Clues for Happy and Sad
Clues for Happy and Sad
Use “may” for emotion clues and accept the child's own feeling. 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 “The child smiles. The child may feel happy.” and “The child cries. The child may feel sad.” in natural descriptions.
- Understanding: People may show feelings in different ways.
- English: understand two short descriptions with picture support, without repeating.
- Quantity: the adult points one-to-one through one duck, two cats, and three cars, 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.
Two children are shown smiling with open arms and looking down with tears while an adult stays nearby. Say slowly, “孩子在笑。孩子可能很开心。” and “孩子在哭。孩子可能很难过。” 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. The child smiles. The child may feel happy. The child cries. The child may feel sad. One duck. Two cats. Three cars. 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 |
|---|---|---|
The child smiles. The child may feel happy. | 孩子在笑。孩子可能很开心。 | Look, point, make a sound, or say one word |
The child cries. The child may feel sad. | 孩子在哭。孩子可能很难过。 | Listen quietly, pause, or decline |
3. Early Quantity: 1, 2, 3
Time: 3–5 minutes.
Use only the three separate bottom boxes: one duck, two cats, and three cars. 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
People may show feelings in different ways. 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 “The child smiles. The child may feel happy.” and “The child cries. The child may feel sad.” 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.