Wombat's Peekaboo
Looking and finding, for two- and three-year-olds: who's hiding behind the bush?
How it plays
For the youngest players, and the first game in Tiny Steps. An animal hides behind a bush, a rock or a box. Tap where they are and up they pop: "Peekaboo! There's Koala!" Tap somewhere empty and it wiggles, and Ruby Roo says to look somewhere else. Nothing is ever wrong and there's nothing to read. At first their ears peek over the top; later they hide right down.
What it's for
Looking and finding, for two- and three-year-olds: who's hiding behind the bush?. It adapts as your child plays: after a few rounds that go well it steps up a little, and after a couple of hard ones it quietly steps back. The level number only ever goes up.
There is no score to lose and no way to fail. A wrong move is met with a gentle nudge, and a level ends when it's won.
Away from the screen: Peekaboo under the blanket
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- Hide a favourite toy under a tea towel, with a little bit showing.
- Ask "Where's Teddy?" and let your child pull the towel away. "Peekaboo!"
- Swap: your child hides the toy (or themselves) and you find it.
Three questions to ask while they play
- Where's Koala?
- Can you see her ears?
- Who's hiding now?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Where's Koala? Can you find her?
- Peekaboo! There she is!
- Can you see her ears peeking out?
Taking turns on one device: You ask 'Where's…?', they tap. Then they hide their eyes and you say 'Peekaboo!'
Talk-about cards: a question a day for a week, for the car or the dinner table. Print them, or read them from your phone.
If they find it hard
Peekaboo is how babies and toddlers learn that things still exist when they can't see them. Let them find it again and again: the repeat is the fun. Or try Koala's Calm-Down first: slow breathing with Koala, with nothing to find.
A sheet to print
Print the Wombat's Peekaboo sheet
One A4 page, in black and white or colour.
From two to eight
Tiny Steps: made for two- and three-year-olds too. With Tiny Steps on, it stays on its gentlest level, a not-yet tap is never counted, and there's nothing to read.
Switch Tiny Steps or Big Steps on in Who's playing?, on the grown-ups' page.
What it practises
- Looking and finding. For two- and three-year-olds: looking for something hidden, and knowing it's still there when you can only see a bit of it.
EYLF 4.2 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Wombat's Peekaboo lives in The Cosy Burrow — feelings, calm and my body. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated