Some days, “What should we do together?” is a harder question than it sounds. You might have a few quiet minutes, a child who wants your attention, and no energy to set up a complicated activity.
That is the space the app’s 256-activity library is meant to help with. It includes invitations across twelve age groups, from birth through age six, covering movement, exploration, Montessori home, connection, outdoors, practical life, and big feelings. Here are a few real examples from the library, with simple ways to begin.
Birth to six months: you are part of the play
Face-to-face sound turns, in the birth-to-three-month group, begins with your voice. Settle your awake baby in a comfortable, supported position, say something softly, and pause. A look, movement, or little sound can be their part of the exchange. There is no response to extract or target to reach.
For three to six months, Mirror & babble invites a similar moment beside a secure, baby-safe mirror. Describe what catches your baby’s attention and stop when they turn away or need a break. Keep objects within comfortable reach; do not prop them into a position they cannot manage.
These invitations fit the CDC’s advice to respond to babies’ sounds and signals. They are ways to spend time together, not a promise to speed up development.
Six to twelve months: explore something familiar
A sturdy board book or one large, intact, age-rated toy can be enough. Sit nearby and follow what your baby does rather than showing every possible use at once.
In the nine-to-twelve-month group, The tiny table helper brings play into a real routine. Offer a clean damp cloth and help wipe a low, stable surface. There are no cleaning products involved. The invitation is to participate, not to leave the table spotless.
Stay close, keep materials out of the mouth, and choose a comfortable supported or seated position. A brief attempt counts; so does watching you try it.
One to two years: make room for repetition
Try a familiar song, a picture conversation, or a little pretend moment. A pretend picnic for bear, from the fifteen-to-eighteen-month group, can start with a large age-rated soft toy and pretend food made only of suitable, intact toys. You can offer bear a pretend drink, then wait to see what your child adds.
Skip tiny tea-set pieces, loose stuffing, and real snacks used as play materials. Let your child repeat one action for as long as it interests them. You do not need to advance the story because you have already seen it.
Two to three years: small jobs and big feelings
The twenty-four-to-thirty-month group includes Two-cup pouring. Use two small unbreakable cups, a tray, and a tiny amount of water with an adult right beside the child. Pour, wipe a spill, and try again. Empty the water immediately afterward; never leave a child alone with it.
For a quieter invitation, try What would help bear? Give a toy a gentle pretend problem: bear wanted the red cup and it is being used. Wonder together about what bear could try. Accept gestures and unexpected suggestions, and avoid using the story to quiz your child about a recent upset.
An outdoor listening game is another option: pause in a safe, familiar place and notice a bird, breeze, or distant vehicle. There is no need to identify every sound.
Three to four years: wonder together
How many blocks long? uses large, smooth, equal-sized blocks beside a familiar toy or book. Make a guess, line the blocks up, and notice what changes when you measure something else. Counting is optional; comparing is already an invitation to explore.
Two puppets, one little problem offers a different kind of experiment. Two pretend characters want different games. Give each an idea and see what your child suggests. Use your hands if you do not have suitable puppets.
Four to six years: share the plan
In the four-to-five-year group, A puppet tale with two ideas gives children room to hear another possibility and add their own. For five to six years, Build a cooperative pretend world invites shared roles: perhaps a shop, an animal clinic, or a make-believe neighborhood.
Ask, “What could my job be?” Then follow their answer. Leave room for changing the plan, playing alongside one another, or taking a break. Another app invitation, Plan, do, check our little job, can bring that same thinking to sorting a few clean cloths together.
Choose one invitation
Use ages as starting points, then adapt for your child’s abilities, interests, sensory preferences, and care-team guidance. Choose large, intact materials without small detachable parts, magnets, batteries, or cords, and consider younger siblings too. An adult should remain involved throughout these ideas.
You can make an invitation simpler, repeat a favorite, or stop. The goal is a moment of connection that fits today.
The full 256-activity library is included with Plus, including during an eligible seven-day trial. See the activities and Plus options, or read about social connection from birth through six.