Familiar Words at Home
Familiar Words at Home
Begin with familiar picture words; the adult describes without quizzing. The aim is connection and response, not a performance task.
Today's Approach
Amara is about 1 year 9–10 months old. Keep each activity to 3–8 minutes. Looking, pointing, making a sound or saying one word, staying quiet, pausing, or declining all count. Use only the poster and audio; do not require objects, answers, repetition, performance, touch, or eye contact.
A4 Teaching Picture
Open the teaching picture to download or print
Goals
- Communication: hear and see “This is the door. The door is open.” and “This is the bed. The room is quiet.” in natural descriptions.
- Understanding: Familiar nouns can connect with daily experience.
- English: understand two short descriptions with picture support, without repeating.
- Quantity: the adult points one-to-one through one cup, two books, and three hats, without requiring an answer.
Materials
- Only the A4 teaching picture above, printed or displayed full-screen.
- The English audio below at a comfortable volume.
- No cards, toys, food, containers, or any other physical objects are needed.
1. Chinese Picture Talk
Time: 5–8 minutes.
A warm room picture clearly highlights a door, a bed, and a lamp. Say slowly, “这是门。门开着。” and “这是床。房间很安静。” once each, then pause to notice what Amara actually attends to.
Amara may look anywhere, point, make a sound, say one word, stay quiet, pause, or decline. Do not ask “What is this?” or “Who is doing it?” Do not correct, score, or request a retelling.
2. English Time
Time: 3–5 minutes.
Download today's English audio
Transcript: English time. Listen, look, or point. This is the door. The door is open. This is the bed. The room is quiet. One cup. Two books. Three hats. All done.
Play it once. The adult may gently point to the matching picture as the audio plays. Repetition, movement, and looking at the adult are not tasks.
| English | Chinese | Possible response |
|---|---|---|
This is the door. The door is open. | 这是门。门开着。 | Look, point, make a sound, or say one word |
This is the bed. The room is quiet. | 这是床。房间很安静。 | Listen quietly, pause, or decline |
3. Early Quantity: 1, 2, 3
Time: 3–5 minutes.
Use only the three separate bottom boxes: one cup, two books, and three hats. The adult moves one fingertip one-to-one and says “one, two, three” once. Do not count the main picture, words, or border, and do not ask Amara to identify numerals.
4. Adult Response and Boundaries
Time: 3–5 minutes.
The adult can say, “I noticed your signal.” Describe the place Amara looks toward. If she turns away, pushes the screen, becomes quiet, or says no, respond promptly: “You want to pause. We will stop.”
Safety and Development Note
Familiar nouns can connect with daily experience. The poster and audio support shared looking only; they never replace real supervision. Adults are responsible for real safety, hygiene, feeding, body care, and necessary boundaries. Do not use quizzes, correction, rewards, scores, forced repetition, or comparison.
Gentle Bedtime Recall
Time: 3–5 minutes.
Say “This is the door. The door is open.” and “This is the bed. The room is quiet.” once, then point through the bottom groups of one, two, and three. Looking, pointing, a sound, one word, quiet, pausing, or declining may all end today's recall.