12+ months

• Let your child explore the toy and find out which features move and make a sound - if necessary assist and show them all the moving, clicking parts.
• Ask your child simple questions such as 'can you make the head move?'
• Show them pictures/photos of animals in books and encourage them to recognise the similar features of image and toy.
• Talk about the animal in terms of size, colour, sounds they make and features they have such as mane, tail, hooves, claws, ears, etc.
• Encourage your child to imitate any sounds the animals might make
• Introduce your child to rhymes and songs that feature the animals.
• Encourage imaginative play in combination with other items from the First Friends collection.



18+ months

• Introduce vocabulary such as ‘sitting’ ‘running’ ‘roaring’ ‘mooing’ etc according to the different actions and sounds the animals can demonstrate as you play together.
• Talk about where you might see the animals - eg on a farm, in a zoo, in the wild etc
• Talk about what the animals might eat - eg 'the giraffe likes to munch on leaves from a tall tree'
• Compare the toy animals with their real life counter-parts in books, on the television or in real life. Show your child the similarities - eg, 'the elephant has big ears, just like your First Friends elephant'
• Compare the animal's features and abilities to your own or that of your child e.g. ‘Can Mummy run as fast as the cheetah?’, ‘do you have as many teeth as the crocodile?’, ‘who has bigger ears, you or an elephant?’
• Ask your child if he or she has a favourite animal and find out what he or she likes about that animal. Encourage your child to talk about the animal's different features and abilities
• Encourage lots of pretend play with the animals, letting your child take the lead, but assisting with ideas if necessary.

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