We hope everyone is staying safe and is doing their part to limit contact with others during this time. This is a great opportunity to practice being present in your interactions with your child. Although it may be easier to throw a movie on the TV or to hand your child an iPad, there is no replacement for face-to-face interaction when it comes to speech and language development. Below you will find some ideas for activities that you can incorporate into your day to encourage communication and language development right from your home.
1. COOKING
Cooking is a great activity that is filled with opportunities for language development and communication. Cooking can also increase reading skills, math skills, and fine motor skills. I always begin by writing out the items needed and the steps of the recipe using short simple sentences. I recommend choosing a recipe for a snack your child really likes-like cookies! The more engaged your child is, the more likely he/she will soak up and learn the words he/she is hearing. Below are examples of language that can be incorporated into your cooking routine. Have fun!!
Verbs: stir, put, pour, chop, roll, stop, go, measure, mix, blend, eat, drink, taste, lick
Nouns: bowl, cup, spoon, knife, fork, blender, microwave, refrigerator, oven, counter, table, ingredients
Adjectives/adverbs/pronouns: big, small, fast, slow, hot, cold, more, less, hot, cold, first, next, then, last, sticky, hard, soft, wet, dry, on, off
Prepositions: in, out, on, next to, off
2. SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS
Similar to cooking, science experiments provide many opportunities for learning. Your child will have the opportunity to practice following directions, sequencing, making predictions (e.g., what do you think will happen?), and commenting. Before starting a science experiment, take some time to select the types of words you will model and encourage your child to use. Try to select a variety of word types including actions, descriptions, feelings, locations, questions, and objects/names. Below I have listed out a few of my favorite science experiments.
FLOATING DRAWING:
ITEMS NEEDED: Dry erase markers (old markers won’t work), water, plate, straw (optional)
STEPS: Use dry erase markers to draw anything you want on the plate making sure it is filled in completely, pour water over your drawing to make it float, use a straw to blow on your drawing to make it move
LAVA LAMP:
ITEMS NEEDED: food coloring, vegetable oil, water, Alka seltzer, water bottle
STEPS: Fill 1/3 of the water bottle with water, add vegetable oil leaving room at the top, add a couple drops of food coloring and shake, add half of an Alka seltzer tablet and shake, watch and enjoy!
MAGIC MILK:
ITEMS NEEDED: food coloring, whole milk or 2% milk, Q-Tips, dish soap
STEPS: Pour milk into deep dish, add a few drops of food coloring all over, use a q-tip to drip in dish soap-do not swirl, watch and enjoy!
SOAP CLOUD
ITEMS NEEDED: plate, ivory soap, microwave
STEPS: Place ivory soap on a plate, microwave the bar for two minutes, you will notice it start to change after 20 seconds, watch as it grows into a cloud, let it cool and play with the soap
BOUNCY BALL:
ITEMS NEEDED: Borax, glue, food coloring, corn starch, warm water
STEPS: Pour 1/2 cup of warm water in a bowl, add 1 tablespoon of borax and stir, in another bowl mix 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 2 tablespoons of glue and food coloring, mix 2 mixtures and form and roll into a ball, bounce!
SKITTLES RAINBOW
ITEMS NEEDED: skittles, water, plate
STEPS: Put skittles in a single row around the edge of the plate, pour water over skittles and plate, watch and wait for rainbow to appear
3. READ
Reading with your child is a great way to connect with them and to introduce them to new words and ideas. Below is a list of suggestions to guide your reading interactions. These suggestions are adapted from It Takes Two to Talk-A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Language Delays
let your child pick the book
let your child turn the pages
let your child show you what he/she is interested in
talk about what your child is interested in
pause to give your child a chance to say or do something
expand on the gestures/sounds/words your child uses
point to pictures and words in the book
change the words to make them easier to understand
repeat what you say to make it easier to understand
connect the story to your child’s own experiences
explain things to make the main idea easier to understand
read the same books over and over again
We know this is a stressful time for many families. We are dedicated to doing our part to support families who may not be receiving their regularly scheduled speech/language therapy. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, concerns, or if you just need ideas about how you can support your child’s learning. We are in this together, stay safe and stay healthy.
-Link Therapies