Introduction
About the SING.PLAY.LOVE. Kit
We can't wait to show you how fun and exciting learning through music and play can be!
Music combined with play, rich picture book literature and YOU as your child’s play partner create the engagement a young child needs to learn and grow.SING.PLAY.LOVE. songs, books, and learning activities can be powerful tools for supporting the development.
Lesson Takeaway
What we can learn.
Pretend Play
Teaching Your Child to Play with a Baby Doll
Doll play is a specific type of pretend play that can begin as early as one year of age. Children imagine the doll is real and practice many of the activities they have seen modeled by caring adults, including mealtime and bedtime routines, affection and language. They pretend to feed their baby with a spoon or put their baby in a toy bed, or one they make from a blanket and a box. They speak to their baby using the nurturing words you taught them. A recent study by Cardiff University found that solo doll play activates the same regions of the brain as social play. Researchers suggest that doll play gives a child opportunities to practice the social skills they need to connect with others, including empathy. Here are some activities to help your child enjoy pretend play with a baby doll or stuffed animal.
Sing
Read and sing a long!
Play the Song
Instrumental Version
Watch the Video
Play
Here are some simple ways to enrich and extend your child’s learning of imitation and
other key developmental concepts.
Baby Doll Dance Party
Dance is a great way for children to learn to joyfully respond to music. Grab a stuffed animal or another baby doll and dance with your toy along with your child. Model some cool baby doll moves by hugging it tight, rocking the doll side-to-side or front-to-back, moving the dolls legs to “kick,”, setting its feet on the ground and simulating jumping, or adding some cool spin and dip moves. Follow your child’s lead with their baby doll dance whenever possible.
Rock-a-bye Baby
You may have a child-sized rocking chair in your home and classroom that would lend itself to some beneficial motor experience for your youngster. Encourage them to rock their baby as they sing a familiar song. The rocking motion is called vestibular stimulation and sends information from their inner ear to other body systems that impact balance and equilibrium.
Baby Doll Reset
This song and story provide a perfect opportunity to help children self-calm when they are stressed or anxious. Simply direct your child to climb into your lap as you turn down the lights and begin to play the music. Snuggle and quietly sing the song. You can add a few key signed words or motions to your shared song. Smile as you sing and occasionally take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth to model this self-calming strategy. Direct your child to your next planned activity at the conclusion of the song. This often provides the reset a distraught child needs to organize and calm themselves so that they can “do the next thing” in your day.
Musical Doll Play
You will need a baby doll or stuffed animal for both you and your child, and the props you need to feed and wash your babies, give them a drink, and wrap them up in a “blank-ee-oh.” Model the activities with your doll as you sing the song, so that they can watch you feed, wash, wrap in a blanket, sing, and give a drink. Show your child how to sing the song as you sway side-to-side and hold your baby close. Our song and book provide a perfect complement to “Baby Doll Circle,” a research-based activity to help children develop empathy and build secure connections with caring adults. (Bailey, 2012). Check the audio player provided for a companion song to the book soundtrack that can be shared with your children. It contains directions for practicing the tasks of feeding, bathing, playing, rocking, hugging, and giving the baby doll a drink.
Awesome Attunement
Attunement is our ability to notice and respond to the needs and feelings of another. It is one of the most important skills we can develop to support our child’s growth and development. You can shape this important process with your child by talking to them about the emotions and needs of their baby doll. For instance, you could say: “I think your baby is sad. What can we do to help?” Offer ideas to your child to determine how to help their doll feel calm, safe and happy. Try the activities in our song to start and ask your child about other ideas to tend to their baby’s feelings. “What do you like Grandma to do to help you when you are sad?”
Love
More things to enjoy. Recommending Reading.
Check out these books about the care, feeding, and loving of babies:
- Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers
- It’s Time to Say Goodnight by Eulalia Rosa
- Kiss those Toes by Rainstorm Publishing
- The New Baby by Mercer Mayer
- What Shall We Do with the Boo-Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell
- You are the love in my Heart by Sarah Bradshaw
- You’re My Little Cuddle Bug by Nicola Edwards
