Human babies and animal babies talk to each other at UMaine’s Witter Farm

Literacy Witter Farm

The Language and Literacy Play Partners program recently went to UMaine’s Witter Farm to meet the animals and build language for the babies in the group. Parents and their babies met at the farm to explore the setting, talk about what they were seeing and build concepts for their developing babies.

Babies from both species interacted and though neither talked to each others in words, they can definitely communicate with each other by “body language.” Being around live animals is completely different from looking at their pictures in books. The families enjoyed an opportunity for the human babies to learn about animals by touching, smelling, and hearing them first-hand. Stimulating natural senses is very important for children’s language and emotional development.  These ideas will be extended in the play groups in upcoming weeks through play, stories and songs.