Need Help - What do you do at play time with an 8-month old?

[Mamaluu]

I'd like some help finding interesting activities and game to play with my 8 month old. This is my first child and I've never really played a whole lot with him before. Now that I see that he is really interactive, I'd like to find more interesting things I can do with him to play, interact, and help him learn. Can anyone share some of their favorite activities for babies this age, or suggest books/websites/resources to find activities please?

For example, singing - where can I find and learn good songs for babies and how to make games out of the songs? Or, reading - what and how do you read to a 8 month old who wouldn't stop eating the book or moving around wanting to go everywhere else and never wants to pay attention to the book you're reading together? I get tired of making silly faces & silly noises to him all day long and I really don't know exactly how to "play" with a baby this age & encourage their learning & development. Any suggestions or recommendations to other resources would be really appreciated. Thank you.

[Pavlovs]

With my almost 9 month old I do whatever he enjoys! We practice climbing stairs, clapping hands, playing peek-a-boo, making silly noises, walking (while I hold his hands). I make sure to speak directly to him a lot (while holding/wearing him, especially) - he really likes knowing what is going on. He takes baths in my big tub now - that's great playtime for him!

[gracemamma]

My babe is 8 1/2 months. 1-2x/day we'll go sit on living rm rug & spread toys around-books, haba cloth blocks, stuffed animals, wood toys that make noise (plan toys has a nice wooden bell & drum) etc. and she will roll/crawl around the rm playing with stuff. if she picks up books, i read them-she does chomp on them & sometimes we read partway or start again because she wants to. i make up songs all day but head, shoulders knees & toes is the biggest hit (she especially loves watching mama do the motions-first on myself, then her. this has been super helpful at dr. appt.s, car rides etc.). also frere jacques, alouette, when the saints come marching in-etc. we sing a zoo song from the putamayo new orleans playground cd alot- because i like it! thats also why i read alot of dr. seuss. when we enjoy/are excited about something, the babies feel it & get excited too. I also like dancing with her to putamayo dreamtime cd-very soft & sweet but great for daytime-you can really hear the love for babies in those songs.
following what would make you happy to with baby is probably great! oh balls are a big hit right now too!

[gracemamma]

stackable cups are also a big hit- in the bath & out crawling about. when all else fails, tummy kisses are a sure hit!

[Angelorum]

Our library has a baby story time we like to go to. They read a couple short books, but they also do a lot of finger plays and songs. It's great to help me remember songs I sung when I was little, and also learn new ones to sing with ds.

[texaspeach]

someone suggest this book to me. dh was not impressed and said you'd have to be really dull to not think of the things in it (thanks a lot dh!) but I think it's nice for times when I'm out of ideas.

[Italiamom]

Get thee outside! Seriously, if it's not raining or snowing, I think the best way to keep a baby entertained is just being outside. Go for a walk, lay a blanket on your lawn. Tell your LO what they're looking at and touching. "Would you like to touch the tree?" "That's a pine tree." "The bark is rough, huh?" I swear that my DS could be entertained all day just by pulling grass out of the ground.

As for music, sing your son music you like! Babies don't need baby centric music to be exposed to music, or to gain from it. Around here we sing songs from musicals, our favorite jazz tunes, sometimes I'll even change the lyrics in plain old top 40 so that they're about my son ("He's a single baby, he's a single baby, and he's super cute, he's a cute patoot! Now put your hands up!"). He thinks it's hilarious. I grew up with lots of classical music, and that's important here. So when we're just around the house I'll leave it on, and then sometimes point out the instruments to DS. "That's the string section, listen, there's the cello right there. And now the trumpets are coming in."

Even at one year, books are still a hassle. DS only wants to chew on them. We try a few times a week, but I just try to expand his little mind in other ways. Just remember that ideally you're just introducing your LO to all the wonders of the world, and that he's getting to the age where he can really take things in. You don't necessarily need to be a playmate, but a steward From the sound of, you're doing great!!

[hartfelt]

i second going outside. we have a quilt in the backyard, and my LO just loves to crawl around in the grass and check out the gardens and such! she is 5mos. but crawling like crazy and her nice expensive haba toys just aren't cutting it anymore so outside we go, lol.

[Sunday Moon]

I take my 8 month old outside a lot as well. Now that it's spring we spend as much time as we can going for walks or playing in the backyard. I talk to him about the trees and plants and leaves. He also LOVES going shopping (perfect for rainy or cold days) and people stop to talk to him all the time since he's usually in the mei tai and close to eye level. He's fascinated by everything when we are out and about and I talk to him about what I am buying.
When we are home I put him down on the floor and scatter a bunch of toys around him (stackable blocks, cups, balls, etc.) and we play until he's done with that (his interest varies). We also dance (to mostly 80s music and classic rock), look in the mirror, pet the dog, and he loves to be kissed and tickled. We usually save books for bedtime. He doesn't have a long attention span and likes to chew them too so we just incorporate them into one of our winding down activities.

[MeepyCat]

I think that it's really a lot less work to stimulate learning and development in a baby than some people let on. I mean, unless you make some efforts to stifle them, the baby is going to learn and develop.

That said - when DS was this age, I'd put him on his playmat and read him my business homework. From my book, that I held. He didn't really pay attention, he had a strong tendency to crawl off after whatever interested him, but it worked for us. He liked to roll water bottles around on the floor, and try and set them upright. He especially liked them when they had some water in them, so they made sloshing noises when shaken and were satisfyingly heavy. We sang him all kinds of things - some stuff from old Broadway shows, the Code Monkey song, whatever. We talked to him about politics. We showed him movies with babies in them, like "Undercover Blues." We gave him wooden spoons and tupperware to bang them on. I definitely agree with the suggestion about taking him outside as well.

[zinemama]

Whoa, put the pressure to "encourage learning and development"in the back seat.

You don't need websites or games or products to play with your 8mo. In fact, you don't need to "play" with your 8mo at all. Just interacting with him as you go about your day is all he needs. If you want to sing to him, sing songs you already know and like. No need to study up. Isn't just caring for a baby hard enough? Follow his lead and you'll be fine.