There are so many activities that you can do with your child to help with their language development. It’s all in the matter of HOW you use the activities. Some helpful tips can be found in our blog post ’10 ways to improve your communication with your child’.

Here are 8 activities that you can use to support your child’s language development. 

1. Bubbles

Children LOVE bubbles. You can model lots of different vocabulary such as more, finished, pop, high/low, stomp, clap, my turn/your turn. 

2. Pretend play – shopping

Pretending to do everyday things in play is helpful to build functional language. For example, if you’re going shopping you can say ‘Shopping time!’, ‘I want to buy _____’. This will help children build language in these areas. Naming different items and objects are also helpful in building your child’s vocabulary. 

3. Ball

Doing simple ball games like throw and catch, rolling the ball back and forth is a really fun way to incorporate language learning. You can target vocabulary such as roll, throw, catch, high/low, fast, slow and more!

4. Swings, trampoline

Movement based activities are easy and fun! Talking about what is happening during play will help to build your child’s language e.g. ‘I’m going to push you hard so you can go high!’

5. I spy

A simple game of eye-spy can help your child build their vocabulary surrounding concepts such as size (e.g. big/small/tiny/gigantic), colours, shapes and textures! You can even use it to build your child’s literacy skills by using letters/sounds (e.g. ‘I spy something starting with the sound ‘b’). 

6. Book reading

Reading books are a great way of increasing your child’s vocabulary while also exposing them to the world of literacy! You can go from naming all the different things on a page, to asking simple wh- questions (e.g. who, where, when) or even go beyond that by asking more complex reasoning questions (e.g. why/how). 

7. Drawing

Drawing is a fun way of being creative and can also be the start of story telling. Talk about what you’re drawing, while also helping your child describe their drawing! E.g. I’m drawing 2 circles for eyes, and a triangle nose. It looks like you’re drawing a boat!

8. Blocks

Blocks are another creative way of building language. There is so much flexibility on what you can build and it’s all in how you talk about what you’re building e.g. ‘I’m building a tall tower’, ‘You have a short tower’. 

There are so many more activities that you can use to support your child’s language development and these are just some of the few! 

If you have any concerns about your child’s communication skills, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Hanrahan Health via our website, via phone (02) 4862 5063 or via email at admin@hanrahanhealth.com.au.

‍