Are you a busy parent who is constantly on the go? Do you find it hard to find time to sit down and work on speech and language with your child? You can practice speech and language goals from the moment your child wake up until they go to bed. They won’t even notice that they are learning while doing all their daily activities. You will be surprised by the number of things you can teach your child in just one simple activity. We complete these tasks every day and sometimes forget how much language skills are required for each. We suggest using a visual schedule to support your child with completing all their daily activity tasks.
Here are some fun ways to support your child’s speech and language development in their daily routines.
Rise and shine: From the moment your child is awake, they are ready to learn. You can start by asking them to have a big stretch and be ready for the day. You can teach them action words (stretching) and following instructions (get out of bed and go brush your teeth).
Brush teeth: You can teach your child sequencing, following instructions, naming the items used for the activity and speech sounds. You can start by teaching your child the name of the things they will be using (e.g. toothbrush, toothpaste, tap, towel). You can teach your child the order of things they need to do (e.g. get the toothpaste, put the toothpaste on, turn on the tap etc.) Your child will also get to practice listening and follow instructions. You can start by showing them each of the steps several times before asking them to have a go on their own. Remember to talk through the steps as you go. You can practice some speech sounds with your child as well. For example, you can practice /sh/ sounds (brushhhh your teeth) and /th/ sounds when referring to ‘teeth’ and ‘toothbrush.’ Remember to emphasis on the targeted sounds.
Get dressed for school/kindergarten: Again, you can teach your child sequencing skills, following instructions and naming items and body parts for the activity. You can show and repeat the name of the clothes your child will be wearing on the day (e.g. t-shirt, shorts, jeans, dress). You can name the body parts as you put the clothes on as well (e.g. put your head through the t-shirt and put your arms through the sleeves). You practice sequencing skills by showing your child what clothing items to put on first and then the next one. Once your child is familiar with the names of the clothes, you can give them instructions to see if they can follow through correctly. For more details on dressing skills, please check out our other blogs for ideas and tips to support your child.
Eat breakfast/dinner: Your child can learn the name of foods at breakfast or dinner. They can learn the name of cutlery they use and the action words for what they use them for. For example, use a knife to cut, use a spoon to pick up food. You can teach your child to describe the colours and textures of foods too. For more details on how to develop speech and language skills at meal time, please check out our other blogs.
Drive to and back from school/kindergarten: Do not take short drives for granted. Children can still learn a lot in this short time. You can practice targeted speech sounds with your child. You can do this through playing ‘I spy with my little eyes something starting with (your targeted sound).’ You can teach your child new words and expand their vocabulary. Can simply look out the window and talk about what you see (e.g. Look, there’s a truck).
Bath time: Bath time is a fun time to learn in the water. You can teach your child sequencing skills, name of body parts, action words and concept of floating and sinking. For more details on how to support speech and language development during bath time, please review our other blogs.
Bedtime: Bedtime is a time to relax. You can simply read a bed time story to your child. We suggest a story with pictures to keep it engaging. Children can learn a lot through a book. You can teach them lots of new words from reading a story.
Make the most of every moment. Children can learn everywhere and anywhere. Talking Matters also have a range of visual supports available for purchase for families that are keen to develop more structured routines at home. When you are in our office next why not take a look for some ideas.
There are lots of great activity ideas on Talking Matters Pinterest page. Check them out for more fun activity ideas to support your child’s learning. If you have any concerns regarding your child’s development, please call us on (08) 8255 7137 and speak to one of our friendly admin team to book assessments today.
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