Chatty Chickadees

As children get older they will continuously learn new vocabulary in everyday interactions and in school. Even though children are older now and understand more about the world around them it is still important to label unfamiliar things for them. They will have many questions and it is very important for them to feel as though they can ask these questions. They will need to get answers to these questions and although it can be straining to answer questions repeatedly, we need to help them discover their new world.

Talk to your children about everything they see and explain their world to them even when you think they can figure it out themselves. Talk about different aspects of objects like their shapes, sizes, colors, and the differences between two or more objects. By labeling the world and describing it we not only strengthen their vocabulary, but also build their schemas for language and other academic skills.

Some valuable vocabulary to develop with children this age are descriptors like up/down, open/closed, big/small, right/left, and more/less. These words will help children be more specific in their speech.