Materials
large cardboard box
knife (adult only)
duct tape
red and white paint
paintbrushes
toy farm animals
Instructions
1. Sit with a child in your lap. Point at your body parts, starting with your
facial features. Label the parts. Touch your facial features as you label
them. Point to your toes and fingers, too.
2. You may need to teach the child to point, using a hand-over-hand
technique. For example, if the child seems interested in a particular
body part, take his hand and physically manipulate it so that his pointer
finger is extended toward it. Say, "Look. There's an ear!"
3. Read a book together and point to the illustrations. Or, as you hold the
child in your arms, point to pictures on the wall. Be sure to label what
you see. "Look at the picture of a ball! It is red. " (Put your finger directly
on the ball in the picture.)
4. When you first introduce this activity, point at objects within close
range, such as body parts. Then progress to objects further away. Be
sure that when you point to an object, the child looks at the object with
you. You may wish to exaggerate the movement of your head toward
the object of interest. For example, as you look out a window, point and
say, "Look, there's a dog outside. Silly dog!"