Children can learn almost everything from playtime, including developing their language. At Standout Daycare, we offer you tips and advice on how to create a relaxed and fun-filled environment that is conducive to language development in kids.
Participating in recreational activities with other kids their own age can be helpful in developing children’s language and communication skills. In addition, it can allow your child to forge friendships and become more confident.
Here are some games and activities that allow you to improve language development in children.
Word Games
Word games are essential in expanding your children’s vocabulary. It can be as simple as pointing out objects in your daycare and letting the child know what it’s called, and giving a brief description of them. For e.g. you can point at the fish tank in your playroom and say, “This orange fish is called goldfish.” You can also share some background information on the words.
Games like Charades and Pictionary can also go a long way in developing the language of preschoolers.
Riddles
Riddles are a great way to use words creatively and to paint pictures of various scenarios and scenes. Read out riddles aloud to the children every day and provide them with their definitions. This can help them understand how a word can be used in a sentence and that even a single word can have multiple meanings.
Rhymes
The repetitive hearing, chanting, or reading of rhymes can create good listening and speaking skills in children. In addition, it also improves memory retention.
Aside from teaching children common nursery rhymes and poems, daycare providers can also create their own rhymes about things that children do at home or school, like brushing their teeth. They can create rhymes of colors and animals or can create poems of the children’s favorite toys.
Homonyms
An excellent way to promote listening and comprehension skills in children are by teaching them words with the same sound but different meanings. For example, you can tell them that a school is a place where children go to learn, and a school is also a group of fish.
You can also encourage children to think of words with the same sounds and let them define each. This is a good measure to see how the preschooler’s vocabulary has expanded and a great exercise for them to use words in the correct context.
Tongue Twisters
Tongue twisters are a very fun and effective way to teach children how to pronounce and enunciate words correctly. It is a great way to train young children’s tongue to speak the right way. Daycare providers can collect some simple tongue twisters to start exercising their young student’s tongues and then work their way up from there.
Storytelling
Reading storybooks and sharing your own stories is an effective way for children to develop their communication skills. You can tell them real stories about daily events or history or help them broaden their imagination with wild and fantastical stories.
Storytelling can help children express their thoughts and inspire creativity in them.
Open-ended Questions
Do not limit the children in your daycare by asking them close-ended yes or no questions. Ask them questions that allow them to give explanations. A lot of time, the kids will go on a tangent that will turn into a completely different conversation.
Don’t Criticize
Your child will need a learning curve with his language development. If their verbs, tenses, or pronunciation are not spot on, it is important not to criticize them. This can be construed as negative feedback by the child and will make them embarrassed. As such, they will stop trying. Instead, keep repeating sentences and words with the right verbiage so that they can listen to them repeatedly and learn to do it right.
Bottom Line
Language development can be particularly fun for children and daycare providers. Together, you can make up stories, rhymes, and songs to make the children more eloquent. It is important that learning always takes place in a healthy and constructive environment that allows children to broaden their linguistic skills and creativity.
Want to know more about how to develop children’s skills in a healthy environment? Visit us at www.standoutdaycare.com and check out our resources and blogs today.
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