Social interaction skills
Two infants engage in a similar play activity, with guided opportunities to notice what the other is doing.
Be Prepared: The size of the each basket should accommodate a baby doll, so the basket can serve as a pretend bed. Place a blanket in the bottom of a basket.
Invite two infants to play with the baby dolls. Give each infant a box with a blanket inside and a doll. Present the box with blanket and the doll separately, so the infant can put the doll in the basket if he/she wishes. Explain that the baskets are pretend beds and it is time for the doll babies to go to sleep. Give time for the infants to figure out what to do with the materials.
If appropriate, offer prompts that may help infants pursue the bedtime theme. Example:
“Jada, you are putting your baby in the basket. I think your baby is going to sleep! Would you like to cover your baby with the blanket?”
Positively acknowledge an infant’s attention to the other infant. Example: “Jada, you are watching Samuel put his baby in the basket. I think Samuel’s baby is going to sleep.” Conclude the play activity by briefly describing what each infant did.
Social interaction skills
Two older infants play alongside each other using shared materials, with guided opportunities to notice what the other is doing.
Be Prepared: Arrange the play materials on the floor or on a low table. Create interest in the materials by placing 1–2 figures inside a box, on top of a box, and/or in a box turned on its side. Place the fabric/felt pieces over and under several of the people figures.
Invite two infants to play with the people figures. Introduce the materials and encourage each infant to play with items of interest as he/she wishes.
As the infants engage in parallel play, encourage awareness of what the other is doing. Example: “Neveah is putting all of her people in a box. See the box with the people inside? I wonder what the people are doing.” Also, acknowledge instances of one infant paying attention to the other infant. Example: “Neveah, you are watching Rodrigo play. He is putting a piece of felt over his people. Maybe you would like a piece of felt for your people, too!” Conclude the play period by describing what each infant did. Point to items you describe.
Your main role in both activity options is to encourage infants to notice what the other is doing without distracting infants from exploring interesting materials in their own ways. This occurs best when you can recognize an infant’s attention to his/her peer. You may see an infant watching or imitating a peer’s actions with the materials. Paying attention to the actions of another infant may not occur naturally among some infants, especially when an infant’s own exploration of materials is of strong interest.
Most infants are new to pretend play and will likely appreciate hints from you on what to do with the materials. Use gestures and demonstrations to complement your words. Be careful to avoid prescribing what to do with the materials.
Option 1 gives each infant the same materials and introduces a bedtime theme but is not intended to describe how to play bedtime. Option 2 provides a set of materials for the two infants to share, but the play is not expected to be jointly pursued. In both options, the use of similar materials enhances the likelihood of noticing what a peer is doing.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: several strips of contact paper
Contact paper is a good material to use to promote infants’ attention to others’ play activities because it is a novel item. Provide different opportunities for infants to explore the stickiness of contact paper. Place paper on the floor (sticky side up) for young infants to touch during tummy time. Longer strips on the floor can be enjoyed by mobile infants by walking and crawling across the sticky surface. Contact paper on the wall can be discovered by sitting and mobile infants. Encourage infants to notice actions of one another as they explore the sticky paper.
Materials Needed: 2 dollhouses (or cardboard boxes in place of dollhouses); age-appropriate people figures; additional play materials, such as fabric/felt pieces, animal figures, or cars
Pretend play with people figures and houses can be enjoyed by children of all ages. Create two dollhouse play areas, one for older infants and toddlers, and one for preschool-age children. Adding new play materials to the doll houses over time can enhance children’s play. Encourage and reinforce positive interactions between peers as they explore the play materials.
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