День 12 из 37: Ёж в ящике!
📚 Слова́ дня · Words of the day: 7 – я, моя́, пра́вая, ле́вая, я́блоко, я́щик, ёж.
🔤 Бу́квы дня · Letters of the day: 3 – Я Ю Ё. Я looks like a back-to-front R; Ё wears two dots!
⏱ Part 1 = 15 minutes – everybody finishes it. Part 2 = more, only if you want. · 🗺️ All days
Stand up! Yesterday's homework: a flower – «Вот цвето́к! Ско́лько сто́ит? – Сто рубле́й!» 🌼 – then a circle round your face: «Вот лицо́!» 🙂
You remembered it – that is your first win today. Today a box, apples – and somebody prickly. 🦔
- Don't read anything yet. Listen: «Я – Ната́ша» – you heard it on День 1. Today you will read it! 👂
- Listen to the cats: «Моё! Моё!» – whose apple is it in the end? 🍏
- Who does the hedgehog go to – Slinky or Scuffles? And why? 😊
- Tap the words above to hear them.
Say every word aloud and show it – the gesture is under the picture. The movement falls on the loud syllable: Я́-бло-ко – polish an apple on your sleeve; ЁЖ – curl up round, fingers up like spines!
Tap the word to hear it. Tap the picture to open the word in the dictionary.
🙋 Me and my hands:
📦 On the table:
- я and моя́: for «я» point one finger at yourself; for «моя́» lay your whole hand on your chest (like «мой» on День 8). ✋
- пра́вая рука́, ле́вая рука́, моя́ рука́ – рука́ is an «она́» word, so all of them end in -ая / -я. Just copy it. 😊
- Ё is always the loud syllable: ЁЖ, мёд, моё, ковёр. 🦔
- Э́то я́блоко ёжика! – the little hedgehog's apple: ёж + little -ик = ёжик. 🍏
- Я – ya as in yard: Я, Я́БЛОКО, Я́ЩИК. It looks like a back-to-front R – but it is not R! 🙃
- Ю – yu as in you: Ю́БКА (a skirt), КЛЮЧ (a key). A line and a ring – like a stick and a hoop. 🔑
- Ё – yo as in yonder: ЁЖ, МЁД, МОЁ. Е with two dots – the dots tell you «yo», and they always mark the loud syllable. 🦔
- Small letters: я ю ё – the same shapes, only smaller.
- Now you know thirty-one letters: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л Д Б П Г З Ф Ы Й Х Ж Ч Ш Щ Ц Э Я Ю Ё – only two to go! Read today's words: Я, МОЯ́, ПРА́ВАЯ, ЛЕ́ВАЯ, Я́БЛОКО, Я́ЩИК, ЁЖ – all of them! And something you heard on День 1: Я – НАТА́ША! 🎉
- ✍️ Пиши́те! Write them by hand: Я · Ю · Ё – how each letter is written, and a sheet to print.
👂 Listen first. Then read it – today you can read every word! 🐾
- Ната́ша: Вот моя́ пра́вая рука́. Вот моя́ ле́вая рука́. ✋
Сли́нки: Моя́ пра́вая ла́па! Моя́ ле́вая ла́па! — Ната́ша: Да! Так!
Ска́ффлз: Мой пра́вый ла́па! — Ната́ша: Нет! Моя́ пра́вая ла́па. Ла́па – она́! — Ска́ффлз: Р-р-р…- Ри́чард 👋: А я? Моя́ пра́вая нога́ – вот! Моя́ ле́вая нога́ – вот! — Ната́ша: Ри́чард – молоде́ц!
And you? Lift your hands: «Моя́ пра́вая рука́! Моя́ ле́вая рука́!» – aloud, or just in your head. Both count. 😊 🌱 рука́, нога́, ла́па are «она́» words – so моя́, пра́вая, ле́вая end in -ая / -я, all together. Scuffles forgets it – Natasha says «Нет!». Just copy – the rules come later.
Say the story aloud, with the actions. Then play: do the action – say the word. Mix them up!
Я – Ната́ша. Ты – Сли́нки. Ты – Ска́ффлз. 🙋
Вот моя́ пра́вая рука́! А вот моя́ ле́вая рука́! ✋
Вот я́щик. Что в я́щике? – Я́блоко! 📦🍏
– Моё! – Моё! – Моё! Моё! Моё! – Нет, нет! Я́блоко – в я́щик! 😾😸
А вот мёд. Ой! Му́ха! 🍯
Э́то ёж! 🦔
Ска́ффлз! Нет, нет, нет! Ёж – не мяч! Брысь! 😼
А где моё я́блоко? – Моё! Моё! Моё!… А э́то я́блоко ёжика! 😄
👀 read it and say it – a proverb you read on its own day: На мёд и му́хи летя́т. 🍯
- Point at yourself and say your name: Я – …! 🙋
- Lift your hands: Моя́ пра́вая рука́! Моя́ ле́вая рука́! ✋
- Hold an apple (or a ball): Вот я́блоко! 🍏
- Curl up like a hedgehog: Я – ёж! 🦔
- Speaking is optional – listening and doing count too.
Can you do it without the video? – Молоде́ц! Go to the tap quiz.
Guess, then tap. A wrong tap is not a mistake – it is a guess. 😊
Хорошо́! Молоде́ц! Two small things left – two minutes.
- At the start of a word Я Ю Ё = й + а, у, о: я́блоко = «йа́блоко», ёж = «йож», ю́бка = «йу́бка».
- After a consonant they make it soft – the tongue goes up to the roof of the mouth: ма – мя (ма́ма – мя́у), лу – лю (лук – люблю́), мо – мё (мой – мёд).
- Ё is always loud: ёж, мёд, моё, ковёр.
- Be a cat: «Мя́у! Мя́у!» 🐈 – then a hedgehog: «Ёж, ёж, ёж!» – three times, faster and faster.
- 30 seconds, every day. The tongue is a muscle – this is aerobics. 💪
Tomorrow, point at yourself: «Я – …!» (your name) 🙋 – then lift your hands: «Моя́ пра́вая рука́! Моя́ ле́вая рука́!» ✋
That is the first minute of День 13. You already know it – so День 13 starts with a win.
«Пра́вая нога́! Ле́вая нога́!» – like a skipping rope: lift the right or the left, then hop on the loud syllable. 👂 Listen and play – you can read every line! 🦘
| Say | Do |
|---|---|
| Пра́вая рука́! | lift your right hand high on ПРА ✋ |
| Ле́вая рука́! | lift your left hand high on ЛЕ 🤚 |
| Пра́вая нога́ – прыг! | stand on your right foot – hop on ПРЫГ 🦶 |
| Ле́вая нога́ – прыг! | stand on your left foot – hop on ПРЫГ |
| Пра́вая, ле́вая – прыг-прыг-прыг! | right, left, right – like a skipping rope 🦘 |
| Я – молоде́ц! | point at yourself on Я, thumbs up on ДЕЦ 👍 |
- Play it three times – a little faster each time.
- Gesture → word. Don't look at the cards. Make a gesture – say the word. Mixed order: 🍏 · ✋ · 🦔 · 🤚 · 📦 · 🙋
- Yesterday comes back. Mix in four words from День 11: лицо́ 🙂 · цвето́к 🌼 · огуре́ц 🥒 · молоде́ц 👍. Careful – я and лицо́: for «я» point one finger at your chest, for «лицо́» draw a circle round your face!
Right and left are hard in every new language – the body learns them first. 😄
Fruit 1 – Э́то лимо́н и́ли апельси́н? Answer before the video does!
Today's я́блоко with the new letter Я. Tap the title – the page opens; the bar at its top brings you back here.
Only the thirty-one letters you know: А К М О Т Е Р С В Н У И Л Д Б П Г З Ф Ы Й Х Ж Ч Ш Щ Ц Э + Я Ю Ё. Read the word aloud, then tap it to check.
🙋 Я · МОЯ́ · ПРА́ВАЯ · ЛЕ́ВАЯ
📦 Я́ЩИК · Я́БЛОКО · ЁЖ · ЁЖИК · МЁД · МУ́ХА
🔑 Ю́БКА · КЛЮЧ · ЁЛКА · КОВЁР · ТЁТЯ · МЯЧ · МОЁ · ТВОЁ · МЯ́У!
Now whole sentences:
Я – НАТА́ША. · ТЫ – СЛИ́НКИ. ТЫ – СКА́ФФЛЗ. · ВОТ МОЯ́ ПРА́ВАЯ РУКА́! · Я́БЛОКО В Я́ЩИКЕ. · МЁД В БА́НКЕ. · ОЙ! МУ́ХА! · Э́ТО ЁЖ! · ЁЖ – НЕ МЯЧ! · Я́БЛОКО – МОЁ! – МОЁ! · А ГДЕ МОЁ Я́БЛОКО? · Э́ТО Я́БЛОКО ЁЖИКА!
🔁 Heard long ago – read today!
ПРИВЕ́Т! Я НАТА́ША. (День 1) · МЕНЯ́ ЗОВУ́Т СКА́ФФЛЗ. (День 4) · Я ЛЮБЛЮ́ РЫ́БУ! (День 6) · У МЕНЯ́ РУКА́ – А У ТЕБЯ́ ЛА́ПА! (День 7)
👀 Two proverbs to read today:
ГЛАЗА́ БОЯ́ТСЯ, А РУ́КИ ДЕ́ЛАЮТ. (heard on День 9)
НА МЁД И МУ́ХИ ЛЕТЯ́Т.
Я and Ю were all they needed. That is nine proverbs you can read now! 🦉 Two more must wait one day: «Ти́ше е́дешь – да́льше бу́дешь» and «Даю́т – бери́, бьют – беги́» need the letter Ь – it comes on День 13.
- Write three words in big letters: Я, Я́БЛОКО, ЁЖ. Does your Я look the other way from R? Has your Ё its two dots? ✏️
Even flies fly to honey.
Something sweet brings everyone to you – flies to the honey, the hedgehog to friendly Slinky. Cross Scuffles growled – and nobody came to her. Be kind, and people come by themselves. In English: You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. 🍯 Gesture: draw a round jar in the air on «мёд», make your fingers fly on «летя́т». (Proverb page and mp3 to add.)
Я! Ты! И ты! Я – Ната́ша. Ты – Сли́нки. Ты – Ска́ффлз. Вот моя́ пра́вая рука́! А вот моя́ ле́вая рука́! Вот я́щик. Что в я́щике? Я́блоко! – Моё! – Моё! – Моё! – Моё! – Моё! Моё! Моё! – Нет, нет! Я́блоко – в я́щик! А вот мёд. Мёд в ба́нке. Ж-ж-ж… Ой! Му́ха! Ой! Что там? Э́то ёж! Ф-ф-ф! Ёж и Сли́нки! Р-р-р! Ай! Ска́ффлз! Нет, нет, нет! Ёж – не мяч! Брысь! – Р-р-р… А где моё я́блоко? – Моё! Моё! Моё!… А э́то я́блоко ёжика! На мёд и му́хи летя́т. Молоде́ц! Пока́!
Me! You! And you! I'm Natasha. You're Slinky. You're Scuffles. Here is my right hand! And here is my left hand! Here is a box. What is in the box? An apple! – Mine! – Mine! – Mine! – Mine! – Mine! Mine! Mine! – No, no! The apple goes back into the box! And here is honey. Honey in a jar. Bzzz… Oh! A fly! Oh! What's that? It's a hedgehog! Sniff-sniff! The hedgehog and Slinky! Grrr! Ouch! Scuffles! No, no, no! A hedgehog is not a ball! Shoo! – Grrr… And where is my apple? – Mine! Mine! Mine!… But it's the little hedgehog's apple! Even flies fly to honey. Well done! Bye!
- Я = ya · Ю = yu · Ё = yo.
- After a consonant they make it soft: ма – мя, лу – лю, мо – мё.
- Ё is always the loud syllable.
- моя́ / пра́вая / ле́вая рука́ – «она́» words take -ая / -я.
- Every new word has two links: tap the word to hear it 🔊, tap the picture to open it in the dictionary 📖.
ударе́ние – stress – shows the syllable you say louder and longer, just like in English: LUN-dun (London), TEL-ih-fohn (telephone).
ЛО́НДОН – the stress is on the first syllable, as in English. But Russians say a real, round о: LON-d’n, not LUN-dun. The second о comes after the stress, so it is short and weak (like the a in sofa).
ТЕЛЕФО́Н – not like the English TEL-ih-fohn: the stress is on the last syllable: ti-li-FON (е without stress sounds like a short и). That is why we mark the stress.
🎯 Why does о sound like а?
Я looks like the back-to-front R in a famous toy shop's name – but it says ya! 🙃
Я́БЛОКО and apple are very old relatives – the same root, thousands of years old. 🍏
ЁЖ is a cousin of Greek echinos – a hedgehog (and the sea urchin, and the echidna). 🦔
Ю sounds just like the English word you. 😄
МЁД and mead (honey wine) – the same old word. 🍯
🔬 Почему́ так · Why this way
- A win in the first minute – yesterday's homework. Remembering yesterday's words without looking is one of the best-proven tools – 50 classroom experiments: Agarwal · Nunes · Blunt 2021.
- 15 minutes a day, not one long lesson. Short daily sessions beat one long one: 35 min × 6 days scored 83 vs 70 for one 3.5-hour lesson. Study with adults – Stoltzfus · Sukseemuang 2018; gaps of 1–4 days work best – Rogers · Nakata · Chiu 2025.
- New letters, then real words at once. Learners who meet letters inside real words they can read straight away learn to read faster. Study with adults – Brennan · Booth 2015.
- Heard for days, read today. «Я Ната́ша» was heard on День 1, «Меня́ зову́т» on День 4, «Глаза́ боя́тся…» on День 9 – today you read them. A thing met again after a gap of days is remembered far better than the same thing met again at once (84 % vs 63 %, Wegener et al. 2023).
- Right and left with the body. A word said with a matching gesture, made by the learner, stays in memory far longer. Study with adults – Macedonia · Knösche 2011 (Max Planck Institute, Leipzig). Watching the gesture helps almost as much as doing it – 7 studies, 309 adults – Oppici et al. 2023.
- The action on the loud syllable. A hand beat on the stressed syllable helps adults pronounce new words. Studies with adults – Prieto's group, Barcelona.
- A block before the rule. «моя́ пра́вая рука́» is learned whole, like a song; the grammar inside comes much later (Wray 2002, formulaic language).
- The proverb at the end of the story. Natasha says it once at the end of the video, where the story shows it; its explanation sits in Part 2, outside the core lesson – extras inside the core lower learning of the main thing (Mayer, seductive details). An idiom learned with its picture and story is remembered better than with a bare translation (Boers 2001).
- The cat makes the mistakes. Nobody corrects the student. The student laughs and is never the one who is wrong.
- Our own method. Natasha's Language Aerobics – tested for many years with her students.
- Videos needed
- Russian я
- Russian мой
- Russian правый
- Russian левый
- Russian яблоко
- Russian ящик
- Russian ёж
- Russian мёд
- Russian муха
- Russian лететь
- Russian твой
- Russian ты
- Russian рука
- Russian нога
- Russian лапа
- Russian глаз
- Russian бояться
- Russian делать
- Russian любить
- Russian звать
- Russian рыба
- Russian юбка
- Russian ключ
- Russian ёлка
- Russian ковёр
- Russian тётя
- Russian мяч
- Russian привет
- Russian нет
- Russian вот
- Russian на
- Russian в
- Russian не
- Russian и