Before TV, computers and video games, our mothers and grandmothers used to engage us in activities to keep us busy. Maybe we needed entertaining during a long car trip or something to do before nursery school was a common activity for toddlers. We sat in our high chairs while mom did the dishes and prepared dinner. Did she tell us a story? Did she sing us a song? Did we play with plastic utensils and pots? I'm not suggesting that playing with pots is all that intellectually stimulating. But, the back and forth verbal interaction between a child and its caregiver can be the most important learning tool in language development.
There are lots opportunities to play interactive games as you go through your day which will stimulate your child's listening and speaking. Some of these may sound familiar to you, but we seldom use them in our busy day because we are distracted by so many things. By paying attention to the listening, thinking and speaking aspects of our activities throughout the day, we can enrich our childrens' lives and really stimulate their thinking and problem solving abilities.
1. Face to face babbling and oral play:
A good place to play these kinds of games is in the bathtub where the child is usually relaxed, where it is easy to sit face to face if the child is in the tub and you are on the floor. Blow bubbles, sing songs. Kids love repetition and more repetition. Don't be afraid of singing the same things over and over. The little ones love to sing along and can eventually fill in any blanks you might leave in the singing.
Establish verbal routines, common phrases that you use over and over. "How big is Johnny? Soooo big!" , or when looking for a toy, " Is doggy in the basket, No...doggy's not in the basket, is doggy in the crib?, No doggy's not in the crib..." See the pattern? The the children begin to repeat the intonation and parts of the phrase. They are learning to pick up on important information; the patterning helps them pick up a little more each time. Pretty soon, they will have the whole phrase.
2. Finger plays (click here for a finger play library and ideas), Familiar short stories and songs can play a very important role in getting pre-talkers started. If you have ever learned a foreign language, you know that it is easier to understand words than to come up with your own. Familiar songs and fingerplays provide the words and gestures to help little ones get their mouths moving with out having to deal with the stress of getting across that you really want that cookie!
3. Demonstrating gestures and words: Depending on the age, most pre-talkers are fairly frustrated and they demonstrate this with screaming, crying and tantrumming. All behaviors, we, as adults, would like to avoid! What to do? Show the child by actually demonstrating the gesture and sounds for the item he or she wants, (once you figure it out) and give praise, even if they just vocalize rather than scream. The more we jump in response to their screams, the more they will scream! As soon as they gesture or vocalize, praise and give them what they want ( unless it's in the sharp utensil drawer!)
4. Helping You around the House: let your child help clean house with a spray bottle of water and a sponge, or sort the laundry. Make the sounds associated with different activities: "pshpsh" for a spray bottle, "voomvoom" for a vacuum, "chch" for a broom. This tunes a child into listening for sounds to imitate and simplifies those incoming sounds. See if your child will imitate you and try a back and forth kind of game. You say it then he/she says it, then you say it. Later this back and forth can occur with words.
5. Outings: Even a simple trip to the grocery store can be a language enriching activity for a child if you have a little extra time to name and categorize many of the things one sees there. Trips to the local park, arboretum/ public garden and zoos tingle all the senses and give everyone a chance to air out. Apply all of your new found knowledge of eye-face contact, back and forth sounds and words, and responding to vocalizations to your various activities.
These are ways to teach our children the skills for acquiring language: looking, imitating, initiating conversation, listening and modifying.
