Backyard Barnyard
Duration: any
Age: baby, toddler
Skill for Bub: Mind Builder
summary:
Teach your child about animal sounds by creating a stuffed animal farm in your own backyard.
Since your child is still too young to be let loose at a farm or petting zoo, keep her safe by making an animal menagerie in your own backyard! A fun way to help your little one practice crawling or walking, this also teaches her all about animal sounds.
Down on the Farm
Place a variety of stuffed or plastic farm-themed animals on dish or bath towels around your backyard. Then “visit” each animal’s “pen” and narrate as you go along, “Here we have a cow. What does the cow say? Oh, look! I see a pink pig over there!”
If your child tires of going to the farm, she might enjoy a pretend zoo instead. Or, have your older child take your toddler on a trip around the backyard, and have her narrate her own story: “The pigs and cows don’t live together, because Mr. Pig was going to eat all of the cows’ hay…” Baby and her big sibling will love the interaction.
