In this activity, your child will use listening skills to find a hidden object by orienting to its sound.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Math
MATERIALS
- Clock with a timer or chime, or a small toy that can make a continuous noise
LET'S PLAY
Introduce the child to the game by saying, “Today we are going to listen carefully to find something using just our ears.” While the child closes his eyes or waits in another room, hide the clock/timer somewhere in the room.
When the object has been hidden, the child will find it by listening for it. The child can point in the direction the sound is coming from. Encourage your child to describe where he thinks the object is hidden, for example “under the table”, “behind the couch”, “on the shelf”, “inside the shoe”, or “beside the bed”.
In addition to fine tuning listening skills, your child will be practicing how to use positional or location words (on, under, above, below, behind, in front of, inside, etc.) to describe the location of objects. After describing where he thinks the object is hidden, then he can try to find it!
TIPS
- Watch out for “peeking” while you’re hiding the clock or toy! Remind your child that this game is just about using his ears to find the sound.
- This game can get progressively more difficult by hiding the clock in more difficult locations or by making the volume lower.
- A variation of the game is to have your child sit with his eyes closed. Then shake keys or a noisy toy in different places around the child, and the child can use directional words to describe where the sound is coming from, (“above my head,” “below my chin,” “on my left”).