Nursery World - Activities for listening

Part of a parent's or carer's role is to make sure that activities are at the appropriate level for an individual child. Each baby or toddler will develop at their own rate, so take care that they are neither under-stimulated nor over-challenged. Experimenting, exploring, creating and communicating through the activity is more important than expecting the children to achieve an end goal - for example, correctly guessing the animals in 'Animal sounds' below.

Experimenting, exploring, creating and communicating through the activity is more important than expecting the children to achieve an end goal - for example, correctly guessing the animals in 'Animal sounds' below.

Animal sounds

* Gather some soft toy animals or plastic animals that make familiar sounds. Place them into a box covered with animal print, if possible.

* Sit on the floor with one or two young children and explain that you have a selection of animals inside. Open the box and let them explore, encouraging them to name the animals and make their sound.

* Invite them to place the animals back in the box and put the lid on. Then challenge them to guess what animal you will take out. Make that animal's sound as a clue.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included