Ten words to use this week
cow goat elephant tiger calf puppy nest wild farm tail
Use them in your home language first. A word heard twenty times in real moments — at the sink, on the road, at dinner — sticks far better than a word drilled twenty times in a row. You do not need to teach; you only need to talk.
Three things to say
- "Does a cow live in a nest?" Silly wrong questions get better language than right ones.
- "Which is bigger, a goat or a horse?" Comparing is early maths.
- "Walk like an elephant to the bathroom." Animal walks solve many transitions.
This week on the site
Golu's Day picks from these automatically, one short session a day. If you would rather choose yourself, here is everything for the week.
Picture books (7)
- The cow says moo
- The little goat is lost
- The elephant takes a bath
- Where do animals live?
- Baby animals
- Monkey wants a banana
- The slow tortoise wins
Songs to sing (7)
- What Does the Cow Say?
- Walking in the Jungle
- Where Is My Mummy?
- Morning on the Farm
- The Elephant Goes Walking
- Who Lives Here?
- Little Ducks in a Row
Games (7)
- Animals name
- Animal sounds
- Domestic animals name
- Animals and their babies
- Wild animals name
- Animals and their homes
- Feed the animals game
Off the screen (1)
The part that matters most. One of these in the week is plenty.
The same theme at different ages
A two-year-old is collecting names: point, say the word, wait, and celebrate any attempt to say it back. A three- to four-year-old is ready to sort and compare — which is bigger, which go together, which one does not belong. A five- to six-year-old wants reasons: ask "why do you think…?" and "what would happen if…?", and let them explain it to a younger child or a grandparent. If you have two children at different ages, the older one teaching the younger is the best lesson either will get this week.
A simple rhythm for the week
You do not need a timetable, but a loose shape helps on tired days. Here is one that fits around school and work; move anything anywhere.
- Day 1 — open the theme. Read The cow says moo together, twice. The second reading is where the words go in.
- Day 2 and 3 — play. Let Golu's Day choose, or pick a game from the list above. Fifteen minutes, then stop while it is still fun.
- Day 4 — sing and move. Learn What Does the Cow Say? well enough to sing it without the screen — in the bath, on the stairs, in the car.
- Day 5 — hands. Try paper bag animal. Expect mess; mess is the lesson working.
- Weekend — the real world. Try ten minutes of animal-spotting outdoors: dogs, cows, crows, squirrels, ants — count how many kinds you find. This is the day the week's words stop being screen words.
- Last day — tell it back. Ask your child to tell someone what they did this week. Retelling is how short-term memory becomes long-term, and it costs nothing.
Missed three days? Nothing is lost. The themes come round again, and a relaxed week with two good conversations beats a full one done through gritted teeth.
What to notice
Does your child make animal sounds on request (from about eighteen months), name ten animals (around three), and sort them — farm or jungle, big or small — by four or five?
These are things to notice, not things to test. Children develop in bursts and at very different speeds, and a skill that is missing this month often appears overnight the next. If a worry stays with you for a few months, that is reason enough to mention it to your child's doctor or teacher.
If this week is hard
Some children are genuinely afraid of dogs or insects. Pictures and toys first, real animals from a distance, never forced. Fear of animals at this age is common and usually fades.
The other weeks
This is week 3 of twelve in the weekly plan for parents. The weeks run in a loop and each age band meets different games inside the same theme, so the second time round — three months later — your child is doing harder things with familiar words. Next week: Colours and shapes.
Now do it for real
When the screen goes off, do something with your hands. Try 🧲 Magnet hunt — an easy science experiment for ages 4-6, with every step read aloud in your language. You will need a fridge magnet, ten safe things from around the house; nothing that needs a trip to a shop.
There are 56 more on the things to do at home page, and free printable worksheets if you would rather have something on paper. Ten minutes on a screen and twenty minutes off it is a good shape for a day at this age.
Parents also look for
- Days of the week in hindi
- What should a 2 year old know
- Water animals name in english
- First words for baby app
- Preschool curriculum for 3 year olds
- Early childhood education for parents