For Parents
Kuluk is an educational television series for infants and toddlers that is built around the children’s lived experience with language, culture, and the land. The show is designed to help with children’s holistic development and in learning foundational skills.
The games and activities on this page can be used to build on the learning from Kuluk. For each infant and toddler stage, developmentally appropriate activities are provided that give young children the opportunity to develop and practise foundational skills.
0–3 Months
Tummy play
Place your baby on their tummy on a blanket or mat. Here are some ideas to make tummy time interesting for your baby:
- Dangle a toy on top of your baby’s head to encourage them to lift their head.
- Lie down on your stomach facing your baby. Encourage them to look at you and smile.
- Place a mirror or toys in front of your baby for them to look at.
- Put a fabric book in front of them to explore.
- Sing songs like “ᐅᓪᓗ, ᐅᓪᓗ, ᐅᓪᓗᕆᐊᖅ” (“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”).
Move the rattle
Move a rattle up and down and side to side. Encourage your baby to track the rattle with their eyes. Then, give the rattle to your baby. They won’t be able to shake it by themselves yet, but you can help them shake it.
Smiling faces
Make a photo album of familiar faces for your baby. Go through the album, pointing to each picture and saying the name of the person in the picture. Babies love to look at faces!
Puppet play
Place a hand puppet on your hand. Move the puppet up and down while saying your baby’s name. Watch to see if they can follow the movement. Then, try moving the puppet in different ways (such as side to side).
Who is that?
Hold your baby in front of a mirror. Allow them to explore their own face. Point to the different parts of their face and name their body parts. For example, say “These are your eyes.”
4–6 Months
Peekaboo
Play peekaboo with your baby. Cover your face with your hands. Remove your hands to reveal your face and gently say “peekaboo!” while smiling and making eye contact with your baby.
Blow on tummy
When dressing your baby, put your lips against their tummy and blow air on their skin, making a funny noise. Your baby will likely enjoy the sound and funny feeling. Encourage your baby to try to make their own sounds and lip movements.
Rolling over
Lay a blanket on the floor and place your baby on their back on the blanket. Sit on one side of your baby and encourage your baby to roll over onto their tummy. Or, try putting a toy beside your baby and encourage them to roll over to reach the toy.
Copy me!
When your baby makes noises, repeat the noises and add in new sounds and words. Act as if you are having a conversation. This game will help your baby start to learn about the back and forth interaction of having a conversation.
Exploring texture
Find fabrics with different textures, such as felt, velvet, wool, and silk. Encourage your baby to touch and interact with the different pieces of fabric.
Act out stories
Use your baby’s toys to act out simple stories. Make different voices for the toys. Move the toys around. Your baby will start to track the toys’ movements with their eyes and will be exposed to new sounds and words.
7–9 Months
Teach signs
Teach your baby simple signs to help them communicate. Using simple signs like “all done” or “more please” can help them make their needs known, resulting in less frustration for your baby.
Interactive board books
Introduce your baby to interactive board books that have fun features, like touch and feel or peekaboo flaps. Encourage your baby to explore the books. Show them how to turn the pages and encourage them to try doing so. Read the books to your baby and talk about what you see in the pictures.
Shadow puppets
Make shadow puppets against a wall for your baby. Make different voices for the puppets. Your baby will practise tracking the shadow puppets’ movements with their eyes and will be exposed to new sounds and words.
Block play
Introduce blocks to your baby. Show them different ways to interact with the blocks—for example, banging the blocks together or knocking over a tower of blocks.
I’ve got you!
If your baby is crawling, make a tunnel for your baby by standing with your legs apart. Encourage your baby to crawl through the tunnel. As they are passing through, bring your legs together and playfully say, “I’ve got you!” Your baby will learn to anticipate getting caught and will start to speed up when they go through the tunnel.
Exploring textures and temperatures
Introduce your baby to different textures and temperatures. For example, put a teething ring or damp washcloth in the freezer until it is almost frozen. Then, give it to your baby to explore. This will help with your baby’s sensory development.
10–12 Months
Ready, set, go!
Sit your baby down on the floor beside you. Roll a soft ball a small distance away. Say “Ready…set…go!” and encourage your baby to crawl over to the ball. When they get the ball, clap and say “Yay!” Repeat until your baby loses interest.
Where are your…?
Ask your baby questions about the location of different body parts. For example, ask “Where are your feet?” When your baby points to their feet, wave and say, “Hello feet!” Repeat with different body parts. If your baby doesn’t know where a body part is, show them—for example, say “These are your knees” and encourage them to point to their knees.
Read on your tummy
Lay your baby on the floor on their tummy and lie beside them on your stomach. Read a book together. Encourage them to point to familiar objects in the book and interact with the book in different ways.
Sing interactive songs
Sing interactive songs with your baby and encourage them to try to do the actions. For example, sing “ᓂᐊᖁᖅ ᑐᐃ” (“Head and Shoulders"). Put your baby in your lap and help them hold out the appropriate body parts as you sing.
Explore outdoors
Sit on a blanket outside with your baby. Point to and name the different things you see around you. Put different outdoor objects, such as a rock or plant on the blanket and let your baby explore them. Watch them carefully to make sure they don’t try to put the object in their mouth.
Hide the toy
Lay a blanket on the floor and hide one of your baby’s toys under the blanket. Encourage your baby to look for the toy. When they find the toy, clap and say “You did it!”
13–18 Months
Fingerpaint
Introduce your toddler to fingerpaint. Start with just one colour, and gradually add more colours. Model how to put your fingers in the paint and make marks on a piece of paper. Encourage your child to try doing the same. Watch carefully to make sure they don’t try to put the paint in their mouth.
Drumming
Provide different materials for your toddler to experiment making noise with—for example, a wooden spoon and a pot. Show your toddler different sounds you can make, and then let them try and experiment with the materials.Float or sink?
Fill a tub with water. Collect different objects, some that will float and some that will sink. Invite your toddler to drop an object into the tub. Watch together and talk about what you see with your toddler, using the words “float” and “sink.”
Pop!
Blow bubbles for your toddler. Encourage them to pop the bubbles by clapping their hands over the bubbles.
Drive the box
Find a cardboard box that your toddler can easily fit inside. Put them inside the box and invite them to sit down. Ask them to imagine they are driving a car. Move the box around and make car noises. Ask your toddler to honk the “horn.” Make a “beep, beep” sound when they do.
Rhythm and rhyme
Expose your toddler to rhythm and rhyme in different ways. Read simple books, sing songs, and listen to music that contain rhythm and rhyme.19–24 Months
Let’s dance
Put on some fun music and invite your toddler to dance around the house with you. Challenge them to move their body in different ways.
Make a fort
Build a special play fort with your toddler—for example, put sheets over a dining table. Put comfortable cushions and favourite toys inside. Inside the fort, you can play together or enjoy a healthy snack.
Musical instruments
If you have musical instruments, encourage your toddler to play with them and use them in different ways. You could also make your own musical instruments—for example, you could put rubber bands of different sizes around a tissue box. Encourage your toddler to try plucking the different rubber bands, noticing the different sounds they make.
Mailboxes
Create mailboxes for your toddler and other family members (by cutting slots in small cardboard boxes). Encourage your toddler to make mail for family members and drop the mail in the mailboxes. You can also encourage family members to send the toddler mail, or drop junk mail into your toddler’s mailbox and challenge them to open the envelopes.
Make a ramp
Make a ramp out of objects you have around the house—for example, by setting a piece of cardboard against a coffee table. Find a collection of items for your child to try rolling/sliding down the ramp, such as a ball, block, or toy car. Talk about what you see and how the objects behave differently.
Making sound effects
Read books every day with your toddler, adding sound effects and voices to make the stories engaging. Encourage your toddler to join in with you as you make sound effects and use different voices.
Puzzles
Buy or borrow simple wooden puzzles for your toddler. Challenge them to find the right spot for each piece.
2–3 Years
Make-believe kitchen
Set up a make-believe kitchen with play food, dishes, pots, and pans for your toddler. Encourage your toddler to interact with the kitchen items. Ask them to make you food or set up a make-believe restaurant.
Simon Says
Invite your child to play Simon Says with you. Challenge your child to move their body in different ways.
Dress-up
Collect a variety of dress-up clothes for your toddler. Store them in a chest or basket. Encourage your child to dress in the clothes and create make-believe stories to act as the character they dressed up as. For example, if they choose to dress up like a doctor, pretend you are their patient and ask them to check your temperature and so on.
Sorting laundry
When you are folding laundry, ask your toddler to help you—for example, ask them to first find all the socks and then to find the matching pairs.
Puppet show
Invite your child to put on a puppet show with you. Choose a simple story (with two to four characters) that your child is familiar with and make simple puppets out of paper bags for each character. Use the puppets to retell the story together.
Baking
Invite your toddler to bake a simple, healthy recipe with you. Show them how to use the measuring cup and measuring spoons. Encourage them to pour in ingredients and mix them together. Enjoy the healthy treat together.
Ball in a tube
Attach paper towel rolls together at different angles to create a tube. Invite your toddler to help. Hold one end of the tube up and let the other end rest on the floor. Give your toddler a ball and invite them to drop the ball into one end of the tube.
Inhabit Education Resources for Infants/Toddlers
Available at www.inhabiteducation.com
High-contrast books
