Cywion Bach – tips for parents and guardians

Cywion Bach is a series to watch with your little ones, allowing you to learn and practise Welsh alongside them. Each episode focuses on teaching a single word in various ways and places the children right at the centre of the action.

We hope these resources will help you use the Cywion Bach words with your children and incorporate them into your daily lives.

Watch the whole series on Cyw’s Youtube channel!

These are the words that are introduced in the Cywion Bach programmes.

Drwm (drum), bws (bus), deinosor (dinosaur), brwsh (brush), beic (bike), pysgodyn (fish), oren (orange), esgidiau (shoes), mwnci (monkey), seren (star), cacen (cake), sbectol (glasses)

Click on each word to listen to its pronunciation.

You will notice, as you watch the programmes, that these words and the ones around them are sometimes slightly different (for example it might sometimes be “cacen” but also “y gacen”).

This is a special aspect of Welsh called “mutation”. You’ll soon get used to this, but for now it’s just enough to know that it’s supposed to be like that (it isn’t a mistake).

Keep watching the programme with your little one(s), and you will get used to the sounds. Then, if you start attending Welsh classes, you can learn why and when they change. For now, it doesn’t matter if you say the ‘wrong’ one!

Try out the new words

Here are some sentences you can try with your child(ren) using the Cywion Bach words. Once you’re familiar with them, perhaps you could use them with other words you learn through the programmes?

Each of the Cywion Bach programmes follows the same pattern. You can use this sheet to get to know the songs and rhymes it uses each time, as well as their meanings.

Our partner organisation Mudiad Meithrin offers a wide range of opportunities and resources to help new parents, and they are particularly welcoming to parents who are new to Welsh. Here are some of the things they offer:

• Clwb Cwtsh are fun sessions offering parents and carers the opportunity to start out on their Welsh-language journeys, online and for free!

• Cymraeg i Blant (Cymraeg for Kids) supports parents from pregnancy onwards, and the sessions offer a chance to meet other parents, attend useful online information sessions, take part in activities like baby yoga and baby massage, and also start to use Welsh as a family.

• The Cylch Ti a Fi (baby and toddler group) is an opportunity for children (aged 0–2, but all kids are welcome) to start playing with friends, and for parents and care-givers to meet up over a cuppa. The Cylch Ti a Fi is a welcoming safe space where children can enjoy Welsh stories and a bit of singing!

The vast majority of parents attending Mudiad Meithrin groups do not speak Welsh.

If you’d like to learn some more Welsh, go to www.s4c.cymru/learnwelsh for tips on getting started.