Prepared by Ministry of Woman and Child Development,
Suggestive Developmentally Appropriate
Activities during Birth – Three Years
Birth to 3 months
|
Approximate Age |
Birth
to 3 months |
|
What
Children Do |
What
Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Learn about the
world through all their senses • Track people and
objects with eyes • Respond to faces and
bright colours • Reach, discover
hands and feet • Lift head and turn
toward sound • Cry, but are often
soothed when held • Begin to smile • Begin to develop a
sense of self |
• Protection from
physical danger • Adequate nutrition
(through exclusive breastfeeding is best) • Adequate health care
(immunization, oral rehydration therapy as required, hygiene) • An adult with whom
to form an attachment • An adult who can
understand and respond to their signals / • Things to look at,
touch, hear, smell, taste • To be held, sung to
and rocked • Opportunities for
infant massage as it promotes health benefits, and encourages bonding |
4 to 6 months
|
Approximate Age |
4 to 6 months |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Smile often • Prefer parents and older
siblings • Repeat actions with interesting
results • Listen intently and
respond when spoken to • Laugh, gurgle,
imitate Sounds • Explore hands and
feet • Put objects in mouth • Sit when propped,
roll over, scoot, bounce • Grasp objects
without using thumb |
All of the above, plus • Opportunities to
explore the world, play with a variety of Objects • Appropriate language
stimulation • Focus on Health,
nutrition and early psycho social stimulation through free play and a lot of
adult child interaction. Egs.(infant games, traditional songs & syllables,
access to variety of play materials, individualized adult attention and interaction,
opportunities to explore, early introduction to stories, infant books,
drawings etc.) in safe, spacious and clean environment • Play and interact
with children frequently to stimulate their cognitive, language, social, and motor
development. • Exposure to music
and rocking. • Calling child by name to develop self-identity. |
7 to 12 months
|
Approximate Age |
7 to 12 months |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Remember simple Events • Identify themselves,
body parts, familiar voices • Understand own name,
other common words • Say first meaningful
words • Explore, bang, shake
objects • Find hidden objects,
put objects in containers • Sit alone • Creep, pull
themselves up to stand, walk • May seem shy or upset
with strangers |
All of the above, plus • Respond to the child’s
nutritional requirements by providing appropriate quantity and quality of
food. • Introduction of
supplementary foods • A safe environment
to explore • Conducting variety
of activities with children and giving space to explore according to one’s
innate interests. • Developing self-confidence
through providing enough opportunities to explore, touch, taste, smell and
respond to the environment. • Cleaning children
and washing their hands at regular intervals to promote good hygiene and
inculcate healthy practices. • Regular and constant
positive interaction with children to promote development of language, imagination,
manipulation, concepts with activities like clapping, peek-aboo, push and
pull toys, rolling hands, reading picture books, singing lullabies and rhymes
etc… • Opportunities to
hear stories, be read to • Establishing bonding
and warm relationship with children and building trust by giving lots of
love, care and affection and praising child’s achievements |
1 to 2 years
|
Approximate Age |
1 to 2 years |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Imitate adult
actions • Speak and understand
words and ideas • Enjoy stories and experimenting
with Objects • Walk steadily, climb
stairs, run • Assert independence,
but prefer familiar People • Recognize ownership of
objects • Develop friendships • Solve problems • Show pride in Accomplishments • Like to help with
tasks • Begin
pretend play |
In addition to the
above: • Health care must
also include deworming if required • Support in acquiring
new motor, language, thinking skills • A chance to develop
some independence • Help in learning how
to control their own behavior • Opportunities to
begin to learn to care for themselves • Opportunities for
play and exploration • Play with other
children • Read to/tell stories
daily • Provide
opportunities to establish contact and engage with other children and adults
to promote a sense of self and social development |
2 to 3 years
|
Approximate Age |
2 to 3 years |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Enjoy learning new skills • Learn language
rapidly • Are always on the go • Gain control of
hands and fingers • Are easily
frustrated • Act more
independent, but are still dependent • Act
out familiar scenes |
In addition to the
above: • Opportunities to
children to dress themselves, use toilets, wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair
etc. • Providing children
with objects that encourage sorting, matching, imagining, pushing, pulling
etc. • Naming body parts
and other common objects in and around child’s environment. • Provide opportunity
to make choices and engage in different tasks • Giving opportunities
to learn think and understand from concrete to abstract. • Opportunities to
listen and articulate short stories and rhymes, indulge in imaginative play
and simple problem solving activities • Identifying and
giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children. Developmental screening of
all children is essential to provide critical intervention that allows opportunities
for children’s development • Early identification
of impairments/disabilities and initiating medical intervention and parent
counselling and parent training to provide necessary stimulation is necessary
for supporting children with disabilities and developmental delay |
Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and
Donhue- Colletta (1992)
Suggested
Developmentally Appropriate Activities for 3-6 years
3 to 5 years
|
Approximate Age |
3 to 5 years |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Enjoy learning new Skills • Learn language Rapidly • Are always on the go • Gain control of
hands and fingers • Are easily
frustrated • Act more independent,
but are still dependent • Act out familiar Scenes • Have a longer attention span • Act silly,
boisterous • Talk a lot, ask many
questions • Want real adult
things • Keep art projects • Test physical skills and courage with caution • Reveal feeling in dramatic
play • Like to play with friends,
do not like to Lose • Share and take turns Sometimes |
• Opportunities to
develop fine motor skills • Hands-on exploration
for learning through action • Providing children
with objects that encourage sorting, matching, imagining, pushing, pulling
etc. • Opportunities to
children to dress themselves, use toilets, wash hands, brush teeth, comb hair
etc. • Naming body parts
and other common objects in and around child’s environment • Giving opportunities
to learn think and understand from concrete to abstract. • Encouragement of
language through listening to music, talking, reading, singing • Opportunities to
listen to stories, learn rhymes, indulge in imaginative play, ask questions,
do simple problem solving, experiment to promote active and interactive
learning and generally have a ‘feel good’ experience for a positive self
image • Emergent literacy
activities like phonological awareness, exposure to environmental print;
sight vocabulary; experiential writing by creating pretend and real letters
and by organizing scribbles and marks on paper • Experimentation with
pre-writing and pre-reading skills • Opportunities for
self-expression (drawing, painting, work with clay or mud), encouraging
creativity • Encourage Rhythmic
movement • Opportunities to
learn cooperation, helping, sharing • Opportunities for
taking responsibility and making choices • Encouragement to
develop self-control, cooperation, persistence in completing projects • Support for their
sense of self-worth and pride in Accomplishments • Activities which
will develop a positive sense of mastery • Identifying and
giving special attention to ‘at risk’ children. Developmental
screening of all children is essential to provide critical intervention that
allows opportunities for children’s development • Early identification
of impairments/disabilities and initiating medical intervention and parent
counselling and parent training to provide necessary stimulation is necessary
for supporting children with disabilities and developmental delay • Continuous
opportunities, more free but some guided, for adult – child, child to child
interaction and interaction with play materials and environment through a
variety of individual, small group and large group activities. |
5 to 6 years
|
Approximate Age |
5 to 6 years |
|
What Children Do |
What Children Need/ What Care Givers Provide for |
|
• Have a longer
attention Span • Talk a lot, ask many
questions • Want real adult
things • Naturally curious,
and have an incredible capacity and desire to learn. • Explore and
experiment through their senses as they discover the
world around them • Keep art projects • Test physical skills
and courage with caution • Reveal feeling in dramatic
play • Like to play with
friends, do not like to lose • Become independent and
gain more self control |
In addition to the
above: • Increasing ratio of
adult guided vs. free play activities, and more of large group activities and
focused more on specific school readiness, with increasing complexity in all of
above. • Reading Readiness:
e.g. picture –sound matching, shapes, phonetics; increasing vocabulary;
verbal expression, developing bond with an interest in reading through
picture books, storytelling, charts etc • Writing Readiness:
e.g. eye hand coordination, interest in writing, left to right directionality • Math: Develop skills
in sorting and classification according to one or two attributes, seriation,
pattern identification/ pattern
making , reasoning, problem solving, forming concepts: pre-number, number
concepts, observing and describing shape and space concepts using appropriate
vocabulary, counting objects, counting groups and comparing groups using the
terms more, fewer or same; understanding of computation • Physical and Motor
development : Build body awareness, strength and coordination through
locomotor activities like running, walking etc.; stability activities like
jumping, beam balance walking etc.; manipulative skills like catching, throwing,
kicking etc.; and movement and physical fitness activities • Creativity and
aesthetic appreciation: Use imagination and creativity to design and
perform music and dance. • Social Emotional-
Positive self identity, confidence and independence, manage own
feelings and needs. |
|
• Children’s whose growth
is faltering, at any age • Child does not
respond to stimulation and attention |
• Caregivers who know
when to seek help and how to provide a caring and loving environment. • Extra time from
caregivers, playing and talking, and massaging the child’s body. • Encouragement to
play and interact with other children. |
Source: Adapted from Kaul, 2009,NAEYC, 1985, 1995 and Donhue- Colletta (1992)