Thank you for all the positive feedback on my previous post Language Activity: Digging for Dinosaurs and Cloud Dough . I hope it was helpful! First off, I just wanted to clarify that I am not claiming to have invented these activities. Most of these activities you can find via pinterest or some web search engine. I am taking basic activities, adapting them into activities that will encourage language development, and then providing language tips... So to the inventor of cloud dough, or any other activity... our children thank you! :)
My goal is to post 1-2 activities a week, so make sure to check back frequently for new activities/tips. There are so many directions I want to take this blog (soon to be website). In addition to lots of language activities/tips, here are a few entries I have planned for the future:
- Language developmental milestones from birth to four years old
- How to promote language development during your regular day to day routine
- When to be concerned, and when to seek out a speech language pathologist (SLP)
- Benefits of sign language, and how to teach basic signs (sorry to all my aussie mates this will be in American Sign Language, however the tips still apply to everyone)
- What if my child isn't talking yet? How to teach new words to your child
- The power of reading to your child
Moving on to today's activity:
"Sensory box"
brief overview:
You will notice as time goes on that I love sensory activities. For those of you who don't know much about sensory activities, they are basically activities that incorporate our different senses (eg touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell etc). My love for sensory activities could partially be due to the fact that my twin sister is an occupational therapist (OT), and raves about it's many benefits. Here are some things I love about sensory activities: 1. Your child is able to incorporate all of their senses to examine the properties of objects. What greater way to learn about something then to touch, smell, feel, even taste(?) it! 2. It involves hands on learning (in my opinion one of the best ways for a child to learn) . Activities that are hands on, in addition to providing lots of language (of course!!!), will do wonders for your child's language development.
During this activity we will review the three language strategies used in the previous post: 1. Self Talk, 2. Parallel Talk, 3. Expansion. As last weeks post was primarily centered around tips for children 1-2 years old, I will also be providing tips for children that are 3-4 years old. So, with that being said let's get started!
Supplies needed:
Box
Different sensory items*
* Now, for the sensory items these can be anything, and I mean anything. I went around the house and collected different items for Ella to explore. Try to collect items that vary in shape, color, texture, size etc. The more diverse your items are, the more you will have to talk about!
My box consisted of: colored popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners (made into different shapes), feathers, pom poms, plastic Easter egg, magnet, flower lay, sea shells, pieces of fabric, toy animals, paint brush, bow, magnet, paper clip, eraser, glue stick, crochet hook, and a rock.
1. Introduce the activity:
Children 1-2: Here is an example of something you might say "Look what I have (show your child the box). I have a box full of different items. Let's have a look inside, and see all the different things we can find."
Children 3-4 years old: For children 3-4 years old you may choose to focus on two features, for example color and size. An example of an introduction might be. "Look I have a box full of different items. The items are all different colors and sizes. Let's have a look inside, and see if we can name all the colors, and I want you to tell me if the items are big or small."
Before beginning the activity you may need to have a discussion about the features you have decided to focus on. If you want to focus on size the child may say small for everything (since most of the items will be small in order to fit in the box). In this circumstance you will need to have a chat about comparing the size of the items in the box, for example a paper clip is small compared to an Easter egg). If you choose to focus on texture (which this is a great activity for), you will need to have a chat about what texture is. If you say how does the feather feel... you may get the response "happy." When discussing how something "feels" provide your child with an example... "We are going to talk about how the items feel when you touch them (grab the feather and rub it on their arm), This feather "feels" soft. Ooh it tickles. (put a rock in your hand) Now does this rock feel bumpy or smooth? etc." This feature may require a lot of discussion, and you may need to keep providing lots of examples before it sinks in, but that's the great thing about a sensory box, it's full of items to compare!
2. Language therapy
Children 1-2: As mentioned in the previous activity, children at this stage are primarily in the illocutionary stage and are beginning to enter the locutionary stage of communication. This means the child will be communicating through gestures, signs, vocalizations etc, and will be beginning to use words. This is a crucial stage for language storage. Your child must store the words correctly before they are able to use them expressively. Children at this stage are constantly soaking in new information, and after repeated exposure to a word they will eventually store it into their lexicon (think of it as a "mental dictionary of all the words you know"). +++ input (repetition and exposure)= output. What you put in, is what you get out. Understand? As your child matures they will begin storing words at a rapid pace, but in these first couple years of life it takes a lot of repetition to really sink in. Kind of like learning a second language. Once they have stored a sufficient amount of words (around two years old), this is when you will really see their language burst!
Just a reminder on the therapy strategies you will be using. If you need more of a review, make sure to look at last weeks activity for examples.
- Self talk= talking about what YOU are doing (eg "I found a pom pom. I'm squishing the pom pom. It feels soft."
- Parallel talk= talking about what THEY are doing (eg "You are holding a blue Easter egg. You opened the Easter egg.")
- Expansion= taking their word or phrase and putting it into a grammatically correct sentence, and then expanding on it with some descriptive language.
- Use descriptive language to talk about what the items look like, how they feel, taste even(?)
- For familiar items you may ask the child to locate them. (eg "Where's the chicken?")
Children 3-4:
Receptive language (understanding of words, concepts): For this portion of the activity you are evaluating what concepts they understand (for example, do they know their colors). To test their understanding have them follow a direction, such as "give me an item that is blue." "give me an item that feels soft." "give me something that is small." You get the idea..
Expressive language (words used expressively): Evaluate what words they are able to use expressively. "What is this?" "What color is this?" "What does it feel like?"
You don't want the child to feel like you are constantly drilling them with questions so make it fun, follow the child's lead, and remember to still incorporate self talk, parallel talk and expansion. Use these strategies to teach your child about the different features. For example if you are focusing on color and size, make sure to talk lots about what the different items look like. "You're holding a big black pom pom. Oh look, I found a small white pom pom. They feel soft."
Hope these tips helped! Thanks for reading and stay tuned... more language development activities and tips to come! If you have any questions or comments make sure to leave a comment below with your email address so I can respond. :)
X Lisa, Your SLP go to mom
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