Tag: language

Play the Name Game

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Although it’s great to talk to your baby in full sentences, this can also make it hard for a baby to separate the name of an item from the noise. So today we played a game that focused on nouns!

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I divided common items into four categories:

  • Toys: block, rattle, and car
  • Food: banana, apple, and lettuce (Note: these were soft toys, not the real version)
  • Clothing: shoe, sock, and diaper
  • Kitchen: spoon, bowl, and cup

Within each category, I placed them before her and named them. “Where is the rattle?” you can say, before handing over the rattle, saying just “rattle” again as baby touches it.

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She had clear favorites, reaching for them. I gave her time to touch (and mouth!) each object, and then named all three in the category again before moving on to the next.

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She was really fascinated by the kitchen items, since these are new to her – a nice reminder that solid food isn’t far off!

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And ha, she seemed to look at me and say, “A diaper, Mom? Really?” when I presented her with that.

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Good thing she didn’t put that one in her mouth! Socks were more interesting.

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Breaking down language like this on occasion is great for your baby’s brain, so take a pause and enjoy this little game. What categories of items did you show your little one? Please share in the comments!

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Introducing “In” and “Out”

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Today, Veronika and I focused on two important words: in and out!

First, we played an in/out game with a basket. Fill the basket with any favorite toys, then alternate putting them in and taking them out. We started with a big pile.

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One by one I moved the items inside. “In,” I said each time, as she watched. “Out” was more fun, because with each one, I handed it to her for some exploration.

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Come on out, cricket!

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I realized, though, that this version of the game involved way too many toys. There was so much to play with and touch that “in” and “out” got lost in the verbal shuffle.

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Instead, we played a second round using her fantastic shape boxes; these were perfect, as each one (in rectangle, triangle, square, and circle varieties) contains only 4 items of the same shape.

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This time I simply said “out out out” or “in in in.”

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Once that’s done, you can still focus on these words all day! I made a point of saying the words everywhere we went: in and out of the car, in and out of buildings, in and out of bed, etc.

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Think of all the ways you can teach the concept during the day, and make a point of emphasizing it for your child. He or she will soon tune right in to these two simple –  important! – words.

 

Picture This

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Today, Veronika and I had a very different sort of story time. Rather than simply reading text to her, I wanted to actively engage her with the pictures and words. In fact, because we were focusing on what she saw rather than the story line, magazines were better for this game than books. You can use adult magazines, kid ones, or even catalogs!

We snuggled up and talked about the images. “Look, the girl is in a red dress. Look, the boy is at the beach.”

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This will help your baby process the images on the page, without having to follow rhyming words or plots.

You can also encourage your child to point to what they’re seeing. So if I said, “Let’s touch the maraca,” I would then place her hand on it.

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She doesn’t understand yet of course, but over time this will help her associate a word with the proper image.

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You can also have your baby practice turning pages. Magazines aren’t as good for this, with their thin paper, but her latest issue of Hello magazine was perfect.

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“Let’s turn the page!” I said, and then guided her hand until we turned it together.

Overall, this was an engaging activity, and a nice quiet pause just the two of us.

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New Gurgles and Coos

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If you’re following along with my baby activity journey, then you’re already engaging in “conversation” with your little one, and actively encouraging those gurgles and coos. Today’s activity takes it to the next level.

To foster the link between different sounds and actual words, listen closely to what your baby says today. When Veronika said “geh!” for example, I would respond, “That’s right, you’re a girl,” or “Yes, you’re wearing green,” or anything else beginning with a hard g sound.

Same goes for her adorable m’s (“milk! mama!”) or b’s (“brother! bubble”).

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This is also a good way to get older siblings “talking” to baby, especially if they’re frustrated at the lack of real words yet. Listen hard, and string together ideas for him orher.

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You can also have fun with vocal sounds in general today. In addition to words, make new noises like clicking tongues and see if your baby responds. Veronika’s not so sure about that tongue clicking!

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Truth be told, Veronika clams up a lot in our house (with Travis around, it’s hard to get a word in edgewise!) so usually she opens up to me when we’re quiet and alone during… diaper changes. But after we made a point of this game all morning, I caught her narrating play on her playmat, talking up a storm to her little toys.

 

It was hard to catch the moment on camera, but here she is working on some “m” sounds.

 

Textured Talk

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This game is a nice extension of the hand control activity Veronika and I played a few days ago. This time, I was less concerned with her grip, and more interested in using language to describe what she was feeling. You can use the same toys from that activity, or introduce a new set.

I did present her with mostly fresh toys, to keep things interesting. As I handed her each object, I said words about its texture out loud.

This one is smooth and plastic, Veronika.

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This one is soft and squishy.

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Bumpy was fun!

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It’s definitely okay for your child to move all these items right from hand to mouth. Babies learn a lot about the world through their mouths, so as long as the item is too big to be a choking hazard (use the toilet paper tube test), then it’s safe to hand it to your child.

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Veronika loved testing each one in her hands first, and quickly in the mouth second!

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In sum, this was a nice activity for language and sensory development, plus it was a delight just to watch her happy expressions!

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Name Drop

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Infants are exposed to thousands of words every day, but one of the very first words your infant will learn to distinguish is his or her name. Help the process along with this cute activity!

Today – and most days! – make it a point of saying your child’s name as you do each thing throughout the day, instead of “you.” So: “Veronika is getting a diaper change,” “Veronika is playing on her play mat.” You might even get big smiles for your efforts!

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To be even more playful, switch up the lyrics of songs to include your child’s name. This is something I’ve always done with lullabies, for both my chlidren, but today we had fun using a musical chime toy to sing “Oh Veronika” instead of “Oh Suzanna,” as well as “Rock-a-Bye Veronika,” Veronika Had a Little Lamb” and other favorites.

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And it helps to have her name written in various places around the house, too. It’s a long way off, but eventually your little one will sightread their name as a first step toward reading.

How else are we talking with Veronika these days? Happy conversations back and forth! She’s really starting to “chat” up a storm, and I don’t want to ignore these attempts at language. As mentioned in my review of Cricket Crate’s Faces kit, when a baby “oohs,” “ah gehs” and “mmms” at you, she’s trying out words.

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We’ve been having a lot of happy back and forths; it turns out Veronika is a very opinionated little lady!