Six Finnish fliers to hunt down in a grid of letters

One of the six creatures on this sheet is not a bird at all. LEPAKKO, the bat, flies alongside HANHI the goose, ANKKA the duck, PÖLLÖ the owl and HAUKKA the hawk, and AMPIAINEN the wasp makes six. The pictures tell your child which creature is which; the grid hides the Finnish name of each one, running across or downwards. The job is to read the letters until a known word lines up, then ring it.

Recognising a written word on sight is the quiet skill underneath all early reading, and in a language your child is only beginning it has to be built one word at a time. Two of these repay a second look. PÖLLÖ carries a letter English does not use, and saying it — an "o" with rounded lips, twice over — helps your child hold on to its shape in the grid. AMPIAINEN is the long one; hunt for its opening letters and let the rest follow.

Print it before a nature walk, or leave it out with a pencil for a child who finishes early. Nothing is timed and nothing is scored, so the last two words can wait until tomorrow. When the sheet is done, ask which creature your child would rather meet. Naming the picture and saying HAUKKA aloud is enough for one afternoon.