Babies
Reading
Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
Clive and His Babies by Jessica Spanyol
Singing
Although this is a fun song to sing with babies when you're changing their diaper, it is also fun to sing with toddlers as they get dressed. It encourages independence and makes this daily routine lots of fun!
Baby Put Your Pants On
Baby put your pants on,
pants on, pants on
Baby put your pants on,
one, two, three
Leg to the left,leg to the right (move legs)
Wiggle and jiggle
and pull them up tight
Other verses: put your shirt on, socks, hat, mittens, shoes...
Extension Activity: Baby Dolls!
"A cuddly doll represents real beings that can love back. The young child uses it to mimic the actions of those about him: to bathe, to put to sleep, to feed, and to dress and undress repeatedly. This repetitive "play" develops skills for feeding and undressing himself and leads him to further identify with the dolls as a symbol of self or other family members."
-Paula Polk Lillard & Lynn Lillard Jessen in the book, Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three
If you have a baby doll at home for your child, that's great! If not, it's something worth looking into, even for boys (I only mention this because of common gender stereotypes). Caring for baby dolls can be an excellent way for ALL toddlers to exercise empathy and care for others. It's extra helpful for toddlers who are expecting a new sibling in their immediate or extended family!
Some activities you can set up for your child to do with their baby doll include washing, dressing, and even changing a diaper! When I worked in a Montessori classroom, we had a few preemie diapers we kept on hand for the toddlers to practice diaper changing. They absolutely loved these activities.
Dressing, including snapping buttons and putting diapers on the baby, helped the toddlers strengthen fine motor skills, build concentration, and understand sequencing (sequencing is understanding how a series of objects, events, and time occur in a specific and logical order). Additionally, washing the baby in a small plastic basin with a little bit of soap and water, and a sponge, provides them with a whole range of sensory experiences!
Baby Doll Washing - Image via Living Montessori Now
Here are some suggested steps from Living Montessori Now that you can have your child follow while washing & dressing their baby dolls:
Put on an apron.
Take pitcher to sink to fill with water to red line.
Pour water into doll tub.
Undress doll.
Fold used clothes and diaper. Place on shelf underneath the “changing table.”
Place doll in bathtub.
Add 2 squirts of baby wash.
Wash doll with wash cloth.
Put one squirt of baby shampoo in hand.
Wash and rinse doll’s hair.
Finish washing doll.
Place doll on towel spread out on changing table.
Dry doll
Put a squirt of baby lotion on hand and spread on doll.
Put diaper on doll.
Put clothes on doll.
Wrap doll in blanket.
Put doll back in original place or in doll bed. (A doll bassinet would be great for this if you have one.)
Empty doll bathtub into water recycling bucket or sink.
Dry bathtub with sponge.
Wring out washcloth and lay out to dry (or hang on a clothesline).
Straighten materials on changing table.
Straighten materials on baby bath table.
Fold or hang up apron. (We hang ours on a hook.)