Experimenting, exploring, creating and communicating through the activity is more important than expecting the children to achieve an end goal - for example, knocking over the tubes in 'Fun with tubing' (see right).
Bring the post
* Gather a selection of empty gift bags with patterns and colours on them.
* Save large envelopes including the padded type. Decorate the envelopes to make them more interesting for the babies and toddlers.
* Stuff the envelopes and gift bags with scrunched up newspapers and seal them with sellotape.
* Scatter the packages around the room and encourage babies and toddlers to lift the packages and bring them to you from their different locations.
* Older children may enjoy throwing and catching the light packages.
* Create a posting box from a large box. Make sure the hole is large enough for the packages to fit through.
* Offer sacks (pillowcases) for the children to transport the mail around.
Pull along containers
* Wash empty fruit juice containers with warm, soapy water and leave to dry.
* Cut open a 'lid' on the containers.
* Use a hole punch to make a hole on the seal of the container and attach a length of string or ribbon.
* Young children will enjoy placing their toys in the containers and pulling them around the room or in the garden.
* The containers can be decorated with a mixture of PVA glue and ready- mixed poster paint to make them more individual.
Bottle carriers
* Paint a bottle carrier from a supermarket and add sticky shapes or pictures to make it more child-friendly.
* Gather a range of plastic bottles - some that fit in the carrier loosely; some that are a perfect fit; and others that require a little bit of force to go in.
* Fill them with a range of materials that will interest babies and toddlers - use a variety of colours, shapes and textures and vary the weights of the contents too.
* Allow children to explore the bottles and experiment with trying to fit them in the carrier.
* Invite them to carry the carrier around the room.
Fun with tubing
* Gather a range of tubes such as poster tubes, tubes from a roll of wrapping paper, tubes of insulation for placing around pipes, transparent tubes (available from pet shops).
* Paint those that are made of cardboard and decorate them.
* Place scarves in the tubes and allow babies to pull the scarf out from the other end.
* Hold one of the tubes at a 45 degree angle and allow the children to put a ball in one end of the tube before running to the other end to catch it as it comes out.
* As an alternative, use rolled up socks, beanbags or soft balls to play 'pin bowling'. Stand the tubes in a line and encourage the children to take aim with the soft balls to try and knock over the tubes.
Feed the animals
* Make large animal faces similar to the one in the photo above. Ensure that you design the animals with large mouths that balls can fit through.
* Secure the animal faces so that they are upright.
* Give the children a range of sizes and textures of balls that they can use to 'feed' the animals.
* Attach animal faces to cardboard boxes. Display them at different heights so that the children can roll, drop or place the 'food' into their mouths.
Movement to rhymes
* Say the following rhyme to encourage movement. Add other lines of your own.
Marching, marching, one, two, three, Stopping, bending and touching your knee.
Marching, marching, four, five, six, Stopping, stretching and doing some tricks!
* When using rhymes such as 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes' or 'We're going on a bear hunt', encourage the children to add physical movements, such as big and small steps, leaps, skips, rolls, jumps and runs. Try to include bending, stretching, rolling and so on to encourage movement and exercise.
PLEASE NOTE:Any activity involving small items that can be swallowed must be closely supervised by an adult
