Games for Learning

Children learn through play, and your nine-month-old is ready to learn. Try some of these activities to help him learn about his world while you both have fun.

Read pictures. Share pictures, magazines and the newspaper with your baby. Point to and name things, actions, colors and people. You might, for example, look at a colorful ad. Point to the girl, boy, stove, radio, lawn mower, blue shirt and gardener.


Feel textures. Cut squares of fabric and glue them to a piece of cardboard. Try to have a variety of textures like corduroy, satin, burlap, vinyl and fake fur. Let your baby sit with you and help him feel each of the different textures with his hands. Describe the textures with words like rough, smooth, soft, bumpy and prickly.

Fill and dump. Gather five or six small, empty food containers like gelatin boxes, an oatmeal box and small cereal boxes. Tape or glue the containers closed. Give your baby a small paper bag. Show him how to fill the bag with groceries and dump them out again.

Love the baby. Give your baby a large baby doll or stuffed animal. Show him how to rock and cuddle with the doll. Point to and say “eyes,” “nose,” “mouth,” “ears,” “tummy” and “legs,” for example. Show your baby where these features are on his body. Say “Here are the baby’s ears. Where are your ears?”