. She asks where is the block and watches for the children's response. The infants are mastering object permanence, and this activity encourages that. Wyatt, one of the older infants, repeats the word "in" and points to the bucket. The children explore the blocks and put them into the bucket.

Gabby has been practicing reaching for toys and objects. Then she explores the toys by manipulating them or putting them in her mouth. Gabby coos and babbles when she is playing. She is excited to be able to reach toys that she was not able to before. Wyatt, who is 9 months old, is able to sit up and play with the blocks and uses simple words like "in" and "bla" for the word blocks.

Ms. Kate takes out a couple train toys for the next activity. She pushes the trains around the room. The children are able to track the movement of the train and crawl or scoot towards it. Ms. Kate says, "choo choo" or "the train goes fast". Infants are able to keep their attention on eye-catching events. Wyatt also pushes the train and claps his hands when it moves far!

While Ms. Kate prepares Gabby's bottle, she sings songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Gabby listens and observes the way Ms. Kate's mouth is moving.

At the end of the day, Gabby's mom picks her up. When Gabby hears her mom's voice, she turns her head towards the door. Gabby begins to squeal and babble when she sees her mom.

References

Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development (9th ed.). Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu