When my eldest was little, the instructor in his baby music class always encouraged the kids to echo syllables into a toy microphone, as in “ba ba ba” or “la la la”. Inevitably it took forever to go around the circle, and inevitably the kids clammed up when it was their turn, rendering the whole thing a big waste of time.

But the activity is not without its merits; the idea is to encourage mimicking, work on learning favorite sounds (like animal noises), and building the muscles needed for language development. I had a hunch that the privacy of the home would be a better spot for this activity, so today, Veronika was the star of the show!

I made a big deal of it to set the scene, of course. “Announcing, today’s performer, Miss Veronika!” She looked so pleased with the microphone in her hand.

I started out with syllables. “Ba ba ba,” I said. She did it right back!

“Ma ma ma.” She echoed me again! I knew she was really in to it when she went three for three, using “la la la” on the third round.

Then we got into animal sounds. Here’s quick clip including a “meow” for one of her favorite animals.

I stepped away for a quick chore, and returned a few minutes later to find her humming into the microphone.

Surely it will be no time at all before she’s belting out tunes into the mic. A little performer indeed!