SayPro DESIGN AGE APPROPRIATE DEVELOPMENTAL PLAY ACTIVITIES.

As your child grows, his play styles and tastes change drastically. From his first steps to his first day of preschool, it’s important that the changes he experiences in himself and his surroundings are reinforced through play. Here are guidelines for what to expect at each developmental stage, and suggestions for appropriate activities your child can enjoy.Infants

• Use their bodies as the primary avenue to explore the world.
• Learn to participate in and control simple social interactions with caregivers.
• Learn to recognize, explore, and control objects, sights, sounds, textures, and tastes.
• Explore, master, and learn to use their body parts.
• Learn how to get desired reactions from people and objects.

Keeping infants and toddlers in strollers, play pens or car/infant seats for extended periods of time may delay development such as rolling over, crawling and walking. It is important to support infants in being physically active from the start! Parents and caregivers must provide opportunities and encouragement for the development of these movement skills.Recommendations include:

• Playing baby games (e.g., "peek-a-boo" and "patty-cake")
• Holding, rocking or carrying the infant to new environments
• Placing infant on his stomach and encouraging him to move actively on a clean or blanketed floor; also known as "tummy time"
  • Placing a rattle or favorite toy just out of his reach
  • Changing the position of the object to increase mobility and range of motion
• Providing a variety of safe play objects that cannot be swallowed, are lightweight for handling and grasping, have no sharp edges or points, are brightly colored, vary in texture and are non-toxic
• Designating a safe space for playing, rolling and other large muscle activities
• Ensuring close supervision in an open environment for the exploration and development of movement skills (e.g., rolling over, sitting up, crawling, creeping and standing)
• Interacting with the infant as long as he is attentive to playful activity—use facial, verbal and nonverbal expressions to motivate the infant’s physical participation

Toddlers

• Enjoy the physical activity that comes from their new mobility in the environment.
• Explore relationships between objects and how to control them.
• Expand their understanding of object permanence–e.g., hide-and-seek activities.
• Start to see themselves as part of the community and develop skills to participate, especially language.
• Work on using symbols and make-believe in play.

Toddlers will use their new walking skills to energetically explore the world around them, revealing new movement possibilities and increased opportunity for learning. Basic movement skills (e.g., running, jumping, throwing and kicking) will develop and emerge as children try them and gain experience. It is important for parents/guardians and child care providers to create environments that support these movements by:

• Emphasizing skills (e.g., throwing, catching, kicking and striking objects) when developmentally-appropriate
• Engaging in activities that encourage the toddler to support her body weight with her hands as she begins to develop upper body strength
• Providing objects for structured activity to enhance movement and social skills
  • Child-size equipment, musical instruments, active follow-along songs and basic rhythms, chase games
• Creating opportunities to experiment with unstructured activity experiences
  • Places to crawl under and around, grasping large balls and inflatable toys, digging and building in sandboxes
• Providing objects that promote strength, balance, flexibility and endurance
  • Riding toys; push and pull toys; toys to balance on, climb up on, jump safely down from to ground level
• Designating a safe space indoors and outdoors for active play
• Offering encouragement and child-size toys and equipment to maintain interest and help the toddler learn new movement skills

Preschoolers

• Develop friendships and skills for playing with other children.
• Learn to use symbols in more complex ways and in two-dimensional form.
• Expand their ability to attach language to actions and ideas.
• Explore relationships between objects and how parts and wholes fit together (as in making constructions).
• Experiment with how to make desired effects happen with objects and people.
• Develop increasingly complex large and small motor skills.
• Learn how to plan ahead.

Preschoolers are mastering skills such as running, jumping and throwing. They develop confidence in their abilities over time when they have opportunities to follow their interests and learn and practice new skills. Preschool children are often very social and imaginative; they love games, dancing, riding tricycles and creating obstacle courses to move through.Use these tips to be active with your preschoolers:

• Offer a wide range of opportunities for physical activity as well as some basic equipment:
  • Different kinds of balls and bean bags
  • Old boxes or tunnels to crawl through
  • Tricycle or other riding toys
  • Access to climbing equipment at a playground
  • Push-pull toys like wagons, doll buggies or lawn mower
• Have a "Movement Parade" – March around the room or outside and call out different things that kids can do like twirl, leap, hop, jump, etc.
• Play simple singing games that involve movement: "Hokey-Pokey," "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" or "If You’re Happy and You Know It!"
• Incorporate running games such as "Tag", "Red Light-Green Light" or "Freeze Tag"
• Parents can involve the entire family in household tasks such as setting the table, sorting laundry, folding clothes, putting away toys, cleaning the house, packing for a trip, tending the garden, etc.

School-Age Children (Up to Age Eight)

• Learn group skills, including cooperation and conflict resolution.
• Follow rules designed by others (as in board games and sports), as well as create their own rules to follow with peers.
• Use new skills to organize objects, ideas, and skills in logical and interconnected ways (as in collections and magic tricks).
• Incorporate a growing ability to symbolize using letters and numbers. Draw them into everyday activities and games (as in magic tricks).
• Develop special interests, skills, and hobbies.

School-age children need a variety of intensity levels of physical activity to meet their daily needs. Moderate levels of physical activity are at intensities faster than a slow walk, but still allow children to talk easily. Vigorous levels of physical activity are at intensities like a fast walk, jog or run that get children "breathless" or breathing deeper and faster than during typical activities. Children who are "breathless" are exercising their heart and lungs along with muscles in their arms and legs! Use the examples below to help you choose appropriate activities for school-age children:

• Play games that incorporate music, imitation and simple directions where children are the leaders
• Play games that incorporate strength, coordination and confidence; finding hidden objects, relay races, obstacle courses, variety of "tag" games, tug-of-war
• Provide safe objects to throw, kick and catch
• Provide free space, toys and equipment, for example:
  • Climbers
  • Monkey bars
  • Yoga mats
  • Balls
  • Balance beams
  • Rocking boats
  • Hopscotch
  • Hoops
• Encourage children to adapt or invent their own games

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