Little Words

Chant F and V sounds (lip and teeth)

Fish, Fan and Van

Rest the top teeth on the bottom lip for /f/, then turn the voice on for /v/.

9 lines7 turns for your child86 beats a minute4 tappable picture words

All the words

Print this, or read it yourself. The blank lines are the point: that is where you stop and wait.

  1. Buddy saysBite your lip, just a little. Now blow. Fff!
  2. Buddy chantsFff. Fff. Fish goes fff.
  3. your childBlow the fff sound — four beats of quiet
  4. Buddy chantsFff. Fff. Fish goes fff.
  5. your childYour turn — four beats of quiet
  6. Buddy chantsFan. Fan. A fast fan, fff.
  7. your childSay fan — four beats of quiet
  8. Buddy chantsFoot. Foot. One funny foot, fff.
  9. your childSay foot — four beats of quiet
  10. Buddy chantsNow turn your voice on. Vvv!
  11. your childBuzz the vvv sound — four beats of quiet
  12. Buddy chantsVan. Van. The van goes vvv.
  13. your childSay van — four beats of quiet
  14. Buddy chantsFff and vvv. Fish and van.
  15. your childOne more time — four beats of quiet
  16. Buddy saysDid you feel your throat buzz? That was the vvv!

Why a chant and not a song

Buddy’s voice here is her real recorded voice — the same one she uses everywhere else in Little Words. She chants rather than sings, on a steady beat, over a music-box tune. That is a deliberate choice: a rhythmic, slowed, highly predictable pattern is what lets a child anticipate what is coming and arrive on it, and a synthetic singing voice would have cost us the one thing that makes Buddy feel like a friend.

This one works on F/V. Rest the top teeth on the bottom lip for /f/, then turn the voice on for /v/.

  • The gap is the work. Buddy chants a line, then stops for four beats. In “Buddy and me” that gap stays silent — no filler, no rush — so the turn genuinely belongs to your child.
  • Repetition is the feature. Repeat is on by default. Most children need many passes before they join in, and the second or third time round is usually when it happens.
  • Slower on request. The turtle button drops the tempo and swaps in a bed recorded at that slower tempo, so the beat is still a real beat to move to.
  • Nothing is marked right or wrong. Buddy reacts warmly to anything she hears and says nothing at all about a quiet turn. Listening is taking part.