Listen in

Sharing the story

* Share the pull-out story 'Danny's Cat' with the children, giving them opportunities to predict what might happen next and to talk about their favourite parts of the story.

* As you read the story, encourage the children to experiment with their voices to reproduce some of the sounds that Danny's cat heard, such as 'Vroom' (car), 'buzzzzz' (bees) and 'creeeak' (fence).

* The children may also want to talk about their own cats. Ask them about any adventures their pets may have had. Think about other sounds that might be heard in the park, perhaps the wind rustling in the trees or an aeroplane flying overhead.

Listening activities

* Take groups of children on 'listening walks' around the local area. List the different sounds that you hear so that you can recreate the experience back in the setting. You might also want to make up your own cat story.

* Explain the focus of the story to parents and ask to draw their children's attention to different sounds, in shops, in the street, in the park or countryside.

* Encourage children to become more aware of sounds in the nursery and compile a group list of the noises. Where possible, tape the sounds and photograph the object making the noise to create a sound and picture-matching game. For example, record children laughing, water splashing, drums banging.

* Talk about the sounds that Danny's cat heard, which sounds he liked and which he disliked. Ask the children which sounds frighten them (for example, fireworks and thunder), which they like to hear (such as the ice-cream van's tune, waves at the seaside) and which they dislike, (for example, car alarms and dogs barking).

* Play hide and seek - with a difference. Give one child a bell and ask them to hide as the other children wait with you and count to 20. Ask the hiding child to ring the bell, and the other children to follow the sound to find them.

* Talk about animal sounds and encourage children to try to imitate these.

Sing songs such as 'Old MacDonald had a farm'.

Looking for signs

* In the story, Dare was able to find her way by heading for the clanging sound that Danny was making. Let the children explore different ways of retracing their steps. Set a trail of stones in the outdoor area and ask children to follow these to and from a 'destination'. Use sticks to make arrow signs. Encourage children to set trails for their friends to follow.

* Construct an 'obstacle course' with children using crates, tyres, planks, blocks and play tunnels to represent parts of the cat's journey. Encourage children to retell the story, making the sounds that the cat heard as they follow the course.

* Set up a roadway in the outdoor area with a pedestrian crossing.

Encourage children to use this in their role-play and to explore safe ways of crossing roads. Discuss the meaning of the red and green man and the 'beep beep' sound mentioned in the story. Finally, don't forget to reinforce the message that children should always cross roads with an adult.