As a working parent of young children, I know how difficult it can be to get all the daily tasks done, let alone have extra time to consider things like how to include language rich activities in your day.
The good news is that there are many easy strategies that you can use within the daily household activities that can be effective in helping children learn language. We can’t underestimate the power of daily routines!
Here are a few ideas of how you could do this:
- Breakfast time
Meals are great for language learning because they bring the family together. You could practice choice making, describe the characteristics of what you have for breakfast and get your child involved in the steps of a simple routine such as making toast or making cereal. For example, ‘First we put the cereal in the bowl and then we poured on the milk.’
- Going to the toilet / washing hands / nappy changes / getting dressed / bath time
There are lots of opportunities in these routines where your child may need help. You could talk about body parts, the weather, sing songs about what you are doing or include descriptive language when you talk about the clothes you choose etc. For example, ‘It is cold outside, so I am getting you a red jumper.’
- Outdoor Exploration
You could include a short walk or some time outside with your children to talk about nature. There is so much you can observe and describe together when you are outside. Even if you’re only outside for a short time, for example while you’re hanging the washing, you could talk about the sky, birds and trees you can see.
- Cooking together
While this can be tricky with young children, it is a great way to talk about a range of different verbs such as: mix, pour, chop etc. You can also practice descriptive words related to taste e.g. salty, spicy, sweet.
- Arrivals and Departures
There are a lot of opportunities for communication practice when we are leaving or arriving home. You can practice different types of greetings, talk about any artwork that your child has done that day, share the highlight of your day or talk about where different family members have been that day.
There are so many great natural opportunities to bring language into your day – so never underestimate the small interactions and how powerful they can be!
