Improve your Child's Vocabulary
"I wish you well with your weapon of jargon, you've got a double-sided lexicon. I've got to try to keep your attention, gotta write using less emoticons." Coyotes by Jason Mraz
You may have heard that reading with children and speaking with children can create huge advantages for their vocabulary. It leads to advice from pediatricians like "talk to your toddler nonstop" and "read every piece of print you see out loud."
True story: my mom was given this advice when my older brother was little, while my dad was out to sea with the Navy. She would narrate her day to him, particularly while driving. She would tell him about the roads they were driving on so often that when he was in preschool he drew a map of the San Diego freeway system from memory. 😱
This advice certainly helps- but what about when they are older? Reading and chatting is helpful, but most adults speak with a fixed vocabulary. Sure, we know more words, but they are saved for novels and work. Here's some simple tips to boost your kiddo's vocab:
📚 Read with intention: Before you read, look for 2-3 words in the book they may not know. Write them down and define them. Then ask your child to listen for the word while you read. Pro tip: google search the title of the book and "vocabulary."
📚 Read, again and again: Read books a few times in a week or pick up the chapter book you read last summer. Children of all ages can and should read books a few times to find new meaning.
📚 Cheat Sheet: Flocabulary has premade lists of vocabulary words broken down by grade. Take a look and start using those words. Some of the words may seem easy (like "island" on the 2nd grade list), but consider if your child could point it out on their own in real life. Understanding a word is not the same as applying it.
What's New? (contains affiliate links)
🎥 New Video: Check out my newest video The Do's and Don'ts of Teaching Your Kid the Alphabet. It shares simple techniques. I'd love it if you "liked" my video it helps boost on youtube 😊
🥔 Idaho: I'm headed to Boise, ID this week for the ConvertKit conference. ConvertKit is the company that runs my email list. I bought tickets for this conference last July because it takes place exactly one year after I left teaching. I bought these tickets as an accountability piece last year to keep going and celebrate myself. I just can't believe it's already here.
👗 The Perfect Shirt Dress: I bought this dress to film videos in (you'll see it in a week or two) but ended up loving it. It's advertised as a beach cover up, but it's actually the perfect shirt dress. I got it in blue, but I'm going to get it in another color.
🕶️ sunglasses: I wear glasses and sunglasses. I have accumulated so many pairs. I don't want to throw them out, but they just create clutter. I got this organizer to keep them together. Now they are all protected and hidden away in a drawer.
Happy 5th Grade Graduation to my original kindergartners! I'm sad to miss their graduation ceremony this week. If you happen to see one of my former panthers babies please tell them congratulations from me ❤️
Talk soon,
Natalie