It's all about words this week, especially words that don't typically come up in every day conversation. In order to reach the average 20,000 words that a typical adult knows, how can we start teaching them to our kids now? The answer could not be simpler. Read picture books! Picture books often include rich and descriptive language that most of us aren't regularly using in conversation. When kids are exposed to a variety of picture books, their vocabulary expands rapidly by leaps and bounds. I witness this every day with my daughters. Some of the words that come out of their mouths shock me (in a good way!) I have to remind myself that I am really talking to 4 and 6 year olds. I remember my older daughter's preschool teacher commenting on what a great vocabulary she had and how she could totally tell that we read lots of books together. The fact that she knew I'm a children's librarian may have also contributed to this deductive reasoning! Another thing that I have noticed is that they very often sound like a walking thesaurus, using synonyms for basic words. Instead of telling me that they are mad or angry, I've had both girls (in total diva fashion with hands on hips) exclaim, "Oh I am so frustrated right now!" It's always hard not to laugh and frustrate them even more!
Singing:
I just can't stress enough the awesomeness of children's music. Much like picture books, songs often include descriptive language that doesn't come up in everyday conversation. Putting something to music may also help them retain that language better.
Talking:
One of the most important things that you can do when talking to your kids is to use the actual words when talking about something or describing something. For example, instead of saying "Please go sit over there." you could say "Please go sit on the blue couch,"
Reading:
This one is simple. Visit your local library and make friends with your children's librarian. They will connect you to awesome picture books and talk with your child about what they've read. Reading children's nonfiction books is also a great way to introduce new vocabulary and allow them to learn new things.
Writing:
Get in some great writing practice through art. Color pictures, encourage your child to describe the colors they are using by having them tell you things that are that color. Instead of using a green crayon, you could use a "tree green" crayon and even expand to using an "emerald green".
Playing:
Allow your kids to enjoy dramatic play such as putting on a show with animals or puppets, playing dress up, or playing with a toy kitchen. The opportunities to use descriptive language are numerous. You may feel like you are that walking thesaurus, but you are doing so much to help build your child's vocabulary.
Here are some links to additional articles talking about how reading to your child is so important for developing vocabulary.
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=56
http://www.nea.org/grants/facts-about-childrens-literacy.html
https://edsource.org/2015/study-says-reading-aloud-to-children-more-than-talking-builds-literacy/82045
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8100
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