Awaken the Senses with Spring!

Wee Exercise is a Multi-Award
Winning
Infant Development Series!

SPECIAL
DELIVERY
FEATURE...
Making the Playground Fertile
Ground for Development

The Role of the Five Senses in Development

Sensory Activities for Babies Birth
to age One

Activities for One & Two Year Olds

Activities for Two & Three Year olds

Wee Extra Exercise Activities

Parent Q & A

Did you
Know?

As parents, you can help stimulate early brain and body development by creating a sensory rich environment of various textures, sounds, smells and objects to simulate baby's senses. Research shows that sensory experiences promote self-discovery, self-confidence and develop small motor skills.

In this issue of Special Edition, we'll explore the role sensory stimulation plays in brain development, early learning and we'll offer you some activities, materials, and practical tips for creating sensory-rich experiences. So get ready for some touchy, feely, smelly and sometimes messy fun. Our feature article explores the role of playgrounds in motor skills development. We'll also answer one concerned parent's question about "windows of opportunities" for infant development and be sure and check out our Wee Extra Exercises using the ball.

Wee Exercise announces their adorable "Baby of the Quarter", Sydney Morgan from Damascus, Maryland. She is featured in this SPRING newsletter, on our website's home page and in our online baby album, where you can see many more cute little baby faces! If you haven't sent in your baby's photo yet, please do so by emailing a digital image to karen@weeexercise.com. You never know...he or she could be our next baby of the quarter!

Wee Exercise is proud to announce that Wee are a multi-award winning infant development series as the recipient of a 2004 Parents' Choice Approved Award, Dove Family Seal of Approval and a 2003 Aegis Award. The series is also up for a National Parenting Seal of Approval so wish us luck. To read more about our awards, click here.

For those of you who haven't checked out our new line of products, shop online at the Wee Exercise Store, where you'll find our popular Wee Exercise Roll for Tummy Time Fun, Wee Exercise Ball for balance and upper body strength and our fuzzy rug for that ever-important sensorial stimulation, especially in baby's first few months. And as always, we welcome your feedback, questions and suggestions for future issues.

Special Delivery's Feature Presentation
Making the Playground Fertile Ground for Development:
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Since springtime beckons little ones outdoors, so this is an opportune time to talk about play equipment and its age appropriate developmental benefits. Whether your child plays in a backyard swing set or playground climbing gym, they are engaging in sensory motor activities that provide fertile ground for learning. The playground is an important training ground for gross motor skills. Research shows that the general window of opportunity for gross motor development appears to be open from the prenatal period to around age five, so you can see why playground time is an essential part of development.

We know that development progresses from head to toe in an orderly fashion and that early movement lays the "foundation" of brain circuits dedicated to motor control. Movement experiences also foster intellect. Early childhood educators are finding that movement experiences can stimulate problem-solving abilities, critical thinking, and reinforce a variety of academic concepts. From babyhood throughout childhood, the playground is fertile ground for brain and body growth.

Although new babies lack the motor skills for active play on the playground, babies enjoy the fresh air and sensorial experience of swinging in a bucket swing. If the playground area has grass around it, put baby in the grass on his tummy or allow baby to crawl in the grass. If baby doesn't like this new grassy texture, then trying holding him and dangle his feet in the grass then progress to lying down in the grass. Indoors, you can promote movement with colorful and moving mobiles over the crib for baby to reach, grasp or kick at. In addition, play games that encourage infants to "come and get" toys within crawling or reaching distance. Give baby large blocks, stacking toys, nesting cups, textured balls, and squeeze toys to play with. As your baby gets older, the outdoors offers opportunities to move freely so that he can roll, push, pull, and move small objects with various textures.

Toddlers need to get plenty of playground time to stretch, pull, push, roll, grip, walk, run, jump, hop, gallop, skip, slide, and leap. Encourage a variety of movement activities that introduce basic gross motor skills such as striking, kicking, catching, and bouncing balls of different sizes and shapes. The playground is a great place for your toddler to practice his new walking skills. Playgrounds typically offer various types of surfaces for your child to walk on that challenge his equilibrium and footing. Indoors, offer your toddler a variety of manipulatives such as building blocks, rings, and large puzzles and encourage their fine-motor skills with art projects such as scribbling and drawing with crayons and pencils.

For preschoolers, the playground motivates them to be little explorers and engage in creative play activities. Introduce activities that require coordinating body movements with visual information, such as throwing, catching balls, and kicking are important playground activities. Preschoolers can also work on physical fitness with activities that elevate the heart rate such as dancing, biking, jump rope, swimming, and brisk walking. Indoors, provide your preschooler with opportunities to draw, play musical instruments, and complete puzzles can further develop fine-motor development.

The playground is an essential developmental tool for the body and brain from birth throughout childhood. Research shows that a lack of physical activity involving gross motor movements can negatively impact a child's ability to learn. So, you can see why the movement experiences offered at a playground can be a productive and beneficial part of your child's playtime.

The Role of the Five Senses in Development:
In baby's first year, activities that promote sensory-integration, the processing and organization of information coming from inside as well as outside the body, is essential for helping baby learn about the environment and how to move through it. Sensorial stimulation should continue throughout childhood because research shows the more senses we engage, the better we retain what we learn. We've put together a collection of sensory activities for ages birth to three years that you and your child can incorporate into playtime. All of the activities stimulate the senses and encourage your little one to use his brain and body for sensory-integration.

Sensory Activities for Babies Birth to age One:
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Tactile Tummy Mat: Texture-based activities help your newborn learn more about the sensations of hard and soft, rough and smooth, and gradations in between as he or she develops sensitivity to different textures. This incorporates baby's touch system to learn about his new world and learn about where he is in space. You can help by introducing a variety of different textures such as cottons, linens, flannel, and silks, and watch how he reacts: You can do the following activity by either gathering a selection of different textured fabrics and spreading them on the floor for your infant to lay on or you can sew them together in a sensory mat for future use. Remember to include some fabrics with contrasting colors or vivid patterns so your child will enjoy looking at his new activity mat as well as touching it. You'll need the following items:

Six inch square Fabric swatches of:
Silk
Flannel
Felt
Velour
Terrycloth
Satin
Wool
Cotton

Lay your newborn (dressed in diaper only) on top of the fabrics or sensory mat for some tummy time as he explores the different textures and describe to him how each swatch of fabric feels. Gently stroke his arm, legs, back and trunk to arouse all of the touch receptors for increased awareness of his world. You may also find that baby is calmed by all of these touch sensations.

Sensory Bowls: Babies love to get messy so why not create several sensory bowls filled with gooey fun. Create one of whipped cream, another of dry cereal such as Cheerios, and a third with cubes of Jell-O. Each tub provides different tactile fun. For the Cheerios put baby's hand deep into the bowl and turn and help baby scoop and drop the handfuls of Cheerios. Add whipped cream to the Cheerios for an added variety of smooth and rough textures. For the Jell-O bowl, fill several ice trays with Jell-O and let set. Then place the Jell-O cubes in a bucket for baby to explore the squishy texture.

Let's Dance: Put on your favorite tunes and boogie down with baby. Hold baby gently in your arms and move slow and fast to the music. Dance in front of a mirror, holding baby facing out away from you, or try to dip or twirl baby. All of this movement is definitely beneficial to baby but a little music for the soul is also good for you.

Activities for One and Two Year Olds: (Back to Top)

Cherry Scented Play Dough: Not only is this fun to make together, it smells good too. Working with play dough, have your infant pinch, roll, and shape it thus developing strength in finger and wrist muscles. Make this play dough together and as your child plays with the dough, talk about how it looks, feels and smells.

The Recipe:
1 packet of unsweetened cherry-flavored drink mix
2 ½-3 cups of flour
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup of salt

Directions: In a large bowl, mix a packet of powdered cherry-flavored drink mix into 2 cups of boiling water and stir well. Stir in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil and ½ cup of salt. Gradually add flour (about 2 1/3 - 3 cups) until the dough has a good texture. Seal the dough in a zipper top bag when you are not using it.

Cornstarch Slime:
1. Mix 1 part cold water and 3 parts cornstarch with hands in the bowl.
2. If the mixture doesn't dissolve in your hands, then add more water. If the mixture is too runny, add more Cornstarch.
3. Store in an open container and leave to dry; the mixture will solidify. To use again, add water and mix to the desired consistency. It will last indefinitely when stored properly.

Making Scents: Soak several cotton balls in various extracts such as mint, vanilla, lemon, perfume, cherry or any other enticing smell you can think of. Have your child sniff each one of the cotton balls, then guess the scent. Have your child describe what each scent smells like. You can do this same activity using individual sachet squares filled with dried herbs or flowers like mint, lavender, and rose petals, sewn securely shut. Also bring a fresh flower or two.

Activities for Two and Three Year olds: (Back to Top)

It's in the Bag!
This is a great guessing game that encourages your child to use his new language skills while relying on his senses to help decode what's in the bag. Using a large brown paper bag, fill it with pinecones, grass, a leaf, a rock and a flower. Tell him it's an outdoor grab bag so he will have some thematic reference to begin guessing. Then, have him stick his hand in and try to identify what he's touching. Next, create an indoor grab bag of household items such as a sponge, spoon, rice or beans, soap, anything textured and interesting around the house and have him guess again.

Treasure Hunt:
This activity works on your preschooler's spatial perception: Cut several large colored shapes out of construction paper and create simple rhyming clues which, when solved, lead him to the hiding place of the next clue. After 4 or 5 steps he discovers an actual hidden treasure! Also, if you save the old clues they can be reused and mixed in with new ones for the next treasure hunt.

Gadget Guru Game:
This activity employs the senses and works on fine motor skills. Prepare a gadget board with locks, latches, plugs, zippers, buttons, levers, snaps, and so on. Allow the children to work and properly manipulate the gadgets. A dress up doll also serves a similar purpose.

Wee Extra Exercise Activities - Try adding the following new activities into your Wee Exercise routine using the Wee Exercise ball. (Back to Top)

Ball Games:
These games are good for developing your baby's neck, shoulder, and upper-body strength as well as her sense of balance.

Place your baby on her tummy, facing you, on top of an exercise ball that's firm but not completely inflated. Make sure her body is centered on the ball. Hold her securely under her arms and don't let go. Play a game of slowly rolling her toward you and then away from you. Make eye contact with her as you talk about what she is doing. "You're on top of the ball. Now you're rolling to Mommy. Now you're rolling away!"

An Advanced Version:
Place her on the ball facing away from you. Put a favorite toy in front of her. Kneel behind her, holding firmly onto her thighs, and roll her forward toward the toy and then away from it. Encourage her to reach out and try to grasp the toy. If your baby is older than six months or sitting steadily without using his hands, you can try a bouncing game: Sit her on top of the ball facing you. Bounce her gently up and down, chanting, "Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy ball. Up you go and down you fall!" You can do these ball activities with older toddlers too. Only provide support at the trunk as you bounce him on the ball quickly then slowly. Try playing Simon Says or have the toddler put his hands on his head for to make the activity extra challenging.

Parent Q and A: (Back to Top)

There's a lot of talk about so-called Windows of Opportunities in child development. Recently, a Wee Exercise parent wrote in to ask what this means in terms of her developing baby.

What are windows of Opportunities for Development?
These critical periods have more recently been referred to as "Windows of Opportunity," defined as when nature opens certain stages in growth for experience to have the greatest effect. These windows begin opening before birth and then narrow, as a child grows older. In theory, there are a series of windows for developing motor control, vision, language, feelings, etc. It's these stages growth that foster optimal skills development.

During these Windows of Opportunity as baby attempts to master a skill such as walking, baby may slack off on other skills. For example, baby may not be as vocal with his babble when attempting to cruise holding onto furniture. There is a give and take process when baby is interested in a particular developmental skill to master.

There is considerable debate as to whether missed Windows of Opportunity lead to diminished skills. Most experts agree that missed Windows of Opportunity in childhood can be compensated for in adulthood. So what can you do to maximize your child's Windows of Opportunity? Create rich environments for baby, which will in turn produce a rich brain.

Did you Know?
Interesting Factoids About Child Development (Back to Top)

90% of a child's brain development happens by age 3, and their fundamental personality is set by age 5.

Most young children have begun climbing stairs by their second birthday.

Two- and three-year-olds like to be near other children, but may be oblivious of their actions. They are still fulfilling their own needs and not capable of sharing with others and putting others' needs ahead of their own.

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