For those times when the regular nighty-night routine seems a little ho-hum, try substituting your very own hand-animated bedtime story.

Appropriate for: 7 months to 1 year
Skills developed: Verbal, auditory
What you'll need: A flannel board, available from educational toy stores and catalogs; sheets of colored felt and scissors or purchased felt shapes. You can use traditional store-bought felt shapes, which usually come in themed sets (farm animals, numbers, faces) or make your own by cutting them out with scissors. Stick with larger shapes, as you don't want your baby to put small pieces in his or her mouth.

Sit facing your baby with the felt board propped on your knees so it's clearly visible. Tell your story – any story, really; don't feel you have to be a master narrator – illustrating the major points with the felt shapes. Move characters on and off the board if it's appropriate to the tale.

If your baby seems more interested in chewing on the felt pieces than in listening to your story, save the board for another time. And when your child is much older, it's fun – and very revealing – to have him tell you a felt-board bedtime story.