Gaby Delgado loves children. Everything in her life reflects that love, including her service for the past three years as a program assistant with Library Coordinator Delia Palomeque Morales in the Listos para el Kinder (“Listos”) program. Listos is a youth services program for Spanish-speaking children aged three to five and their parents. Sessions are conducted entirely in Spanish, and teachers emphasize early learning skills, such as pre-literacy, early math, self-regulation, and interpersonal skills. Parents are encouraged to observe how their children learn best and how to build confidence and connection with their children as they grow. Listos families frequently become library users.
The Robot is a toy made of large and small cubes where the child has to join the pieces. These games to connect or fit together are part of the activities that children can develop from the first years. It recognizes shapes, characteristics, and colors, exercises coordination and manipulation, managing to put the pieces in their correct place. These toys arouse the curiosity of the little ones, training them to discover and solve problems.
Use of the toy:
Show the robot to the little one so you will get his attention.
Talk and tell him that he is a robot that has many pieces.
Begin by gently pulling the pieces out to capture the child’s gaze.
Reassemble the robot, trying to get the little one to observe you.
Place the toy near the little one so he can experiment on his own.
Give him a chance to do it at his own pace and don’t interrupt when he’s playing.
When he finishes playing, you can describe what the robot is like: color, shape, etc.
The language cube is a toy for children from 6 months to 2 years old. At this age, children are like sponges they absorb everything you want to teach them. By playing this game we are not only reviewing the vocabulary, but we are also implementing visual discrimination, and we are working on attention. It helps you have a wide vocabulary: • Talk and communicate with your baby, thus stimulating their language. • Convey love and emotion by verbally responding to their sounds, it is a way to motivate them. • Complete the sentence that he wants to tell you. For example: if the baby says “pa”, you say “papa”. • Allow yourself to be wrong and celebrate your achievements. • Ask him questions and encourage him to be curious. • Give him a chance to do it at his own pace and don’t interrupt him when he’s playing.
Use of the toy:
Make the language cube sound, and you will get their attention.
Allow him to pick up and look at the shapes on the 6 sides of the cube. Give him his playtime.
Name the shape of the toy and count the sides. For example: “look it is a cube and it has 1, 2… 6 sides, it is a cube of many colors.
Name the shapes on each side. For example: “I see an apple, it is red and round.” Do you want to touch it? Play as far as the baby allows it.
Put the items in the language cube on a table or blanket.
Roll the cube and let him mention the name of the figure that appears (1 to 3 years old)
Have the kid look through the blanket or table for the item shown on the cube rolled before.
Let him make a comparison between what is real and what is in the cube.
The rattle is one of the baby’s first favorite toys for 3 to 6 months, it entertains him, stimulates his senses, improves his eye-hand coordination, and creates an emotional bond with the adult.
Use of the toy:
Make the rattle sound, the child will move and you will get their attention.
Put the rattle in the baby’s hand and gently shake it.
Play hide-and-seek with the baby and gently move the rattle to the right side, then to the left side. You will see how he moves his head and his eyes trying to locate the toy.
How to use the cubes, especially for babies from 1 to 6 months:
Present the toy in different positions. The baby can lie down, face down, sit, or stand up. The required sessions are short and daily. They will be considered twice a day, lasting 1 or 2 minutes. The sessions are held according to the child’s demand and if possible at the same time. If it is observed that the baby is happy with this material, it can be repeated again. The environment should be calm with no distracting elements (no music, no cell phones, no television). From the fourth month on, use classical music.
Use of the toy:
The 6 sides of the cube should be used, preferably starting with the figure of the circle.
Start by presenting the cube without moving it in front of the baby’s face at a distance of 12 inches (30 cm). When we see that the baby’s gaze is fixed, we begin to move the black and white cube with a horizontal movement slowly to the left, up to the height of the ear, then we move the cube slowly to the right, up to the height of the other ear (two times).
Then we center the cube in front of the baby’s face at a distance of 12 inches (30 cm). When we see that the baby fixes the gaze we begin to move the black and white cube in a vertical movement slowly from the center, first upwards upper part of the forehead and then down to chest height. You have to “look” for the baby’s gaze.
For the last circular movement, the cube should be centered in front of the baby’s face at a distance of 12 inches (30 cm) when we see that the baby has fixed his gaze and we begin to move the cube in a circular movement and from there rotate towards the clockwise right.
In the end, we can say sweetly: “Very good” or give you a smile.
We always wonder what to do when the baby is at home. Here you will find answers.
Having a newborn at home is sublime and beautiful in life. What one can share with that little being is indescribable. We are so excited about the baby’s arrival that we look for everyone’s means of spreading “the good news,” even the house is open in full to receive family and friends to celebrate the newborn. Our life changes, and along the way, we learn what to do with the baby. More, the eternal question during the process with our baby is always, What do I do now? Nervousness is normal, and we ask ourselves many questions, but rest assured that by the end of the month, we will feel relief as we get used to the change in our routines.
Our life changes, and along the way, we learn what to do with the baby. More, the eternal question during the process with our baby is always What do I do now?; nervousness is normal, and we ask ourselves many questions, but rest assured that by the end of the month, we will feel relief as we get used to the change in our routines.
Who has not enjoyed their childhood? The beauty of remembering my mother in my childhood looking for objects or materials to turn them into toys for us is incomparable, unforgettable moments that they keep in time and the soul. In truth, seeing how boxes, bottles, paper, scraps of cloth, socks, etc., were transformed into unique and special toys made our family life happier, regardless of the circumstances we had. Those toys had a very creative stamp and signature, particular and full of feelings.
Now, in my professional life, I have understood and learned that multiple studies show that these have always been present in humanity’s history. Our ancestral infants were happy playing and creating toys with a stick, paper, dry leaves, etc., they used various objects that they found on their way and came to life by putting a name.
Any material or object can be transformed into a toy when using imagination and creativity, this flows spontaneously; For example, a piece of paper can be an airplane or take the shape of an animal, a stone can be used to delimit spaces or maybe paint it and turn it into a paper sheet, a large box can be a house or a car, bottles or jars can become a rattle, everything is useful and very simple to create.
Thus, toys play a preponderant role in early childhood because they learn and evolve quickly. Toys support connection with our young children through the act of creative play. In this first stage, from 0 to 3 years, we observe that children do not need sophisticated toys. Handmade and straightforward toys can be made with materials or objects that we have at home. We can play using our voice, and our hands to massage, lull them, tell them that we love them, sing to them, listen to music, and tell them short stories; these are games that little ones enjoy.
Let us remember that every child has the right to play at home, play outdoors, go for a walk, and learn about their surroundings; This will allow a safe, happy, and healthy development of the toddler.
