Talking about a program on CBeebies and watching TV with adult  is a good way for children to develop speaking and listening skills.

Watch the clip below together. (Tell your child to watch carefully as you will have a quiz at the end).

Pause and talk about what you have just seen to secure understanding.

At the end of the clip, ask your child a few simple questions:

• What colour was the little girls jacket?
• Where did she go to dance?
• Who took her to the parade?
• What made the very loud noise and made the little girl jump?

Challenge- Can your child ask you a question about Chinese New Year?

Exploring sounds is good for developing skills for learning phonics.

In school, we will be exploring the sounds of different instruments.

At home, you could explore the sounds of different objects, eg.

• a bunch of keys (tambourine),
• uncooked rice/ pasta in an empty bottle (shaker),
• 2 metal spoons to tap together (castanets),
• an empty box or plastic tub (to bang like a drum).

Listening Game

Collect 2 sets of the objects described above.

Hide 1 set of these objects behind a box/screen so that children cannot see them.

Place the other set of objects in front of the child.

Tell your child to listen carefully and make a sound with 1 of the sound-makers (DO NOT show your child).

Can your child point to the matching sound-maker in the group they can see?

Children learn rhythm and rhyme when singing simple songs and nursery rhymes. It is good to practice rhymes we know well: