Children (3 - 5 years)

Sounds are everywhere! Sounds can be loud or soft, high or low, fast or slow, grumbly or smooth. Listening for sounds and tracking sounds will help build your child’s awareness for sounds in his environment.

Sound exploration can be done inside or outside—and anytime you’re together. Outside, when you are taking a walk, have your child become the “sound detective.” Together you can:

  • Play sound pattern games (stomp, clap, jump, etc.) to encourage physical movement and build math skills.
  • Track down a sound and follow it to its source to help build his listening and observing skills.
  • Or just walk quietly, listening to and appreciating outdoor sounds in all the different places you go together.

Inside you can read a book with sound words such as, Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!: A Sonic Adventure by Wynton Marsalis or Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Eric Carle. As you read together you can:

  • Act out the sound words in the story.
  • Make your voice loud and soft, high and low, grumbly and smooth.

Or you can just sit quietly and listen to the sounds around you so your child can become more familiar with, and feel more secure in, his own environment.

For media resources about sound, visit the Children's section on the site and click on "Unit 3: Stop and Listen".

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