As children grow, they are more interested in seeing people and animals; if given a book with realistic images they will enjoy looking at them. after a certain point they are able to distinguish between known faces they see on a daily basis and are able to recognize each of them.
I had once come across a nice DIY on familiar faces and I decided to try that out for My Munchkin based on the above two factors. So I did a DIY of our families’ pictures – My Munchkin, her father and mine. I kept it to just us so that I do not overwhelm her with too much at one time.
What do you need for this DIY? Pictures, that’s what you mainly need.
I suggest having the images of mid size, something like 5 x 5 inches so that your Munchkin is able to hold them easily and look at them.
There are two ways of making this activity:
1)Give the images of a photo studio or printing shop and they will print and laminate it for you.
2)If you want to DIY the entire thing, then get the photos printed on card stock (or good quality paper). You would also need to buy lamination sheets (1 sheet of A3 size would be enough for 4-6 pictures). I would recommend buying one that is at least 125 microns thick. These would be available with your local stationery shop.
You guessed right – we are going to laminate them at home!
Once you have your pictures print, cut them out to the required size. Take your lamination sheet and place the images in between. Make sure you keep sufficient space between them to cut so that they do not open up.
Once this is placed, heat the iron up. Place the lamination sheet on the ironing board or a smooth surface and put a cotton cloth over it. Press down with the hot iron and slowly move the iron from one end to the other. Do this without lifting the iron to avoid bubbles from forming. You can repeat this step once more.
Let it cool a bit and then check if it has laminated from all sides. If you feel it is opening up from some part, cover that with the cloth and iron over it.
Once done, let it cool completely and then cut each image out – do keep some of the lamination plastic as a border (like it is normally seen it laminated documents). Do round all the sharp edges with a scissor so they do not hurt your Munchkin.
I will try and upload a detailed DIY for laminating at home soon.
Once you have your pictures ready through either of the above methods, put them into a little basket / tray and give them to your Munchkin to explore.
Age: You can start as early as 5-6 months and they generally use this activity for a long time.
Purpose: Helps in recognition or familiar faces. Later this becomes a goo way to associate a picture to the actual person.
Do try this one out with your Munchkin and leave me some feedback on how they enjoyed it.