Hello Small Talkers!  Thanks to hurricane Ophelia the autumn leaves are falling fast so I thought we’d better think of some good language boosters that can be used while we’re out and about in the park or the woods:

0 – 2 years = encouraging sounds and single words

Try using your senses. Pick up the leaves and prompt your child using the fallowing sentences
   I see …
   I feel …
   I hear …
   I smell …

– Once your child has about 50 single words, you can work on verbs or adjectives to help your child expand to two word phrases
   falling leaves
   kicking leaves
   throwing leaves
   big leaf
   wet leaf
   scrunchy leaf

2 – 4 years = encouraging simple sentences

– Try using prepositions – pile up the leaves and run…
   through the leaves
   behind the leaves 
   under the leaves
   over the leaves
   
– Take turns to use your best story telling skills to give instructions for an obstacle course
   first pile the leaves
   then run around the leaves
   and last jump right into the leaves 

Good luck and have fun!

Nicola Lathey is a Speech and Language Therapist, founder of The Owl Centre for Children’s Therapy and author of Small Talk