This week we will be continuing to encourage careful listening and develop children's listening skills. 

Listening Game 1

Giving children clear, simple instructions eg. "go and get your shoes/ socks/ toy car/ book" etc. will help children to listen carefully.

• If children struggle, repeat the instruction slowly (please resist doing it for them!)
• If they can easily follow a simple instruction, make it more difficult by extending the instruction, eg."get your teddy bear and put it on the table/ stairs/ chair".
• You can make the game even more challenging by using positional language, eg. under the chair/ next to the TV/ behind the cushion

Listening Game 2:

Tell your child you are going to pretend you are a robot and they must listen to your robot voice.

• Place a plain coloured piece of fabric or towel (to focus their attention) on the floor.
• Place a small number of objects on top eg. a bag, a fork, cup, a sock, a hat, a brush. 
• Name the objects as you place them.
• Use your robot voice and say, "Pick up the    b----a-----g.        Pause.     Repeat, "b--a--g.  Repeat, "b--a--g. Continue to repeat, saying the sounds closer together until you are almost saying the word, 'b-a-g'.
• Encourage your child to say it with you so that they can blend the sounds together to say the word.
• Replace the bag on the blanket and repeat for the other objects.

Challenge- Ask your child to use a robot voice to give you instructions to pick up items from the collection.

You could use your robot voice at other times in the day. eg,

• "would you like a dr-in-k?",
• "it's time for a b--a--th",
• "let's read your b--oo--k".

This week, ask your child to be a storyteller. Fold a piece of paper in half to make a little book and write the words as your child says them.

Use the story-map below to help your child to remember the sequence of the story:

The top line represents the repeated phrase:

"We're going on a bear hunt"  (eyes looking)

"We're going to catch a big one"   (drawing of a big bear)

"What a beautiful day"  (sunshine)

"We're not scared" (shaking child, crossed out as NOT SCARED).

The wavy line/ path is the sequence of the story ie. starting at home, then through the grass, next the river, then the mud etc...all the way to the cave and the BIG BEAR!

Don't forget to run back through the different places and snuggle in bed at home at the end.