Wh-Wren
WH- PROMPT
Wh-Wren Asks the Little Questions
In the Lap Nook, hopping busily along the arm of the reading chair, is Wh-Wren — a tiny, quick wren with a head full of questions. Wrens are small but mighty singers, and Wh-Wren’s favorite songs all begin the same little way: what, where, who, why, how.
Here is the trick, grown-up: on a page your child is enjoying, ask one small wh- question. “Where is the puppy going?” “Why is the girl smiling?” “How did the tower fall down?” These little words open big thinking.
A wh- question asks for more than a point — it asks your child to explain. And when a three-year-old says “The tower fell ’cause the cat bumped it!” — that’s reasoning, growing in your lap. Wh-Wren trills happily at every little answer.
Say it with Wh-Wren: “What and where and who and why — a little question, watch them try.”
No screen needed — just a page and a small wondering. One little wh- word can turn a quiet page into a chat. So hop like Wh-Wren, grown-up, and ask: what, where, who, why, how?
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up
For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.
Let them finish it
Say “What and where and who and why — a …” and stop. Let them finish it.
Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.
Circles together: 0
The LapTots ensemble
Wh-Wren is one of the friends in LapTots. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
