Little Words

Chant Daily routine · bath

Splish Splash Bath Time

Attach words to a routine a child already knows by heart, with a splashy rhythm to move to.

9 lines7 turns for your child92 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 saysThe water is warm. Time for a bath!
  2. Buddy chantsSplish, splash, splish, splash!
  3. your childSay splash — four beats of quiet
  4. Buddy chantsSplish, splash, splish, splash!
  5. your childYour turn — four beats of quiet
  6. Buddy chantsBubbles, bubbles, pop pop pop!
  7. your childSay bubbles — four beats of quiet
  8. Buddy chantsSplish, splash, splish, splash!
  9. your childYour turn — four beats of quiet
  10. Buddy chantsRub the soap. Scrub, scrub, scrub!
  11. your childSay soap — four beats of quiet
  12. Buddy chantsHere's your towel. Warm and dry!
  13. your childSay towel — four beats of quiet
  14. Buddy chantsSplish, splash, all clean!
  15. your childSay all clean — four beats of quiet
  16. Buddy saysSqueaky clean and cosy. What a lovely bath!

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.

Attach words to a routine a child already knows by heart, with a splashy rhythm to move to.

  • 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.