Summer Fun!

Babybug is for babies who love to be read to and for the adults who love to read to them. Here are a few suggestions to make the July/August 2010 issue even more enjoyable for you and your baby.

by Sally Nurss, M.Ed.

What provides more blissful summer fun than a chance to play outdoors with water? Start with a small tub or wading pool and a few plastic cups. Vary the fun by adding other toys. Your toddler might enjoy playing in the water with a washable doll, a sponge, and a small bottle of shampoo, giving her doll a bath just like Kim and Carrots in the tub in this issue.

Take your child on "A Summer Walk" to explore the senses. What things do you see? Let your child smell a flower and feel the tickly grass, or watch a bug travel along a sidewalk crack. What do you hear? Leaves rustling, children laughing, bicycle wheels on the street? On special outings, you might even find something good to taste, such as sticky, sweet, cold treats from the ice-cream truck!  

Saying Bye-Bye

It's always sad to say good-bye to a happy time and place. As "Bye-bye, Beach" shows, waving can help. Young children understand the gesture to mean a definite farewell to something or someone. Even waving bye-bye to one's toys when it's time to eat lunch can make the transition easier. So can taking along a little piece of the fun. A few shells can help a toddler know that the beach will still be there to visit another day. Carrying a toy car to the kitchen table can reassure a child that he can continue playing with it after lunch.