Back to basics – H is for Hands

Welcome back to Back to basics simple play ideas each week. This week is H is for Hands – so much fun you can have playing with your child and their hands.

Pat-a-cake

We have sung Pat-A-Cake to J and T from a young age and I’m just starting to introduce hand play with it as well swapping our hands each time to get a rhythm and hand eye co-ordination going. Over on Angeliquefelix.com it forms part of musical play.

Baby Massage

Using your hands to connect with your babies by massage is a great way to start “play” with very young children. Again Angeliquefelix.com has a series on baby massage and how you can do it at home watch her fun videos. Every night after a bath we use our bedtime lotion on both J and T with massage strokes and I think it helps relax them to sleep.

Finger and Hand songs

Finger and hand songs are great from Five Currant buns to one of my childhood favourites that The Pleasantest Things reminded me of this week This is the church pop on over for the rhyme and another hand play song.

Hand prints

J has just discovered handprints and asks to paint his hands constantly – they are lots of fun and Red Ted Art has taken them to the next level with some learning thrown in.