There are times when you want a game that will occupy the children for a few minutes, and 'I spy...' has to be one of the best loved!  The game probably originated in the USA in the early 20th century, and its original form is:-

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with... [and the player names a letter]

Everyone else then has to guess what the object is.  You can play variants of this game with younger children who don't yet know their alphabet.  Here are our favorite variations:-

I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with... [followed by the sound of the start of the word, but not necessarily a letter, eg. 'Cl' for 'Clock']

...or colors:-

I spy, with my little eye, something that is... [followed by a color, eg. green, for a green tree]

...or sounds:-

I hear, with my little ear, something that goes... [and mimic a noise, eg. 'tick tock' for a clock]

This is a great little learning game that helps to learn colours, sounds or letters, and the kids love it!  It's great to keep kids entertained in confined spaces, such as on a journey, or in a restaurant, and it's fun to play with the whole family.  Do you play any other variants of 'I spy...' that you can share with everyone?

Babies can distinguish your voice even before they can focus and see you properly. It is remarkable that within three years of birth, they have begun to master language to the extent that they themselves can talk and converse in sentences. Babies and toddlers learn language simply by absorbing what is around them and by mimicking sounds. You may feel daft talking to your baby constantly, but it is so important to do so because they are constantly listening and learning. Make sure that you explain what you are doing and where you are going - they can understand much of what you say before they are able to communicate back. Talk with your babies and toddlers constantly while you undertake ToucanLearn activities with them, every little bit will help with their own mastering of language and communication.