Play with Sounds, Songs and Rhymes.

 

Baby Tips 

• Rhymes, especially nursery rhymes, help babies learn sounds.
• Songs have different notes for each syllable, which helps babies hear all the sounds in words. Sing throughout the day—while diapering or bathing your baby and making meals.
• Gently bounce your baby as you sing and rhyme. 
• Read stories and sing songs that allow your child to hear and make animal sounds. 
• Babbling with babies encourages them to make and explore new sounds. 

 

Toddler Tips

• Read books with lots of rhymes and recite nursery rhymes.
• Have fun making animal sounds. 
• Dance while you sing with your toddler. 
• Play with silly nonsense words—cat, sat, rat, nat, zat...
• Clap the syllables of your toddler's name. When they become good at this, do the same with names of siblings, pets and friends.

 

Preschool Tips

• Read books with the words that have the same beginning sounds like Silly Sally by Audrey Wood.
• Play "I Spy" by looking at an object and thinking of a word that rhymes with it: "I spy something black that rhymes with sat. What is it?" "CAT!"
• Sing songs and dance, clap, hop and skip to music with your preschooler. 
• Have fun reading books that rhyme. Then make up your own rhymes!