Early Math Counts

• Bottle
• Spoon
• Bowl with pureed food

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Mealtime: Use the words “GO” and “STOP” as you prepare food or bottles and as you feed the young infant. Gently say: “GO” when you start to warm the bottle and “STOP” when you pull it out of the warmer. Gently say: “GO” when you begin feeding the child and “STOP” when you STOP to burp or finish feeding. Engage the infant while you stir the food. Offer the infant a spoon to hold. Say: “Let’s stir the sweet potatoes. “GO!” Begin stirring. Count to 10 while you stir. Then say: “STOP!” Make the stirring seem like really hard work and sigh and act tired when you STOP stirring. Then repeat. Infants will love the playfulness of the STOP and GO stirring.

Play: At the beginning of this stage, play is mostly shaking, banging and mouthing toys. By the end of this stage, infants begin to combine objects that go together in play. They reach for and hold two objects and may begin to reach for a third. Many infants will look for dropped toys and find partially and completely hidden toys. Many infants enjoy taking objects out of containers and putting them back in.

Communication: At this age, infants respond when their names are called. They may turn their heads, make eye contact and sometimes smile and vocalize. They may look for family members and pets when called by name. They may respond to simple requests made with gestures, such as: “Come here.” They may understand “No” or “Stop.” They may lift their arms to be picked up, clap hands and wave bye-bye. They love to shout and squeal and may be babbling with many different sounds. They may be participating in and sometimes initiating peek-a-boo.

Motor: During this stage, many infants begin to sit by themselves and play. They begin to move by rolling, crawling and cruising. They pick up toys by using a raking motion with their whole hand and, by the end of this stage, they are using their fingers and thumbs to pick up small objects. They may feed themselves small bits of food.

• Bowl (with warm mashed food)
• Spoon

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Mealtime: Preparing meals offers lots of opportunities to teach the concept of STOP and GO. It also keeps little ones engaged while you prepare meals. Try these playful interactions: Practice blowing to cool warm food. Say: “The food is hot. Let’s blow to cool it down. GO!” Then start blowing. “STOP!” Then pull back from the bowl and STOP blowing. Repeat playfully with the infant until the food is cool. Engage the infant while you stir the food. Offer the infant a spoon to hold. Say: “Let’s stir the sweet potatoes. GO!” Begin stirring. Count to 10 while you stir. Then say: “STOP!” Make the stirring seem like really hard work and sigh and act tired when you STOP stirring. Then repeat. Infants will love the playfulness of the STOP and GO stirring. Holding a spoon and later pretending to stir in a bowl gives the infant the opportunity to actively participate as he/she learns STOP and GO.

• Bowl
• Spoon
• Warm food or pretend food

Note: Small parts pose a choking hazard and are not appropriate for children age five or under. Be sure to choose lesson materials that meet safety requirements.

Mealtime: Preparing meals offers lots of opportunities to teach the concept STOP and GO and keeps tots busy while you prepare meals. Try these playful interactions: Practice blowing to cool warm food. Say: “The food is hot. Let’s blow to cool it down. GO!” Hold the food so that both you and the infant can safely blow on it. Then start blowing. Really puff out your cheeks and blow hard. Say: “STOP!” Then pull back from the bowl and STOP blowing. Repeat playfully with the infant until the food is cool. Count the number of times that you blow together. If you are too busy preparing meals to hold the food out safely for the infant, then give the infant a bowl with pretend food. Have him “help” you cool this food down as you say: “GO!” and “STOP!”Stir food with the infant, using “GO” and “STOP.” Offer the infant a spoon to hold and a bowl with some real or pretend food. Say: “Let’s stir the sweet potatoes. GO!” Begin stirring. Count to 10 while you stir. Then say: “STOP!” Make the stirring seem like really hard work and sigh and act tired when you STOP stirring. Then repeat. Infants will love the playfulness of the STOP and GO stirring.  Stirring real or pretend food gives infants the opportunity to actively participate as they learn STOP and GO.