Written by admin
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

