I Spy, You Spy is a new CBeebies show that brings the much loved game to life.
Elsee, a lovable puppet, invites little ones to pause, look closely and enjoy the world around them through the fun of I Spy.
But did you know that's not the only benefit to this game?
Watch along with speech and language therapist Asma Khanum as Elsee helps children practise paying attention through games of I Spy.
Asma: Attention is a really important part of communication. Children who can focus are able to understand, join in, and learn from their environment. But the best thing? Attention isn't about being still.
Elsie: I spy with my little eye something beginning with rrr.
Chase: Pirate.
Elsie: A pirate? I don't see any pirates on the bus.
Chase: Can I please have a clue?
Elsie: It starts with Rrrr and it falls down from the sky!
Chase: Rain drop!
Elsie: Rrrr, rain drop! You got it!
Asma: As a parent, you might think your child has to sit still and make eye contact to show they're paying attention.
But as we've just seen with Chase, he's able to listen, hold the information in his mind and join in with Elsie, all whilst being on a moving bus. That's real focus!
Elsie: I hear, with my little ear, something that sounds like pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter.
Child 2: Rain!
Elsie: That's right!
Asma: So as we've just seen, children don't need to be still to pay attention.
They can be moving, wriggling, watching the world go by and still be tuned in.
Next time you play, let your child lead the way and attention will follow.
How I Spy can teach children to pay attention
I Spy is excellent for helping build your child's attention slills, particularly improving their ability to listen while in different places and situations.
It encourages children to think about the words they hear around them and stimulates their imagination as they focus on the task at hand.
The game tests their ability to follow instructions, which supports social development and learning.
- Read more about how you can play I Spy effectively with your children's learning.
Learning through listening
Learning to follow instructions is important as it sets the foundation for children's future learning.
It's important to remember that listening can look different in different people, so just because a child might not be looking, doesn't necessarily mean they aren't listening!
As well as testing children's observation, I Spy encourages children to listen out for what they should be paying attention to in their environment. They need to listen as they're set a task to find the right object.
Other games to help with learning phonics
Here are just a few activities on the CBeebies Parenting website that are designed to help with early phonics learning.
