• English
• Gaeilge

Programme 1: 'Me and You'

Saturday/Sunday - 5/6 April 2008 6.30 am BBC2 NI

In this programme we meet Na Dódai for the first time, Nóra, the big sister who loves telling stories, the twins Ruairí and Róise and the youngest member of the family, Naoise.

They set the tone for the whole series when they invite us to 'come and play.'

Na Dódaí dance and sing, make paper masks, and pretend to be different animals. Nóra tells them a story about Lucy and her friends on the farm. Through their magic bubble machine, Na Dódaí visit our world, and we meet children in a Belfast nursery school.

Naoise tries to play the same games as his sisters and brother, but he gets it wrong and they fight, telling him that he is too young to play with them. Nóra realises that they have all been mean to their little brother and she is the first to say sorry. Naoise forgives them, and they hug in the beautiful garden, before they run to say goodbye to their friends watching at home.

Suggestions for parents

• Why not make animal masks from scrap paper and cardboard? Either paint them or stick on coloured paper or bits of fabric.
• If you base your masks on some of the characters in the story, you can use them to add to the fun when you read the story with your children, just as 'Na Dódaí' do in the programme.
• Even if your own knowledge of Irish is limited, why not try using some of the simpler phrases from the programme to communicate with your children and reinforce their learning.