6×6 Skills: Talk, Talk, Talk
Always talk to your child (about anything!), even when they don’t understand. The more words a child hears, the larger their vocabulary will eventually be – and that is very helpful in learning to read.
Not only that, but research says that children with a large vocabulary are better prepared for school.
This is another reason that it’s important to read to your child – you will give them about three times more new words than you would just by speaking to them. If they don’t understand a word, explain it to them rather than substituting a simpler word.
Activities to help talk, talk, talk
Talk about what you see
You could look at the pictures hanging on your walls, pictures in books, magazines, or newspapers and identify and discuss what you see.
Label your home!
Stick labels to different things in your home to help your child identify the word with the object.
Make a list of words your child doesn’t know
Introduce these new words over a period of time and explain their meanings.
Talk about ideas and feelings
This will help your child understand that things you can’t see have a name, too.
The unusual object game
Collect unusual items from around your home and show them to your child one at a time, asking them to say its name and what it’s used for. They could do the same!
Information on this page was adapted from the 6 by 6 program developed by Johnson County Library.