We've Added Morning Add-ons

A joke, a new word, a fact, or a mission for the day

We've launched Morning Add-ons - short audio clips that play after your child's morning story. Little bits of learning disguised as fun, because the best education happens when kids don't realise they're learning.

There are four to choose from. You can turn on all of them, none of them, or pick and mix based on what your child needs.

The Four Add-ons

Daily Giggle - A kid-friendly joke every morning. Silly puns for little ones, cleverer wordplay as they get older. Takes about 20 seconds and they'll probably repeat it at breakfast.

Word of the Day - One new word with its meaning and an example of how to use it. Simpler words for younger children, more sophisticated vocabulary as they grow. Expands their vocabulary one word at a time without them noticing.

On This Day - Something interesting that happened on today's date in history. "Did you know that on this day in 1969, humans first walked on the moon?" Connects them to the wider world, sparks curiosity about science, history, nature, and human achievement.

Mini-Mission - A fun challenge to complete during the day. Age-appropriate missions that encourage creativity, kindness, and exploration. "Draw a picture of your favourite animal" for younger kids, "Learn one new fact about a country you've never heard of" for older ones.

Age-Appropriate Content

Just like the stories, add-ons adapt to your child's life stage. A 4-year-old hears different jokes, words, and missions than an 8-year-old. The content grows with them.

How to Turn Them On

Go to Settings, find Morning Alarm, then look for Add-ons. Toggle on what you want for each child. They'll play after the next morning's story.

Want to hear what it sounds like first? There's a preview button to listen to today's add-ons.

If you're an existing user, your MYO card in Yoto will need an upgrade. You should be prompted through this when you turn it on as part of the Morning Alarm settings. If you have any trouble, just send us a message and we'll get you back on track.

Mix and Match

You're in complete control. All four add-ons for a comprehensive morning (about 2-3 minutes total), or just one for a quick boost. Different children can have different add-ons based on their interests.

Some combinations:

• Just Daily Giggle - 20 seconds of laughter
• Word of the Day + On This Day - vocabulary and history
• All four - the full experience

Currently in Beta

Morning Add-ons is in beta, which means we're actively improving it based on feedback. Let us know what your child loves, what works, what doesn't.

Right now it's only available in one voice (Ella) and one language (English). We'll be branching out into other voices and languages as soon as we can, but this latest feature has taken the last 6 weeks to get right. Finding and validating hundreds of jokes, word definitions, historical facts, and missions takes time. I'm still sure I got some of the dates wrong. And there are a lot of dad jokes.

We're working on French and Spanish language support, more themed content, and seasonal variations.

Why We Built This

Dougie's in Year 2 and working on vocab and phonics. Many of the words in his age group on Daily Adventure are the same words his school is giving him to learn. Having them come up naturally in his morning routine means he's hearing them, using them, remembering them - without it feeling like homework.

He loves the jokes. He asks for new words to use. He gets excited about "on this day" facts. And the mini-missions give him something to think about during the day that isn't just "don't forget your PE kit."

We're hoping this passive learning approach will help him in school. He's not sitting down to study vocabulary lists, but he's picking up the words anyway because they're just part of his morning.

If it works for him, it might work for your child too.