My First Sentences

Between ages 1½ and 3 children begin to make simple sentences. This is a more complex type of learning than new vocabulary words: instead of simply learning new "labels" by heart, children must understand the rules governing how we combine words. For example, we can say "Mommy is eating" but not "Eating is mommy."

My First Sentences was specially designed to help children make their first complete sentences. The game is based on two accepted principles:

• Children learn new words through repeated exposure. This means that when children hear "The cat is eating. The dog is eating. The rabbit is eating." and so on, they will eventually learn the meaning of the verb "to eat."
• Children learn the rules of language by being exposed to a range of examples. If they often hear "the girl is running", they will learn a single sentence by rote. But if they hear "The girl is running. The boy is running. Mommy is running. Daddy is running." and so on, they will figure out how to make a sentence with the verb "run."

As part of My First Sentences, children also build simple puzzles, which encourages cognitive development and improves fine motor skills.