Little Words

Chant Daily routine · mealtime

Yum Yum, Time to Eat

Request and comment at the table — the highest-value words a young child can own.

9 lines7 turns for your child96 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 table is ready. Are you hungry?
  2. Buddy chantsYum, yum, yum. Time to eat!
  3. your childSay yum — four beats of quiet
  4. Buddy chantsYum, yum, yum. Time to eat!
  5. your childYour turn — four beats of quiet
  6. Buddy chantsCrunchy apple. Munch, munch, munch!
  7. your childSay apple — four beats of quiet
  8. Buddy chantsYum, yum, yum. Time to eat!
  9. your childYour turn — four beats of quiet
  10. Buddy chantsCold milk in a cup. Glug, glug!
  11. your childSay milk — four beats of quiet
  12. Buddy chantsWant some more? Say more, please!
  13. your childSay more — four beats of quiet
  14. Buddy chantsYum, yum, yum. All done!
  15. your childSay all done — four beats of quiet
  16. Buddy saysMmm, that was tasty. Thank you for eating with me!

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.

Request and comment at the table — the highest-value words a young child can own.

  • 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.