The first three years of a child’s life are critical for language acquisition. A child will know about 5,200 root words by the time they are in second grade. The more vocabulary a child has acquired, the better they will understand conversations and literature. The more vocabulary they know, the greater their world knowledge will be. There are several ways parents can foster this growth.
Conversations
Parents should engage their child in various conversations about events happening in the world and in their environment. Within the first couple of years of life, a child begins assigning meaning to sounds, and meaning to words. How quickly a child is assigning these meanings is directly correlated to the amount of conversation they are having with their parents.
Pretend Play
Using puppets, dolls, and action figures to engage your child in pretend play is a fun way to slip in some new vocabulary. For example, you can verbalize that your veterinarian doll is grabbing their stethoscope. Then, placing the stethoscope on an animal figurine’s heart will show the child what the name and purpose is of a stethoscope.
Synonyms
When talking with children, it is a good idea to use different terminology for words that are already known by the child. For instance, instead of telling your child to throw their crumpled-up paper in the trash, tell them to throw their creased parchment into the garbage receptacle. This funny string of words is bound to get your child’s attention and expand their vocabulary.
Field Trips and Experiences
Engage your child in fun activities, like going to the zoo or aquarium. A child may come upon an octopus, creating a great opportunity to discuss tentacles, suckers, ink, cephalopods, etc.
Can’t get out of the house to go on a field trip? No problem! Click here to expand world knowledge of animals at the Georgia Aquarium!
When field trips aren’t an option, ask your child where they would love to go one day. Perhaps they wish to go to France. You and your child can go to the computer and look up the Eiffel Tower, berets, macaroons, snails, the Arc De Triomphe, and much more. This can extend into activities that can be done in the home, like making a traditional French cuisine. Describing and explaining the ingredients and recipe as you and your child make the dish will help reiterate what they learned online and store this new world information in their long-term memory.
Reading Books
Reading books with your child is always a sure-fire way to expand vocabulary and world knowledge. Choose books that your child is interested in and have fun with it! Check out this site to find age appropriate books to read with your child!
For more ideas and resources, check out our other blog posts here. For more information about how our team can support you with home learning, visit our website.