Activity Guide for
Baby Love by Hope Vestergaard
Illustrated by John Wallace
Verbal/ Linguistic
Babies love to have things named! After reading Baby Love once all the way through, then just revisit each page and name as many items as you can! Point to the item, use it in a sentence, and tell what it is used for. I guarantee: your baby will be captivated!
Big Sib Activity:
Have big sib collect items that you see in the book from around the house and then hold them up for baby and name the items. You can even say they are playing “school”. Baby will be even more captivated by this teacher!
Logical/ Mathematical
Babies love to count things! After reading Baby Love once through for fun, then revisit each page just to count things. Look, baby has one tooth. There are 1, 2, 3 purple flowers on this page…
Big Sib Activity:
List in a long column the numbers 1-10 (or less if more appropriate) and have the sib draw the items in the room that match the number. You might have to help them find ten of something- like grapes (that only big sibs can eat! It’s good to be BIG!)
Visual/ Spatial
This may make you cringe, but let your baby “paint” with an edible- like pudding. This tactile experience is good for them, and lets face it they’re going to play with their food anyway.
Big Sib Activity:
Break out a new set of real paints just for older sib. Let big brother or sister play with them while you’re feeding baby (or any other particularly jealous time). Encourage them to express themselves, but this time, don’t mention that it has anything to do with the new arrival.
Body/Kinesthetic:
Make up finger plays for the shortest poems in the collection like this one:
We are wearing soup for lunch: (pretend to eat soup with spoon)
Me, a little (show thumb and index finger close together)
You, a bunch! (spread hands wide)
Older Sib Activity:
Read the poem Can’t Wait aloud, and help sibling make up his own finger play to the words. Perform for adoring visitors.
Musical/ Rhythmic
With hand held instruments make up rhythms to go with the poems that have a strong rhyme scheme: Welcome, Bathtime, Cutie Pie, etc.
Dance to the Bedtime Boogie! This could easily turn into a nighttime ritual!
Interpersonal:
Make an ABC book based on all your child’s favorite things to do. First, make the list, and then break out the camera for great action poses! Your child will love this one of a kind book where they are the star.
Intrapersonal:
Flip through the book once more but this time, only read the rhyming words. Exaggerate the different sounds, so baby can hear the difference. (This develops phonemic awareness, a building block to later reading skills).
Older Sib:
Read the rhyming poems aloud and have child either clap when they hear a rhyming word, or repeat the rhyming words to you.
Kitchen fun:
Make BABY LOVE cupcakes. Mix up favorite cupcake recipe. After filling each paper cup as the directions say, take a marble and place between liner and muffin pan. This should make it shape like a heart when it bakes. Decorate with pastel icings, sprinkles, whatever! Spell out kids’ names in icing. Nice to have around for all those unexpected visitors! (And, a great activity for dad to keep older sib busy, busy, busy!)
www.TracieVaughnZimmer.com
created this teacher’s guide. She is a reading specialist and author of
Sketches from a Spy Tree, Clarion Books, 2005