Social-emotional activities are so important for the development of young children. Positive experiences with people and learning how to express feelings from a young age can promote strong, meaningful bonds and relationships in the future. It is also helpful for learning to manage emotions and convey empathy, skills SO needed for everyday life in childhood & beyond.
pinhole press
I recently made a book on Pinhole Press for my 14-month-old son and he is OBSESSED with it. We chose the “Custom Board Book of Names and Faces” but there are SO many other great options too! My son has been really into seeing photos of family members, so this is the perfect way for him to do that in the form of a durable book. I simply chose the photos I wanted to use and uploaded them to their website for customization and added text on the corresponding page to add the names of our family members. He just loves flipping through this—especially during these difficult times when we are not seeing each other as often as we would like.
Check out all the customizable games, books & more Pinhole Press has to offer HERE!
refrigerator magnets
I made refrigerator magnets for my son when he was around 9-months-old. Again, even at that young age he LOVED seeing photos of himself, mama, dada and other members of our family. For this activity I ordered wooden coins on Amazon, printed cropped photos of the faces I wanted to use and laminated them with our home Scotch laminator (if you do not have a laminator or for extra durability, you can also put a piece of clear packing tape over the photo and trim around the wooden coin). I also added small magnets to the back to put on our refrigerator. These have been up ever since and he still loves going up to them and naming off who he sees! This is also a helpful gross motor activity for babies just working on standing up independently. These have also served as easy entertainment for him while I am cleaning up the kitchen— I would roll his highchair up next to the magnets (I would have to move them up on the fridge) and he would say “hi” to everyone.
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Matching game- essentially the same materials as the refrigerator magnets, only without the magnets and double the photos! I highly suggest making the cropped photos of the faces you want to use and saving the document on your computer for future use (in case games get damaged or to create new ones as you go!). Make 2 copies of each face, flip the coins over and play as you would a regular memory game!
Names & Faces magnets on cookie sheets- for a new experience on a flat surface (rather than vertical), take your refrigerator magnets off and stick them onto cookie sheets. You can sort by boy/girl, family (if you have multiple families on your fridge like we do) or just have fun sticking and naming family members!
Names & Faces on popsicle sticks- cut, laminate and tape faces onto popsicles sticks and role play with your favorite people!
Be sure to tag me on Instagram @eat_play_read if you try any of these ideas! Enjoy 🙂