Once your child is able to eat solid foods, make the experience extra fun by shaping his favorite snacks into different geometric shapes. Identifying shapes is a great first step toward letter knowledge skills. In this activity you can talk to your baby about shapes, and he'll get to eat them!
- a child-safe plate
- a high chair
Ask your pediatrician what types of food your baby can eat. Some common choices include:
- soft-baked sweet potato pieces
- small dices of soft-cooked carrots
- small dices of ripe banana
- squished blueberries
- soft cooked pasta, cut into small pieces
- multigrain cereal O’s
Step 1: Gather two or three snacks that your baby likes. Prepare and cook them according to your child’s needs.
Step 2: Using a child-safe plate, arrange the food to create a shape. For example, if you decide to feed your child bananas, carrots and pasta, you can shape the banana pieces into a circle, the carrot pieces into a square and the pasta pieces into a triangle.
Step 3: While your baby is sitting in his high chair, place the snack in front him. Show him the food shapes and label each one as you go. You may say something like this:
Snack time is extra special today! Look what I made with your carrots—I made a square! The square has four straight lines. And look at your pasta! It looks like a triangle. It has three lines. Your bananas look different too! I made a circle with your banana pieces. There aren’t any lines or sides in a circle.
Step 4: Let your child observe and pick up the snack pieces on his own. Identify which snack food he is putting in his mouth as he eats. Have fun and bon appétit!
