[mysonsmum]

Hi there, I am a stay at home mum to a 12 month old boy, he doesn't go to day care but I want to do activities with him that he would be doing if he was at daycare so that he is learning like other children his age & won't get left behind. What types of games & activities should I be doing with him?
We already do lots of reading, song time, blocks, & just general playing with balls ect...
Any suggestions would be appreciated

[JoMarch]

My son is a bit younger than yours, but I just started taking him to Gymbaroo (one session per week) and have learnt a whole lot of great activities I can do with him there. Its a little bit pricey (works out to be around $15 per week) but I decided it was worth it as its also a good way to meet other mums. Hopefully other posters can give you some good suggestions. I find just taking him out places, shopping, lots of talking to him & eye contact, going outside on the picnic rug etc good ways to entertain him & give him plenty of stimulation.

ETA: if you google "developmental activites 12 month old" a whole lot of websites with great ideas come up. All simple games etc that you can play at home.

This post has been edited by JoMarch: 21/02/2013, 09:34 AM

[meggs1]

At daycare my son does a fair bit of craft stuff, like play dough, finger painting etc. They do a lot of playing with colours, shape and textures. Water play - pouring buckets and cups.

They have weeks where they do lots of stuff with say sea creatures (so stories, drawings, photos etc) then the next week it might be trucks, or farm animals, or frogs etc. They celebrate all the holidays - they just did Chinese New Year, lots of snakes.

They play with dolls - bathe them and put them to bed.

Dancing and action songs.

I don't think it matters though, spending a day just helping mum is just as educational and fun.

[KRT]

I think an outing once a day (e.g. park, library) plus an activity where your DS gets to socialise with other kids are all you need. Then it's all about talking about what you're doing, how he's feeling.

Fun activities at this age are stacking, filling and emptying, copying (not quite ready for pretending), and doing whatever mummy is doing. DS loves taking things out of his cupboard and putting them back in, shifting washing from one basket to another, pouring sand/water from container to container, dancing...

Time with mummy is the main thing, I think.