Introduction: Our next activity is with animals and what they are called. Baby animals are often called something different from the adult animal. This activity helps your children learn these words.[Put up adult and baby animal figures as you say their names, having children repeat them with you. If you like you can pass out the baby animals to each child. You put up the adult animal and the child puts up the matching baby animal as you say the name of it. Have children repeat the words for both adult and baby animals. Encourage adult to help if needed.]
Early Literacy Aside--Example: Saying the words for both the adult and baby animals helps to develop your children’s vocabulary.
Early Literacy Aside--Empower: Today you saw how we can expand children's vocabulary by giving specific names to things. We did it with animals. You can do the same with the vehicles you see all around you. If your child is calling everything that goes a car, you can say, yes, that’s a car, that’s an SUV, that’s a van, that’s a pick-up truck, and so forth. Even if they can’t say all these words, hearing you say them is how they begin to learn these words. You can also add description, like that shiny yellow car with silver hubcaps. These little things you do throughout the day in enjoyable ways all build your child's vocabulary which later helps them understand what they read.

Baby Animals