Bauble Roll

What you need

• two or three big plastic baubles, with the metal cap and hook taken off

How to do it

1. Sit on the floor facing your toddler, well away from the tree, with your legs out wide to make a space between you.
2. Roll a bauble slowly across the floor to them and watch it wobble and shine.
3. Let them push it, roll it or throw it back to you.
4. Roll one gently past them so they crawl or toddle after it, then sit down and go again.

Why it matters

A bauble wobbles as it rolls and catches the light, so watching it, chasing it and sending it back is reaching, moving and taking turns all in one game.

What they're learning

Rolling and pushing

Sending a ball-shaped thing away with a push works the arms and the aim they use later for throwing.

Following with their eyes

Watching the bauble wobble all the way across the floor trains their eyes to track a moving thing.

Back and forth

Your roll, their roll: a simple game that feels like a little chat without words.

What to look for

Watch for their eyes following the bauble all the way to your hands before they reach out for the next roll. Stay close, nothing in mouths.

A tip

Plastic baubles only, with the metal cap and hook taken off before play. Play away from the tree so nothing gets pulled down.

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