Summer Holidays are here….
Here are some ideas on how you can continue to support your child’s language skills over the summer break?
One of my favourite places…. answers on a postcard for where this is….
Picture drawn by Ed aged 10.
I often encourage parents to create a scrapbook of pictures of their child doing what they love…
This summer use your time together to create a scrapbook using pictures of your child, family and friends doing various activities at home and out and about. For example: on the swing, on the slide, on the trampoline, eating/ mealtimes/ snack times, sleeping, brushing teeth, washing face/ feet, washing the car, on bike/ scooter, in the car, kicking/ throwing a ball, playing, playing in the sand, water play, going to the shops, walk in the woods, playing in the paddling pool, at the beach, swimming in the river/ sea, at the farm, eating ice cream, etc
Talk about:
Who is in the picture - What they are doing (action) - Where they are - What you can see
Take your time creating the scrapbook. Try to include people and activities that your child will be motivated to talk about.
ADD/ EXPAND on your child’s utterances. If s/he says no words, adult uses one word. If s/he says one word the adult adds another. If s/he uses two words adult models three to four words. It is best to do this during child-initiated play, while looking at a book or during daily activities.
Child: “sand”; “water”
Adult: “play sand”; “dig in sand”; “more sand”; “build a sandcastle” “splash water”; “more water”; “water in bucket”; “look water”
Child: “daddy swim”
Adult: “daddy swim in sea”
Step Up
Included descriptive terms, e.g. colour, size (big/ little), numbers
Use opposites full/ empty, hot/ cold, same/ different, bumpy/ smooth
Add more information
Introduce new words, e.g.”bridge”; “moat”; “turret”; “waves”
Draw a picture
Encourage your child to write about their day
Create a sequence of pictures for drawing a sandcastle
Talk about how they felt - happy, sad, angry, scared
List items you would find at the beach
Go on a scavenger hunt. Can you find something which starts with each letter of the alphabet.
Oh I do like to be beside the seaside…
Enjoy yourself wherever you go this summer… I know my boys are looking forward to some time at the beach with their cousins.
by Sarah Winstanley, SaLT
Communication Lincs Ltd. …………….because Speech Therapy Matters