Strong speech and language skills help prepare children for early elementary years and get them ready for reading and writing. Parents and caregivers can help build their child’s speech and language skills with some simple activities at home. Below are eight key communication skills for children, along with suggestions for how you can help your child develop these skills.
1) Following Directions
Teach or practice following directions throughout the day. Get your child’s attention, make sure they’re looking at you, and go over the steps they should take to get dressed, wash their hands, brush their teeth, or clean up their toys. You can even create a picture or a sign with the list of steps for common daily tasks. Some other at-home practice ideas include the following:
- Cooking and baking.Pick a simple recipe, and have your child help gather the ingredients. Some cookbooks have pictures of ingredients, making them easier to find. Talk about what you do first, second, and so on. Kids can also learn about numbers and measurements while cooking.
- Scavenger hunt.Hide 10 toys throughout your home or yard, and create a checklist. Can they find and mark items off the checklist of pictures or words as they find them? Help them as they look for all 10. You can give clues like “move five steps closer” and “move forward.”
- Classic games.Games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light help your child listen, pay attention, and move while following one- and two-step directions.
2) Learning Songs and Rhymes
Young children love music. Singing nursery rhyme songs like Row, Row, Row Your Boat and Wheels on the Bus teaches them about different sounds and words. Singing songs and hearing rhymes will help children learn to read.
3) Building Vocabulary and Describing Objects
The more words a child is exposed to, the more words they’ll know! Keep the conversation going all day long. Chat in the car, at bathtime, and while running errands. Some fun activities for building vocabulary at home include the following:
- Puzzle time.Have your child pick out a puzzle. Talk about the pictures on the box. What new words can be found in the puzzle? Find puzzles that have different themes, like holidays, animals, or foods.
- Arts and crafts.Set up a station with art materials, and talk as you make a craft. Discuss what they want to make, the colors they’re choosing, and the feel of the materials (like Play-Doh® or clay).
- Nature walk.There is so much to talk about outside! What do they see and hear? Do they feel a breeze? How do flower petals smell? How many colors do they see? What are the birds and squirrels doing? Ask them to tell you more.
4) Telling Stories
Set the stage for a story by naming a place, a character, and an activity. Encourage your child to create a story from those details and to make up adventures for their character. The funnier or wilder, the better.
You can also pick a familiar book and have them describe how the characters feel. Magazines are also great for this activity. Make up a story about a picture, and describe what happens. Let them act out a character, and then you can take a turn.
5) Describing Emotions
Help children to express their own feelings and to talk about how others might be feeling. Some ideas include the following:
- Host an arts-and-crafts show for family members or neighbors, and display your child’s creations. Use household items (e.g., coffee filters, paper towel rolls, or Q-Tips®) or items from outdoors (e.g., sticks, leaves, rocks) to create the crafts. Ask your child to describe their art, why they chose their subject, and how it makes them feel.
- Show your child photos of family gatherings or events,and talk about the people in the pictures. Who is who, what are they doing, and how is everyone feeling? How can they tell? Talk about how it feels when you are with friends. What makes a good friend?
- Use dolls, or make puppets out of household materials. Put on a show. Use funny voices, and talk about the characters—who they are, what they like or want, and how they feel.
6) Sequencing and Predicting
Sequencing is breaking down something (like a task or story) into steps or parts—and then putting them in a logical order. Ask your child to select a favorite book. Read it together, and then talk about it. What came first? Next? Last? Have them draw a picture to show you. As you read, you can also ask them what they think will happen next, or what they think the story is about before you read it by looking at the cover (this is called prediction).
7) Persuading
Children use many strategies to get their way. Although these strategies may include crying or whining, you can help them learn to persuade with their words. Have them draw a picture of their favorite book and tell you about it—are they able to convince you to read it? Or if they want to watch a TV show or movie, ask them to persuade you: to give you good reasons why they should get to watch the show.
8) Summarizing
Schedule a call or video chat between your child and their grandparent or another loved one to talk about their daily activities or a book they’ve read. Can your child talk briefly about the highlights of the day or the main events in a book?
Remember, you are your child’s first and most important teacher!
You can help your child build strong communication skills by exposing them to lots of language, reading to them every day, and playing with them. Try to limit screen time—when it’s for entertainment purposes—as much as possible. Children can keep themselves occupied with toys, coloring, and plenty of interactive play. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) can help you learn more about the milestones you should expect your child to meet in their first 5 years.
