Play ideas for little ones on New Year’s Eve??? Ha!  Maybe during the afternoon…

I’m thinking most of the people who read my blog have young children and therefore you don’t actually have much control over when you wake up or when you go to sleep at your house. Midnight celebrations into the wee hours may be a thing of the past.

However, if you’re looking to mark this occasion with your little one try some of these play and language learning ideas:

  1.  Have a countdown (or even a count UP)… then make something exciting happen (like dropping a ball)!
    “1…2…3…4…5…” (pause to heighten the anticipation and allow your child to fill-in) “GO!”
  2. Use party blowers (good for mouth muscles) and rattles/shakers to make lots of noise – “woohoo” “yeah” “ooooo”!  Noise making is always a good “ready, set… GO” activity and a great opportunity to imitate actions – shake up high, shake down low, shake it fast, shake it slow.
  3. Play some music and have a dance party! Remember…if you do it, say it – “shake, jump, wiggle, clap”.  Playing with…MUSIC and SINGING!
  4. Have a parade and “march” while banging on a drum or sounding other noisemakers!  Parades!
  5. Look back through the photos from this past year and practice naming the people who were a special part of your little one’s life “hi mommy,” “hi daddy,” and also practice their own name!  Blow kisses, name favorite toys and foods, wonder aloud who that person in the picture could be “hmmm” and give your little one an opportunity to help you remember.  Pretending not to know the names of things is one of my favorite strategies for speech and language development.  If you have more than one child and accidentally use the wrong name, your older child will be quick to let you know – kids LOVE to correct their parents!

When the New Year’s celebration is over, make a resolution to get more sleep next year.  Oh, maybe that’s just mine.

Happy NEW YEAR, everyone!

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Other posts that may be helpful for play and language learning ideas during these cold months:

Playing in the… SNOW!

Playing with…MUSIC and SINGING!

Indoor CAR WASH

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