PapaKoalaActivities for your baby, from birth to 3
Twenty-four activities to do at home from birth to age 3, four for each age. Each one explains what you need, how to do it step by step and what your child is learning, with its sources.
Reviewed by Javier Atance Ibar, PhD in Education
From 0 to 4 months Start
Everything begins here.
- Touch and fine motor skills
After-bath massage
After the bath, you give them a head-to-toe massage, and they discover each part of their body through your hands.
- Gross motor skills
Tummy time over a roll
You rest their chest on a rolled-up towel, and from a little higher than the floor, they try lifting their head to look around.
- Hearing
Following the rattle
You move a rattle slowly from side to side as it jingles, and your baby practises following it with their eyes.
- Vision
Playing with the mirror
You show them their reflection in a mirror, and they discover a face that smiles and moves right along with them.
From 4 to 8 months Discover
The world becomes something to explore.
- Touch and fine motor skills
Arm and leg crosses
You gently bring their hand over to the opposite knee, and they feel their arm and leg moving together.
- Gross motor skills
Balancing on all fours
You hold a toy up high so they let go with one hand and stay on all fours, balanced on three points.
- Hearing
First books
You look at a book with big pictures together while you name what they see, and they start to link books with your voice.
- Vision
Peekaboo
You hide your face behind a cloth and pop back out with a smile, so they discover you're still there even when they can't see you.
From 8 to 12 months Explore
The whole world fits in their hands.
- Touch and fine motor skills
Dropping macaroni in a tub
You show them how to drop macaroni into a container, and they practise opening their hand right over it.
- Gross motor skills
Cruising along the furniture
A toy at the other end of the furniture encourages them to take little sideways steps without letting go.
- Hearing
Ringing the musical mobile
You hang a musical mobile within their reach, and they discover that it makes a sound when they touch it.
- Vision
Torch games
In a dimly lit room, you move a torch beam across the wall and they follow the light with their eyes.
From 12 to 18 months Experiment
Moving, thinking, talking and doing.
- Vertical world
Special delivery
They carry big, very light things over to you in their arms and find out how to walk with a load that hides their feet.
- Constructive mind
Containers that nest
You put one container inside another together, and they find out by trying which one fits in which.
- My routines
Their own spoon
You hand them a loaded spoon, and they practise bringing it to their mouth without dropping the food.
- First connections
Taking care of teddy
You feed or comb a cuddly toy, then it's their turn, and they discover that others have needs too.
From 18 to 24 months Express
Words, marks and feelings that surface.
- Free marks
Scribbling on big paper
With a big sheet of paper taped to the floor and some thick crayons, they find out that their arm leaves lines of colour.
- Language lab
A little errand
You ask them to fetch something they know well and, as they hand it to you, they find out they can help at home.
- Real world
The fruit wash
You wash a piece of fruit in a bowl of water, then they copy you: dip it, rub it and dry it.
- Discovering limits
This or that
In the routines they find hardest, you offer two options and they pick the one they like.
From 2 to 3 years Imagine
Where play and emotions meet.
- Emotional superpowers
The talking stone
A smooth stone shows whose turn it is to talk: whoever holds it shares something, and everyone else listens until it's their turn.
- Magical worlds
The box train
You turn a row of boxes into a train that travels to made-up stops around the house.
- Doing it alone
The trouser lift
Their trousers turn into a lift that travels down and up their legs, and they work it with both hands.
- Thinking hands
Birds on the nest
Clothes pegs turn into birds that land on the edge of a box, and your little one squeezes each beak open to clip it on.
One activity a day, for their age and what you've done together.
And around every activity, your baby's whole day in one place.
Their day at a glance
Sleep, feeds and nappies in one tap, and their week summed up on Today. You choose what to log.
Their sleep rhythm
After a few days of logs, it learns how long they stay awake and shows their expected naps and bedtime.
Milestones and first words
The milestones for their age, from the CDC, and their first words, each with its date.
Shared between you iPhone only
Invite your partner: whatever one of you logs, the other sees straight away on their iPhone.
Without opening the app
The timer keeps going on the Lock Screen even when you close the app. With widgets, you log in one tap.
To the check-up, with it all
Their 7, 14 or 30-day PDF report, appointments and your country's vaccine schedule.
- No account
- Your data on your phone and in your iCloud
- 184 activities from birth to 3
- 14 languages
iPhone, iPad and Android · 7-day free trial on the yearly plan
