Sound Hunt Walk
What you need
- a phone or speaker
How to do it
- Walk slowly round the house together, pausing in each room to listen.
- When you hear a sound (a tap dripping, a fridge humming, a door creaking), stop and copy it with your voice.
- Ask your toddler to try copying the sound back to you.
- Finish in the living room and play a short song on the phone or speaker to sing along to.
Why it matters
Listening for and naming everyday sounds sharpens a toddler's ear for the differences between sounds, which is the same skill they'll later use to pick out words in a sentence.
What they're learning
- sound discrimination
- Telling one household sound from another is the groundwork for hearing the small differences between spoken words.
- vocal imitation
- Copying a creak or a hum with their own voice practises the mouth control needed for early words.
- turn-taking
- Waiting for you to make a sound before copying it back builds the back-and-forth rhythm that real conversation runs on.
What to look for
Watch for them pausing and turning their head towards a sound before trying to copy it.
A tip
Pick a quiet time of day so household sounds (boiler, fridge, clock) actually stand out.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: Stick to two or three familiar rooms and sounds.
Harder: Go on a longer route and try to remember the sounds to repeat them at the end.
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