peek-a-boo, and other Stage 1 activities

Peek-a-boo is a great Stage 1 activity (you just spotlight that shared excitement after the "boo!"). And it doesn't just have to be your hands covering your face (although that works good too) -- it can be under the covers of the bed, like in this photo of Jacob and Zoo Boy enjoying a Stage 1 game of under-cover peek-a-boo. We also did a lot of peek-a-boo type stuff with puppets -- the puppets would hide, then pop up suddenly. I would gasp before I made the puppet pop up, which would draw Jacob's attention and excited gazes to me. Then we would squeal in delight together when the puppet popped up and laugh together when it dissappeared again.

I thought I might detail a few of the other activities I did with Jacob while working on Stage 1, and point out how I spotlighted my emotion sharing objectives. You'll notice that most of these are also great Regulation activities. Purposely so, as that R-C-R cycle is a big part of the early stages of RDI.

"Bumpin' along" (child sits in your lap, you sing/chant the following verse while bouncing them):
Bumpin' along in my little red wagon,
Bumpin' along in my little red wagon,
Bumpin' along in my little red wagon,
Oops! (pause voice and movement for spotlighting the anticipation of what comes next)
The tire is flat!

(sing next verse as above, only alternating legs while bouncing, as if you were riding with a flat tire)
Oops! BOTH tires are flat!

Fixin up my little red wagon, etc. Make up whatever verses you want.


"Trot Ol' Joe" (bounce child on lap at appropriate speed)

Trot Ol' Joe,
Trot Ol' Joe,
You ride better'n any horse I know.
Trot Ol' Joe,
Trot Ol' Joe,
You're the best horse in the country, oh.
(Pause to spotlight anticipation)
WHOA! (as you either lean child back away from you, or as you both roll backwards together)
Joe! (bring the child back upright again, share laughter)

Continue with verses about walk, gallop, run, jump, etc.


"Washing Machine" (we did this in the pool/lake -- I'd hold him in my arms and jump up and down in the water while spinning around while chanting:)

washing machine,
washing machine,
make my baby nice and clean!
(I'd pause between each verse to share excited looks of anticipation about the next verse starting)


Cheek popping -- set up across from your child, inflate your cheeks with air, then have him squeeze them while you make various noises as the air is squeezed out. This is a really natural way of sharing excited gazes, given that the action is happening with your face, so the child is very available to attune to you. We had a lot of fun with this; in addition to the usual face-deflating and sputtering noises that this sort of thing inspires, every once in a while we'd throw in a "moo" or a "meow" instead of a more typical noise.