Learning

Language and literacy

Everyday talk, songs and books that grow your child's words and a love of stories.

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Compare the age ranges and time, then open a card for materials and instructions.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

When your baby makes a sound, look right at them and answer it back as if they had said something — because they did. Leave a gap, then reply again to whatever comes next.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

Hold your baby about a hand's length from your face, catch their gaze, and slowly stick out your tongue. Stay still and wait — it can take a long quiet minute before they answer.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

Tell your baby what comes next at every step — legs up, wipe, fresh diaper on — in an unhurried voice. Pause after each line and give them room to kick, gurgle, or answer.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

Settle your baby against you and read a few pages of whatever book is nearest — your novel counts. Let your voice go slow and low, and pause when they look up at you.

Age range: Under 6 months · 10 min

Put your baby in a carrier and do one small job you were going to do anyway — fold a towel, water a plant, sort a drawer. Say each step out loud as you go.

Age range: Under 6 months · 5 min

Pick one short song or nursery rhyme and sing it slowly while you hold or rock your baby. Sing the same one each day, and watch for the moment they start to quiet or look up when it begins.

Age range: Up to 2 years · 20 min

Push the stroller around the block and gently name each sound you hear together, from birdsong to passing cars.

Age range: Up to 2 years · 5 min

Settle your baby on your lap with a touch-and-feel book and guide their palm across the furry, shiny, and bumpy patches. Name each texture out loud and pause while they pat the page again.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 10 min

Carry your baby around the room and touch familiar things — cup, spoon, window — saying each name slowly and warmly. Pause so they can babble back to you.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 5 min

When your baby babbles, wait a beat and copy the sound straight back to them — \"ba-ba\", \"da-da\" — then leave a pause for their reply. Keep the back-and-forth going for as long as they stay interested.

Age range: 6 months–3 years · 10 min

Sit close with a picture book and gently guide your child's finger to point at a dog, a ball, or a baby as you name each one. Cheer every time they point along.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Choose a book with cars, trains, or weather. Make the sounds as you read, like a vroom, a choo-choo, or a whoosh of wind, and wait for your toddler to join in on the sound when it comes round again.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Slip a sturdy board book into your bag before you leave. When you wait in line, at an appointment, or on a bench, pull it out and look at one page together, then put it away when your toddler is done.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit in another room, out of sight but with a clear line between you, and call your toddler's name in a sing-song voice. When they find you, greet them and swap places so they can call you.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Open a board book with animals and point to a picture. Ask what sound it makes, make it yourself, and wait for your toddler to try. If they want to say the sound for every page, follow their lead.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Settle your toddler in your lap with a lift-the-flap board book and pause before each flap so they can lift it themselves. Name whatever is hiding underneath in a happy, surprised voice.

Age range: 1–3 years · 15 min

Print a few photos of people and pets your toddler knows, and tape one to each page of a card-stock or thin cardboard book. Look through it together and name each person or pet, pausing for your toddler to point.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Roll a toy car or truck and make its sound: brrm, beep beep, wee-oo. Pause and let your toddler have a go before you make the next sound.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Look at printed photos of family and friends together. Point to each face and say the name or role, like \"Grandma\" or \"Sam\", then ask \"Where is Grandma?\" and see if they point.

Age range: 1–2 years · 10 min

Give your toddler a sturdy cardboard box with flaps. Say \"open\" as you lift the flaps and \"shut\" as you close them, then hide a toy inside and say \"in\" as it goes in.

Age range: 1–2 years · 5 min

Say the rhyme and clap your hands together, then take your toddler's hands to clap with you. Stop before the last line and wait to see if they finish the clap.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Take off your toddler's socks and wiggle one toe at a time as you say This Little Piggy. Slow down before the last line, then run your fingers up to their tummy for \"wee, wee, wee, all the way home.\" Swap feet and go again.

Age range: 1–4 years · 5 min

During a diaper change or bath, touch your own nose and name it, then gently touch your toddler's. Work through ears, toes, and tummy, pausing each time so they can point along.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Bring a waterproof or plastic bath book into the bath. Look at it together and name what you see, then let your toddler splash it, squeeze it, or make it float.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit with your toddler facing you, holding both hands, and bounce your knees gently to a rhyme such as \"This is the way the lady rides.\" Slow down for a trot and speed up for a gallop, with a gentle dip at the end.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Sit facing your toddler with your feet together and hold their hands. Rock gently forward and back as you sing, and slow down or speed up so they can feel the change in the tune.

Age range: 1–2 years · 5 min

Let your toddler drop a soft toy or a scarf and say \"uh-oh!\" with a gentle surprise. Pick it up together and say \"up\". Let them drop it again if they want.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

Keep two or three board books near the changing spot. Hand your toddler one to hold, and talk about a picture on the page while you get through the change.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

When a game or meal finishes, say \"all done\" and turn both hands palm up, then palm down, a few times. Do it at the same moment each day, then wait a beat to see if your toddler copies it.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sing one verse at a time and add a motion to each: wheels going round, wipers swishing, babies crying. Repeat the verse your toddler likes best and leave a gap for them to fill in \"round and round\".

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Pick a short picture book with a rhythm and sing the words to a tune you know, like Twinkle Twinkle. Slow down on each page and let your toddler hum, clap, or sing a word along with you.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sit two children on either side of you on the sofa and read a short picture book with big pictures. Pause to let each child point to something they can see.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Open a board book with a baby, a bear, or an animal and say a body part, like nose or toes. Touch it on the page, then on your toddler, and invite them to touch their own before you turn the page.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

When your toddler is enjoying something like a song or a game, show the sign for more by tapping your fingertips together. Say the word as you do it, then do more of the activity right away.

Age range: 1–3 years · 15 min

Sit on a front step or by a garden fence, well back from the road, and wave at each bus, truck, or bicycle that passes. Name what goes by and make its sound together.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Hold a toy phone to your ear and say \"hello\", then pass it to your toddler. Listen to whatever they say back and answer as if it were a real chat. Pass the phone to a teddy for a turn too.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Read a rhyming board book and clap or stomp on each beat, slowly enough for your toddler to copy. Pause after a few lines, and let them pick a clap, a pat, or a stomp for the next page.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Ask your toddler to bring you one familiar thing, like their shoe or a ball, and say its name clearly. Make it easy at first with the object in sight, then try one more in another room. Thank them with a smile and a high five.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

After reading a book, tell your toddler the main character is hiding. Tuck a matching soft toy under a cushion or behind a chair while they watch, then search together and say the character's name when you find it.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Put a hand puppet on your hand and let it hold the book and turn the pages. Have the puppet say hello, point to a picture, and ask your toddler what they see.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

On a light rainy day, hold a large umbrella over you both and listen to the drops patter on top. Peek out to feel a single drop, then pull back under.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

At dusk or on a bright morning, step outside and point out the moon. Look at it together, say what shape it is today, and wave goodnight to it.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Open an animal book and, on each page, move like what you see, with a hop for the frog or a slow wobble for the penguin. Say the animal's name and invite your toddler to move with you before you turn the page.

Age range: 1–3 years · 5 min

When you ask a simple question like \"more?\", nod as you say yes or shake your head as you say no. Ask silly questions too, like \"is the dog a cat?\", and shake your heads together.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Put a few toy animals in a bag. Sing Old MacDonald, and let your toddler pull one out to choose the next verse. Make the animal's sound together.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Place a toy on top of a box and say \"on\", tuck it inside and say \"in\", then slide it underneath and say \"under\". Hand it to your toddler and ask where they want to put it.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Choose a short book about a daily routine, like bath, sleep, or brushing teeth. Read it, then do the matching activity together and point out what is the same in the book and in your day.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Push a toy car slowly and say \"slooow\" in a long voice, then push it quickly and say \"fast\". Let your toddler choose which to try next, and echo them.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Give your toddler two plastic cups at bath time. Fill one and say \"full\", then tip it out and say \"empty\". Let them fill and pour, and say the word that matches each time.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Push a toy car or walker along the floor saying \"go, go, go\", then halt it and say \"stop\". Let your toddler push it and take turns calling the words.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Put a firm floor cushion in a quiet corner with a basket of books beside it. Go there together for the last few pages before a nap or bed, so the corner becomes your calm, wind-down spot.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Pick a short tune and sing the same words every time toys go back: \"Tidy up, tidy up, toys go in the box.\" Hand your toddler one toy at a time to drop in.

Age range: 1–3 years · 10 min

Sing the song slowly and point to each body part as it comes up. Speed up the second time through, and let your toddler point along with you.

Age range: 1–4 years · 20 min

After reading a book about ducks, trees, buses, or birds, go for a short walk to spot the real thing. Point out what you see, say its name, and compare it to the picture on the page.

Age range: 1–4 years · 15 min

Lift your toddler onto your shoulders and hold their lower legs or ankles firmly. Point out what they can see from up high, like the top of a hedge or a bird on a roof, and let them choose where to walk next.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Open a picture book with no words, or cover the words on a familiar one. Point to what is happening on each page and tell it in short phrases, like the dog runs, the dog jumps, and pause for your toddler to point or answer.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

As you read a favorite book, whisper a page, then read the next one in a big, loud voice. Stop and ask your toddler which voice they want, and read the next page in the one they choose.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Choose a book with a phrase that repeats, like a refrain, and teach your toddler to say it with you. Over time, pause so they can say it alone, and clap or stomp at the same spot each time.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Put a little tear-free bubble bath on your hand and press it on your own chin as a beard. Pat a bubble beard on your toddler too, and let them dab bubbles on you. Name the places the bubbles land.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Pick one object, like a dog or a ball, and search for it on each page of a picture book. Ask your toddler to point when they spot it, then pick a new object for the next read.

Age range: 1–4 years · 10 min

Read a rhyming picture book and pause before the last word of a line, letting your toddler fill it in. If they are unsure, point to the picture that gives the clue and try again on the next page.

Age range: 2–3 years · 10 min

Put two items of clearly different colors in front of your toddler, like a red cup and a blue block. Ask for \"the red one\" and let them hand it over. Swap the pair now and then.

Age range: 2–4 years · 10 min

Pick a pair of opposites, like up and down, and act them out with your hands or whole body: reach high, crouch low. Swap roles so your toddler gives the instruction and you follow. Then try warm and cool with a metal spoon chilled in the fridge and a warm, not hot, washcloth.

Age range: 2–4 years · 10 min

Snuggle up and read a short picture book at bedtime, using a soft, sleepy voice for the characters. Invite your child to turn each page when they are ready.

Age range: 3–6 years · 15 min

After reading a well-loved book, act it out together — you be one character, your child another — using silly voices and big movements.

Age range: 3–6 years · 10 min

Pause on a page and ask one open question, like what is happening, why do you think she is sad, or how will he get down. Wait, then follow what your child says.

Age range: 3–6 years · 10 min

Ask your child to close their eyes, then make a familiar sound — crinkle paper, tap a spoon, jingle keys — and let them guess what it was.

Age range: 3–5 years · 10 min

After reading a well-loved book, close it and ask your child to tell you what happened in their own words. Fill in gently and warmly if they get stuck.

Age range: 4–6 years · 25 min

Fold a few sheets of paper into a little book and help your child draw a simple story, adding a word or two as they tell it to you.

Age range: 4–6 years · 15 min

Write a few uppercase letters twice on paper, cut them into cards, and help your child find the matching pairs. Say each letter's name together as they match.

Age range: 4–6 years · 10 min

Open a favorite book together and go on a hunt for the first letter of your child's name on the page. Celebrate warmly each one they find.

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