Simple Baby Fine Motor: Magnetic Tiles

I'm always looking for quick and easy activities that hold Archer's interest.  Sensory play and fine motor work are a bit challenging since EVERYTHING goes in his mouth (including worms, rocks, stink bugs, etc.). 

This is one of those cases where simpler is best. Last week I tossed some Magna Tiles on our white board and he had a great time pulling them off and then putting them back on (the fences are from this set). For a younger baby, you could only have one side of the tiles on the board so that they stick out more.

Archer quickly moved on to having them flat. It could also easily be done on a fridge or dishwasher.

 

Affiliate links used, at no cost to you.

Games for Brains: Forbidden Island

Forbidden Island

Playing Time: 30 minutes

Players: 2-4

Overview: Forbidden Island was one of the first games I bought when I was trying to find more "adult" games to play with Xander.  It is a cooperative game, so he was able to start playing younger than other games (maybe 5?).  The premise of the game is that you're trying to capture the four treasures from an island before it sinks into the ocean.  Different characters have slightly different abilities.

Brain Value:
Since this game is played cooperatively, we were able to start playing when Xander mostly just followed directions and did what another adult or I suggested.  We talked through our reasoning and strategy, and as he gained experience, he could contribute to decision making.  We played last weekend and he pretty much played as well as any adult.  This game has a lot of trade offs.  You have a set number of actions you can take per turn, so you have to balance how you use them.  Since players can give each other cards or become stranded, being able to look around the board and consider the locations of other players is beneficial.  There's also some probability at play, when considering how likely it is that a particular location will be sink the next round.

All in all, I think this is a fun game to play with Xander or someone who is not as comfortable with more complicated board games.  It is not so simple or easy as to be boring, but it is not so complex that people are easily overwhelmed.

Click here to check out other board games our family likes!

Affiliate links used, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Books on the Shelf: Ocean Books

Last week's Books on the Shelf were all about the ocean.  They're books we hadn't had out in quite a while and it was nice to see Xander reading some of them again!

Affiliate links used, at no cost to you!

Books on the Shelf: Forest Animals

Here were last week's Books on the Shelf!

We decided to go with a Forest Animals theme.  Technically, we have more books we could have included, but ran out of room on the shelf. Forest Adventure was really the only one at Archer's level (kind of), but I did read him a few of the others and have him look at the pictures.  While he definitely has books he LOVES to read, I also try to do a lot of reading to him even while he is playing other things.  Xander also read some on his own.

Affiliate links used, at no cost to you!

Flashcard Obsessed

Archer LOVES his Your Baby Can Read flashcards!  He knows where we keep them and will randomly bring me a set.  When we finish, he will go back to the bin and bring me another until we've done them all at least once.

Baby Sensory Play: Gel Bag

I've been trying to do more sensory play activities with Archer, which is challenging since EVERYTHING goes in his mouth.  Last month I shared the window paint bag we did. This was an adaptation.

I used a freezer bag and filled it with cheap hair gel.  I added some pony beads for interest.  Then I taped the top closed and taped it to the window.  You could definitely use it on a table or the floor, I was just trying to prevent Archer from trying to eat it. 

Which didn't work. 

While he enjoyed playing with the bag, he also saw the tape as a fun challenge.  He spent a lot of time trying to get it off the window.  Oh well, still good fine motor skills!

Books on the Shelf: Electricity and Magnetism

Here are last week's Books on the Shelf. Xander had been asking about electricity one night at dinner, so it seemed like the perfect time to pull out our books on electricity and magnetism.  I know he didn't read every book in its entirety, but I did see him reading a few of these throughout the week.  Since the whole goal is to increase the amount of our nonfiction he reads, that's enough to make me happy.

Affiliate links used, at no cost to you.