We listen to music all the time....different genres. Sometimes classical, sometimes gospel, sometimes latin, sometimes country, and can I just tell you how much my 3 yr old loves southern rock classics?
It is a great way to expose them to rhythm, keeping time, and it is always fun to watch them wiggle to the beat!
We always spent a lot of time outside too....still do. Even at 9 months we went for a walk almost every day that it wasn't horrible outside. When it was cold I just bundled them up really well and got outside.
My kids love to turn over rocks and logs and find bugs, we look for mushrooms now, we look for animal tracks. The thing is to just include them into your day and if you are doing something talk to them while you are doing it.
Heck, my hubby thought I was crazy cause he caught me reading a catalog to my son when he was 6 or 7 months old. Picture it...."and you too can have all this for just nineteen ninety-nine....." in a sing song-y voice. He didn't care and he loves to read and be read to now.
Now one thing I do love is Sesame Street. There are a couple of DVDs that I started letting my son watch over and over (30mins each) and it helped him with his letters and numbers. One is Learning Letters and the other is Learning Numbers. They were like, $7 each and well worth it.
Tv can be good if you pick and choose and disperse it throughout your day instead of an all day thing. I tend to like DVDs for kids cause I can pop one in while I'm cooking dinner or taking a shower and it keeps their attention for 15-20 minutes. I always put my kids in their bouncy seat or carseat in the bathroom with me when I showered and played peek a boo with the shower curtain....Hubby thought I was nuts.
