* Gather the ingredients and utensils needed to make instant pudding mix.
* Let the children make up the mix with you.
* Talk about the changes that take place as the ingredients blend together.
* Gather enough plastic mixing bowls and plastic spatulas so that each child can have one of each.
* Turn different sized plastic mixing bowls upside down.
* Let the children use the spatulas to ice the cakes (bowls) with the pudding mix.
Tot idols
* Place some real musical instruments, such as guitars, keyboards and drums, on the floor.
* Allow the babies and toddlers to experiment with the different instruments.
* They will start to realise that if they pluck the string, the guitar will make a sound. Alternatively, if they press a key on the keyboard, it will produce a note.
Basketball
* Obtain a transparent tube, like the one in the photograph, from a pet shop. A poster tube can also be used, but the children will not be able to see the ball move through it.
* Secure the tube at an angle.
* Encourage toddlers to place a ball in one end of the tube and see it come shooting out at the other end.
* Place a basket at the end to catch the balls.
* As an alternative, get some flexible transparent tubing about 2.5cm in diameter and about a metre long.
* Put a couple of marbles inside the tube and glue corks securely in both ends.
* Children can see what happens to the marbles when they lift one end or the other, or the middle.
Magnet painting
* Gather a range of metallic objects - for example, teaspoons, nuts and bolts, jar lids and so on.
* Encourage the children to dip the metallic objects in shallow trays of poster paint.
* Let the children place the 'dipped' items on to a piece of lining paper or activity paper.
* The children can then use a large magnet to move the metal object around while creating interesting pictures.
* Let the children explore with different colours of paint and different sized metallic items.
Other activities
* Play at 'knocking down' by standing a skittle in front of a baby and letting them knock it down. Stand it up again and repeat the process.
* Allow children to develop awareness of cause and effect during daily routines by, for example, allowing them to turn lights on or off, turn water taps on or push the buttons on a CD player.
* Encourage play with pop-up toys, jack-in-the-boxes, activity centres, noisemakers, and music boxes.
