Look, name, ask
Also available in Spanish. The app stops after two lessons a day and suggests something to do away from the screen.
These are the lines the lesson comes back to, and the ones a child actually remembers afterwards.
Look first. Then talk.
Give your name before you ask for theirs.
Use the name they gave you.
Twice is enough. Then go and be fine.
Meeting somebody new for the first time takes about ten seconds, and those ten seconds decide whether you end up playing together or standing there looking at the floor. There is a shape to it. Three things, in order. Once you know the shape you never have to wonder what to say first again.
You've looked at them and said "Hi, I'm Noah." What comes next?
Every lesson ends by handing the child something to do off the screen, and telling you what was taught so you can use the same words.
Try this today: Do all three with one person today, even somebody you already know. Look, say your name, ask theirs. Then say their name back once.
Then: Then tell a grown-up which of the three was hardest. It is almost always the asking.
Twenty-four narrated lessons for ages 4 to 9, in English and Spanish. No account, no sign-up, no ads, and nothing your child does in the app ever leaves the device — you can check that yourself with the network tab open. Open the lessons.