SAHM's: What should I be teaching my 10.5 month olds?

My girls do not go to daycare and I want to be sure I am teaching them things they would be taught in daycare....although I don't know what those things are! Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

Nothing! I don't know really, I'm not big on "teaching" them, I just go about the day and point things out. At 10.5 months, we had just started watching the Signing Time DVD's. They are mostly entertainment for them, but they really have picked up on signing big time. They didn't really start signing until 12 months or after. I do things like say "Bea is wearing a red shirt and Ainsley's shirt is purple", "This ball is bigger than that one" stuff like that. 10 months is still so young, I don't think they really have to "know" anything yet.

 

You could teach them sign language. My sons will only do "more" right now, but I have been using signs since about 6 months. I'm teaching them eat, drink, more, done, mom, dad and a few others. I had to use signing on my older 2, as well. If you try this it may take some time and don't give up they are getting it it just takes time for them to do it. It took almost 8 months for them to start signing more.

You could also play games like hide a toy under something or put toys into a bucket. They learn from play and watching us do things.

Good luck to you!

 

My kids were in daycare at that age and all learning was through play. They played with blocks that had letters and numbers on them (so they could get familiar with the shapes), they worked on sorting and stacking (not directed at all, just given those things to play with) and they did a lot of reading and singing to them. Those are the big things I remember taking place during that stage. It was hard, though, because they were crawling at that point and were on the move so much that it was hard to focus on anything for more than a minute. I wouldn't knock yourself out trying to teach them anything yet. Just make sure you are doing what Kelly suggested - point out letters, colors, shapes, etc throughout the day. At this point they will learn most by playing and watching you.

 

I don't teach mine anything, I'm not big on that. I just point things out to them and we play. If they hand me a ball I make sure I say ball, and just try to label things like that for them. I just talk to them all the time, even on walks if we hear a dog, I'll say did you hear the dog. And we look through books with animals and I say the animal and the sound they make.

 

Kelly, I agree with the pp's who say nothing. Just natural environment--let them explore on the floor and the grass outside. Name things as you walk by them--Marc's first word was "tee" for tree, since we walked past so many on our daily walks.

I never did any signing, flashcards, or formal learning with my kids. And Jon is about to enter Kindergarten in the fall reading and doing math at a 2nd grade level--no this is not to brag, just the facts, due to being in the special ed preschool program, he was tested before they could dismiss him, and that was the results of the testing done in March. Just relax, be a mom, and don't sweat the "learning", they will pick it up as you go.

 

I'm not a SAHM, and I really hope I don't get blasted for this, but...
There are very few skills, per se, they should be taught. Most baby books have lists of recommended toys for the developmental stages.

I think children who are mostly with their moms need to learn how to like and interact with other people. Some moms get a little territorial with their children, because they are the main caretaker, that even the dad can't hold the babies.

 

I bought some flashcards from Baby Einstein - about six different sets. They LOVE them! We go through them one by one, I make the sounds that the picture would make and talk about i... Like, this is a brown dog. He has a lot of fur and a long tail. The dog says Woof Woof! Stuff like that. They have a ball, laughing the whole time and sometimes they imitate me. When I'm done, they grab each card from me and play with it or chew on it. (They are made to withstand the drool/chewing).

 

I read that they don't understand pronouns, so any learning you are doing needs to avoid those. When I point things out to them, I use the present tense and the 'ing tense (what the heck is that called anyway!?!?!) - "The ball is red; the dog is barking; DS, come see mommy; The cat says meow".

I also feel like mine are a little behind from some of the things that I have read they *should* be doing at their age. They are supposed to enjoy sorting and stacking blocks and and such. My DD has only recently taken an interest in putting blocks in a bucket. My DS doesn't want to put them in, he just wants to take them out! Does this make them behind because they are at home? Sheesh, I hope not...

I can't get mine to make any hand signals. I can get both of them to give me a kiss. I hate that they won't wave - and lord knows that I must wave at them (and make them wave) at least 20 times per day!

All day long I run through this series of consonants: Baba, Dada, Gaga, Lala, Mama, Papa

Good luck to you.

 

We have only done sign language so far but now that they are past 18 months we are working on colors and numbers