The Georgia Early Learning Standards Activity Guides may - gapitc

Self-help skills
Activities and Strategies
for Development
Cool Hands, Warm Milk
Sit in a comfortable chair or rocker with an infant on your lap, tucked into the
fold of your arm.
Make sure the infant’s hands are not pressed against her sides and she is free to
move about.
Hold a bright object, such as a ball, close to the infant’s face to get her attention.
Encourage her to lift her hands and reach for the ball.
Let the baby grasp her fingers around the ball for a moment.
Now, hold up the gently warmed bottle of formula. Smaller, short bottles are
easier for babies to hold.
Encourage the baby to reach for and grasp the warm bottle as you place it into
her mouth.
Say to the baby,“Are you hungry? Now it is time to eat. Here is your bottle. You
can hold it too.”
As the baby holds on to the bottle and enjoys feeding, say,“I can feel the warm
milk in my cool hands. Can you feel the warm milk too?”
More Pudding Please
To help an infant feel successful with his first attempts at self-feeding with a
spoon, use foods that will coat the spoon such as yogurt, thick applesauce,
cottage cheese, or vanilla pudding.
Fasten the infant securely in a high chair with a clean tray.
Put some of the sticky food in a small bowl. Say,“We have a pudding snack today.
Would you like to taste some pudding on the spoon?”
Show the infant a plastic spoon.
Dip the infant’s spoon in the pudding and hand it to him.
Encourage him to put the spoon in his mouth and taste.
Say,“That pudding looks good. It went from your spoon to your mouth. Does
the pudding taste smooth and sweet in your mouth? Look at how you are
feeding yourself!”
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