Tutors

1.  Welcome and Introductions/Reading with baby

• Welcoming warmer activity

• Brief overview of the course for parents –Tea/coffee and scones break —

• Registration/Permission forms

Baby Library Activity: Parents select book from library for home saying why they chose that particular book?

Home Activities:

1. Parents watch ‘Watch  ‘Read, Speak, Sing: Your baby and early literacy’

2. Parents look at video ‘Still face experiment’ and use to open discussion next class about importance of face-to-face time for baby

2.  Smile!

• Group feedback from videos and reading to baby

• Tutor introduces the idea of ‘Mirroring’ as learning (use factsheet)
  Activity: Tutor takes photos of mother and baby smiling/face-to-face together for memento book-Tea/coffee break –

• Parents and tutor set up WhatsApp group to share photos

Baby Library: Parents choose a book for baby and tutor models reading with baby
Home Activities: Notice your baby/child response to smiles from you  and other family members

3. Hold me: The importance of touch

• Group feedback from last week

• Exploring touch together
  Activity: Touch awareness play with baby to stimulate baby’s senses, followed by discussion on importance of connecting to baby though holding and touch/learning about boundaries. Using basic hand massage in pairs, parents share their own responses to touch. Follow-up with practicing this with their babies (Factsheet: Touch and learning about boundaries)

Baby library: Parents choose a book to share with their babies at home (tutor informally models sharing books with baby)
At home with Baby: Make time to notice your babies responses to touch and gentle massage and share with group next week.

4. Look with me: Exploring the world together

• Group Feedback from last session

• Exploring objects and textures together
  Activity 1: A tutor guided mindfulness-style exploration of selection of objects with parent and baby, followed by discussion around how babies learn through exploring their environment in relationship.
  Activity 2: Parents select from several textured objects for inclusion in their memento book

Baby Library: Parents choose a ‘touch and Feel’ book for their baby to share at home
Home Activities: Parents watch You Tube clip in preparation for next week: Baby talk from first sounds to first words.

5. Talk and listen to me

• Group feedback and tutor input (using Factsheet) around language development in babies and young children: importance of parent talk, including baby in conversations, awareness of rich word environment

Activity: Experiment: Practice the 3 Ts: Tune in, Talk, Take turns
At home with Baby: Use phone to record/video parent/baby ‘conversation’ or baby-talk remembering the 3 Ts
Baby library: Parents choose a book to share with their babies at home (tutor informally models sharing books with baby)

6. Sing with me

• Feedback and Reflection: Parents share their baby recordings.
  What music does for the brain: Rhythm and right/left brain development (use factsheet/quiz)

Activity: Parents make shakers to accompany song in memento-book
Baby library: Parents choose a rhyming book to share with their babies at home
At Home: Make time for rhymes and song together. Does your baby have a favourite rhyme or song?

7. Play with me

• Group feedback.

• Activity:  Sensory and embodied play with baby. Tutor pre-prepares a trail indoors (natural materials/different textures/varied terrain etc.) or if possible outdoors. Follow this with discussion about developmentally appropriate play and play materials (toys) using factsheet: (What Play does for children)

• Tea/coffee and scone break

Baby library: Parents choose a book to share with their babies at home

8. Move with me

• Feedback from last session

• Discussion on how fine motor and gross motor skills have to be practiced for healthy development and learning (brain development fact sheet here)
  Activity 1: Parents make print of their baby’s hand or foot for personalised book
  Activity 2 : Parents do ‘baby yoga song’ movements in book

Baby library: Parents choose their last book. Parents fill out Feedback Forms. Follow this up with closing circle.

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