Older babies are bound to be enthralled by this dynamic exercise, which sends a lovey flying up in the air.

Appropriate for: 10 to 18 months
Skills developed: Understanding cause and effect
What you'll need: A cardboard tube stuffed with newspaper, a short square board or large rectangular children's book, a small stuffed animal, a child's hammer or mallet

Lay the tube on a flat surface – preferably a smooth floor. Balance the board or book on the cylinder like a teeter-totter with one end down and the other angling upward. Set the stuffed animal on the lower end of the book or board.

Announce, "Let's watch Bunny go for a ride," and have your child hit the high end of the book with the child's hammer or mallet. (If you don't have one, have your baby use his or her fist.) Then watch your baby's face as the animal goes flying. Warning: Your baby will want to repeat this over and over.