Fun Infant Learning Activities to Get 8 Month Old Babies Laughing at Daycare
Hey everyone! As a childcare provider, I know how important engaging our littlest learners in our classroom is. That’s why I created my own Grow With Me curriculum for infants in daycare. These infant learning activities give loads of educational activities to help your littlest ones meet their developmental milestones. In today’s post, I will share some of my favorite activities for 8-month-old babies in daycare.
Let’s start by discussing the milestones your little learners may reach at eight months old. These are all signs that their development is on track and progressing well.
Eight-Month Infant Milestones
- Transferring objects from one hand to another
- Sitting up straight and looking around
- Reaching out with one hand while in a crawling position
- Attaching meaning to words and gestures
- Combining different sounds
- Looking for you and dropped toys
- Using hands to rake up small objects
- Rocking back and forth on all fours
Activity 1: Cause and Effect Games
One infant learning activity that can be particularly fun for babies at this age is a cause-and-effect game. Cause and effect is the ability to understand cause and effect relationships. For instance, when an infant presses a button on a toy, they can see and hear the effect of a song playing, lights flashing, or a toy moving.
Cause-and-effect toys also help infants develop their motor skills. When infants repeatedly push a button, knock over a tower of blocks, or pull a lever, they strengthen their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. These toys also help infants with their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. For example, you can introduce them to a toy that pops up when they press a button or pull a lever.
Activity 2: Self-Feeding Games
Another important milestone that occurs around eight months old is self-feeding. At this age, babies can start to eat soft, mashed foods. Providing them with safe utensils and bowls can allow them to practice hand-eye coordination and feeding themselves. This is also a great way to introduce them to new tastes and textures.
Something that has helped me not be stressed about self-feeding is to strip babies down to their diapers while eating; this makes cleanup a lot easier. You can also place a tablecloth under the highchair and hose it off, or even better- eat picnic style by eating outside. Another tip is to find highchairs that can be easily cleaned up. Don’t purchase ones with a lot of pieces or fabric.
Activity 3: Dump and Fill Games
8-month-old Infants love to play dump and fill games. These are easy to make or use items you already have in your classroom. All you need to do is get a basket and toys from which smaller items can go in and be pulled out.
Dump and fill toys are so essential for infants. Not only do these toys help enhance their motor skills, but they also teach them valuable lessons about spatial awareness and problem-solving.
When infants play with dump and fill toys, they learn how to grip and release objects, which can improve their hand-eye coordination.
Additionally, filling and dumping the objects helps them understand the concept of cause and effect and experiment with different combinations of colors and sizes of objects.
Separation Anxiety
Before I end this post, I do want to talk about one more thing- that separation anxiety!
It’s completely normal for babies to experience separation anxiety around this age. As caregivers, being patient and understanding with the baby and the parents during this time is important.
The one thing that I have found that helps the most with separation anxiety is to stick to a schedule. If the baby transitions into your care the same way daily, this will ease their anxiety.
Infant Development Activities
In conclusion, many infant learning activities can be implemented for 8-month-old babies in daycare. As caregivers, we must provide them with a safe and stimulating environment to encourage healthy growth and development.
Check out my “GROW WITH ME” YouTube playlist. It’s chock full of videos, with one dedicated to each month of the baby’s first year. You’ll find plenty of simple and fun activities that will help you inspire curiosity and learning in the babies you care for.
Did you love this blog post? Head to the provider’s main page for great tips and more infant learning activities.