Fall Village- "Dream Pillow/Zoom Buggy": Part 2

We had a great 2nd half of the semester in Village class!  My absolute FAVORITE part of Village is when, about halfway through, the babies start to get familiar with the other little ones in class, and even start to "mommy swap" and climb onto another parents lap!  It is so funny how this happens, predictably around week 7, every semester!  It is when the babies really start to blossom.  So MANY milestones also start happening---lap babies become crawlers, crawlers become walkers, new words are learned, and new "tricks" are performed.  It is such and AWESOME time in child development---it is truly THRILLING to be a part of!


I didn't get very many pictures of the 2nd half!  It is hard to remember to take pictures during our busy class!  Here are the few that I have:

Dancing!
A favorite (for the babies at least!) is the group dances!  Whirling, twirling, coming near, going far, swaying to the beat and bouncing to the rhythm is good for the little ones musicality, but also visual tracking, improved stimulation of the vestibular system, and increases bonding!

The Stretchy Circle!
As we stretch and rock back and forth to the beat, the babies can SEE and FEEL the pulse of the music, a foundation for learning steady beat in music!

Scarf Play!
Peek-a-boo just NEVER gets old!  The babies love the element of surprise, as well as your expression and enthusiastic smile when they are uncovered!

Threading!
We introduced the concept of threading with the little ones, using pool noodle beads to thread onto a scarf.  This helps us work on FINE MOTOR SKILLS and HAND-EYE COORDINATION.  Lots of hard work going on here!

Stacking!
Another FINE MOTOR/ HAND-EYE COORDINATION exercise is stacking.  It takes a lot of precision to stack the beads.  The addition of CAUSE AND EFFECT as they knock the beads over just makes it so much FUN!

I have SO enjoyed our semester together!  I look forward to more FUN and LEARNING next semester as we focus on using Nursery Rhymes and every day routines to teach foundational concepts and have more musical fun!  Have a wonderful Holiday break, and I will see you back in February!
Tricia  :)