Play Tips
Children learn so much just by
Level 1
Talk to your baby about what you see on the screen, pointing to objects, naming them, and describing them. “See the ball? The round ball is blue!” Describe the actions, and enjoy the silly surprises. They help develop your baby’s sense of humor! A few more ideas:
•Take turns spinning the roller drum.
•Encourage baby to bounce on the pony to see what happens next on the screen.
•Clap your hands to the music.
•Add words to the music and sing them to your baby.
Level 2
Encourage your toddler to point to what appears on the screen as you identify and name the objects. Seeing objects and hearing their names, or see- ing and hearing letters together helps your toddler make associations. Extend the learning to colors and shapes as you point to objects on the screen. You can also count along as animals and objects appear, or describe the action on screen. “The ball bounced high!” Enjoy all the rich music together, too.
•Tap to the beat of the music with your toddler.
•Sing along with the songs and encourage your child to sing too!
•Repeat what is spoken to reinforce those words.
•Ask your child to imitate the sounds the animals make. “What does the monkey say?”
•Talk about what you and your child see on the screen, describing objects and actions.
Level 3
At this point your child may be interested in learning things that are more complex, such as comparisons in size, shape, or speed (fast vs. slow). Sing along with the music to encourage rhythm and language development. Laugh and giggle at the silly sur- prises, drawing out your toddler’s sense of humor. Make the most of learning opportunities while encouraging physical activity. Most of all, have fun!
•Encourage your child to keep bouncing to get to a fun response. “Whee! You made the pony jump the fence!”
•Ask your child to explain what the characters are doing.
•Help your child make comparisons. “The penguin is small; what about the elephant?”
•Encourage your child to count objects on the screen to foster understanding of numbers.
•Ask your child to choose which learning location to go to next and encourage your child to press the arrow buttons on the pony.
18
