When your child starts attending nursery or school, they will be taught how to read and write by their teachers. However, there are things that parents can do at home to help make this learning process a little easier, such as helping their child develop their vocabulary.
Having a wider vocabulary is fantastic for children because it puts them in a better position to communicate and express themselves. If you’re unsure of where to start, here’s some advice from a private nursery in Islington
Talk, Talk, Talk
One of the easiest ways to help your child learn new words is to talk to them as much as possible. They might not say much back, but consistent conversations with your young ones will help them learn how to speak and will become a habit within your household.
Read to Your Child
Try and find time at least once a day to read to your child, but make sure they are looking at the words on the page too. Don’t be afraid to stop partway through the story to ask your child if they know what a certain word means and explain the definition. Also, be sure to read a diverse range of books so that your child is more likely to be exposed to different terminology.
Play word games
There are lots of word games you could play with your child to strengthen their vocabulary, such as Scrabble, Scattergories, or Boggle. These are great because they’re a learning opportunity for your child, but they won’t even realise they’re learning because they’ll be having too much fun. You can even help your kids with the ones that they find hard to solve using a word-solving tool such as unscrambled words.
Or you could even make up your own word games, like encouraging your child to come up with as many adjectives beginning with certain letters as they can.
Encourage Writing
If your child practices their writing, they will naturally start to develop their vocabulary because they will seek out new words. Encourage them to write letters or thank you cards to friends and relatives, or make up their own stories, just as an excuse for them to practice. Be sure to keep a dictionary or a thesaurus to hand to help them further.
