Object inquiry skills, Problem-solving
An infant holds, looks at, and manipulates 2–3 nesting cups.
[Sit on the floor facing an infant who can sit alone or an infant on his/her back. Establish a connection with the infant by talking about what the infant is doing. Example: “Hi, Joseph. You are sucking on your hand.”
After about 15 seconds of interaction, hold a medium-size nesting cup close to the infant at the center of his/her chest and within the infant’s line of vision. Move the cup gently around or from side to side, and explain that this is a cup we can play with. Slowly move your finger on the side of the cup and describe how it feels smooth. Do not place the cup in the infant’s hand without first providing a chance for the infant to reach for the cup with one or both of his/her hands.]
(Infant’s name), would you like to hold the cup?
[Describe the infant’s reaction to the cup. Example: “You are holding the cup and looking at the cup. Now you are shaking the cup!” “You are using your mouth to feel the rim of the cup.”]
Do you want to hold another cup?
[Offer the smallest cup at the infant’s midline at a distance comfortable for reaching. If the infant does not show interest in the second cup, explain that you will hold the cup in your hand while the infant plays with the other cup. Hold the second cup in the palm of your hand within the infant’s vision.
Describe the infant’s actions with one or both cups. Examples: “You are feeling the cup with your finger.” “You are holding one cup in each hand.” “You are making a sound by tapping the two cups together.”]
[For a sitting infant only: Place the largest (third) nesting cup in your palm and offer it to the infant.
If the infant takes the third cup, describe what the infant does. Examples: “You put the little cup on the floor so you can hold the big cup. That is a good idea!” “You are looking at the big cup. You put the little cup under your arm and took the big cup. Good idea!”
If the infant does not take the third cup, hold it in the palm of your hand so the infant can see it. Describe the situation with the third cup. Example: ”I think you do not want to hold the big cup. You are looking away from me. I will hold the big cup. You are holding two smaller cups. Good idea!”]
[Briefly describe what the infant did with the cup(s). Examples: “We played with cups. You decided to play with one cup only. I got to hold the other cup.” “You felt with your hand.” “You tapped two cups together. You made a sound.”]
The nesting cups offer a smooth surface for an infant to explore. Offering each cup at the center of the infant’s body is intentional, aimed at facilitating the infant’s ease of potentially reaching for a cup and seeing the cup. There is no right or wrong way for an infant to approach the opportunity to hold, look at, and manipulate two or three cups. When presented with a second or third cup, an infant may drop a cup(s) in order to grasp a different cup. Or a sitting infant may solve the problem of how to hold an additional cup by putting a cup in his/her lap. An infant may show great pleasure in making a sound by tapping two cups together. Avoid telling the infant what to do with a cup. Few infants will discover the cups can be nested together. It is not necessary to demonstrate or describe how to hold, manipulate, or organize two or three cups.
Extra support
Enrichment
Object inquiry skills
An infant participates in open-ended play with several small toys and a basket.
Select three small, attractive toys (that are not necessarily similar) for an infant to grasp and manipulate. Select toys based upon the infant’s interests and development. Place the toys near a basket, all within easy reach of a sitting or standing infant.
Encourage the infant to look at and play with the toys. Infants will differ in how they approach this opportunity. Some may enjoy putting items in the basket and then emptying the basket or removing items one at a time from the basket. An infant who can walk might carry the basket with one, two, or three of the toys to another part of the room. Some infants may ignore the basket. It is not necessary to instruct the infant or to expect a certain outcome. You may see infants react in distinctly different ways to the materials you present. Quietly describe the infant’s actions and characteristics of the toys explored.
Infants have a strong drive to learn about their environments and generally use all their senses to form an understanding of how something works. Finding familiar items together near a basket is an opportunity to see and touch objects and to discover how they are the same or different. The development of crawling gives infants greater opportunities to explore.
Although infants have individual styles for learning, some strategies are widely used by infants, such as mouthing, banging the object on the floor or table, and shaking the object. It is important to give the infant time to explore in his/her own way.
An essential aspect of the activity is your role in describing objects and actions. Your simple descriptions help an infant begin to understand that each object has a name and that his/her actions with the object can be described. If an infant shows interest in one of the toys only, direct your comments and focus accordingly. It is not necessary for the infant to explore all three toys.
Extra support
Enrichment
Problem-solving, Object inquiry skills
An infant participates with a caregiver in open-ended play with 2–3 nesting cups.
Be Prepared: Place the cups inside the bag and fold the bag’s top to hide the cups.
Invite a mobile infant to explore the cloth bag and toys inside. Sit on the floor facing the infant. Infants who have learned to walk may prefer to stand and explore on a low surface. Point to the bag and explain there are toys inside. Use your voice to create interest in the surprise!
Encourage the infant to open the bag and remove the cups. Assist the infant in opening the cloth bag if needed. If an infant does not begin to look for the toys, touch the outside of the bag and talk about what you feel. Example: “This bag feels bumpy. Let’s look in this bag and find a toy!”
Describe the infant’s discovery of a cup. Examples: “You found a little red cup in the bag.” “This cup is big.” Encourage the infant to look until all three cups are found. Describe the infant’s actions with the cups.
If an infant seems interested in putting the cups together, offer an invitation that the infant may or may not pursue. Example: “Let’s find out more about the cups.” Demonstrate nesting the cups by placing the smallest cup into the medium-size cup. Point to the two cups. Explain: “Our small cup fits in the larger cup.” Remove the smaller cup and encourage the infant to nest the cups. Some infants may enjoy placing one cup into a bigger cup. Some infants may prefer to take three nested cups apart. Use the activity to support an infant’s emerging development and interests.
Watch how the infant manages the two different problem-solving opportunities embedded in the activity: the basic task of opening the bag and removing the cups, and the more challenging task of fitting 2–3 cups together. Some infants may open the bag and peek inside, and others may dump the toys by holding or shaking the cloth bag. Describe the strategy used by the infant to get to the toys hidden inside. For many mobile infants, finding surprises in bags or boxes is an enjoyable experience.
For the more challenging problem-solving opportunity, the activity plan suggests that you demonstrate fitting one cup inside another if the infant shows interest. Give just enough help so that an infant can fit one cup into another that is slightly larger. To nest 2–3 cups requires an infant to have a beginning idea of size, along with fine motor skills to place one cup inside another. This portion is offered for infants who show interest. Do not offer this opportunity if the infant shows no interest in fitting together the cups. Also, at this age, most infants will not be able to stack the cups. Some infants will be pleased to open the bag and remove the cups.
Also look at how the infant explores characteristics of the cups (object inquiry skills). Infants are active learners who find out about objects in their environments by looking, touching, mouthing, grasping, moving, or manipulating them. In this cognitive activity, an infant is supported in exploring each individual cup and exploring the set of three cups. An infant may act upon the cups by tapping them together, holding the cups, or knocking them down. Observe the infant’s responses to the cups and talk with him/her about each one. Some infants may vocalize a reaction to the toys. Repeat and extend an infant’s vocalizations. Example: “Ooh, yes! You found the biggest cup!”
Some infants may engage in a pretend action with the cup that suggests he/she knows that we can drink from a cup.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: cloth and board books, soft toys, rattles, mirror, bowl, small balls, dolls, nesting cups, push toys, puzzles
On the floor next to an infant mirror, arrange small toys for nonmobile infants to view, such as cloth books, soft toys, and rattles. Early mobile infants may enjoy putting items into bowls and then taking them out. Arrange nesting cups on the floor to be discovered by crawling infants. Place a second group of nesting cups on the floor next to a nonbreakable mirror. On another day, arrange the nesting cups with small toys inside. Stack the nesting cups for infants to topple. Mobile infants will enjoy playing with objects they can carry, wheel toys to push, and toys that fit into containers.
Materials Needed: nesting cups, large cups
In addition to engaging an infant in one of the activity options, offer older children an opportunity to play with nesting cups. Toddlers will enjoy putting small nesting cups inside the larger cups. Adjust the level of challenge so the toddler can be successful. Limit the number of nesting cups to three if nesting more cups is too challenging. Preschool-age children will enjoy building a tower with nesting cups.
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