It’s a world of wonder with your 9-month-old! In this post, we’ll explore a variety of fun and creative activities that are perfect for curious and active 9 month olds as they continue to reach exciting milestones in their development.
Welcome to the exciting stage of your baby’s development at 9 months old! Your little one is growing rapidly and becoming more curious about the world around them. As a parent, you play a crucial role in supporting their developmental milestones and fostering their curiosity through fun and engaging activities. In this article, we’ll explore what 9-month-old babies can typically do and provide you with 20 creative and easy activities to do at home that will delight and stimulate your baby’s senses and motor skills.
What Can a 9-Month-Old Baby Do?
At 9 months old, your baby is becoming more mobile and developing their motor skills. They may be sitting independently, crawling, or attempting to pull themselves up to stand. They are also starting to explore objects with their fingers and grasp items using their whole hand (palmar grasp). Additionally, their language development is progressing, and they may be babbling or responding to familiar words and sounds. Your baby’s personality is also emerging as they become more social and interactive, seeking attention and expressing their preferences.
9-Month-Old Baby Milestones
- Sitting independently for longer periods of time
- Crawling or attempting to crawl
- Pulling themselves up to stand with support
- Transferring objects from one hand to another
- Exploring objects with fingers and mouth
- Responding to their name or familiar sounds
- Babbling and imitating sounds
- Showing preferences and developing a sense of likes and dislikes
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14 Fun and Easy Activities for 9 Month Olds at Home
- Edible Sensory Play: Create an edible sensory experience for your baby by offering them different types of safe and soft foods such as cooked pasta, mashed fruits or vegetables, or yogurt. Let them explore the textures, colors, and tastes with their hands and mouths.
- Painting with Food: Set up a safe painting activity by using baby-safe paint or pureed fruits and vegetables on a large sheet of paper or a high chair tray. Let your baby use their hands, fingers, or a brush to explore and create their own edible artwork.
- Bubble Wrap Stomp: Lay out a piece of bubble wrap on the floor and encourage your baby to stomp on it, promoting their gross motor skills and sensory exploration.
- Sorting Fun: Give your baby a set of colorful objects such as blocks, balls, or soft toys, and provide containers with different shapes or sizes for them to sort and drop the objects into. This activity promotes their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving skills.
- Sensory Bath Time: Make bath time a sensory experience by adding colorful bath toys, foam letters or shapes, or bubbles to the water. Let your baby explore the textures, colors, and sensations while having fun in the water.
- Water Play: Fill a shallow container with warm water and let your baby splash and play with their hands and toys. Add some bath toys or containers for pouring and scooping for extra fun and sensory stimulation.
- Musical Instruments: Introduce your baby to different musical instruments such as a mini keyboard, shaker, or drum, and let them experiment with making sounds and rhythms. This activity promotes their auditory development, fine motor skills, and creativity.
- Soft Obstacle Course: Create a soft and safe obstacle course using pillows, cushions, and soft toys for your baby to crawl or climb over. This activity promotes their gross motor skills, balance, and spatial awareness.
More Activities for 9 Month Olds at Home
- Bubble Play: Blow bubbles and watch your baby’s excitement as they try to catch or pop them. This activity promotes their visual tracking, hand-eye coordination, and sensory exploration.
- Homemade Sensory Bags: Create sensory bags by filling resealable plastic bags with various materials such as water, hair gel, or sand, and adding small toys or objects for your baby to squish and explore with their fingers.
- Nature Walk: Take your baby for a leisurely walk in a park or your backyard, and point out different natural elements such as flowers, leaves, or insects. This activity promotes their visual and sensory development and encourages a connection with nature.
- Treasure Hunt: Hide small objects or toys around a safe area and encourage your baby to search for and discover them. This activity promotes their fine motor skills, visual tracking, and problem-solving skills.
- Soft Toy Tower: Build a tower using soft toys or plush blocks and encourage your baby to knock it down, promoting their hand-eye coordination and gross motor skills.
- Ball Roll: Sit facing your baby and gently roll a soft ball back and forth, encouraging them to reach for and grasp the ball, promoting their hand-eye coordination and motor skills.
Final Thoughts
As always, ensure that all materials used are safe and age-appropriate, and closely supervise your baby during these activities. Follow your baby’s cues and interests, and let their natural curiosity guide the play. Enjoy the precious moments of discovery and exploration with your 9-month-old baby! Happy parenting!
Disclaimer: Please consult with your pediatrician or healthcare provider before starting any new activities with your baby to ensure their safety and well-being. Always follow appropriate safety guidelines and age recommendations for toys and activities.
Age Suitability
These at home activities are good for babies aged 9-months-olds and up.
Mess Level
The mess level for these activities for 9-month-olds varies.
Difficulty to Create Activities for 9-Month-Olds
Varies.
Skills Developed for Activities for 9-Month-Olds
Visual tracking, Body awareness, Reaching, grasping & eye hand coordination, fine motor skills, gross motor skills.
Toddler and Preschooler Curriculums, Books & TV Show!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles that show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 airs in the summer of 2023! We were also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
In season 2, we add new kinds of crafts like STEAM crafts and slime!
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
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