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

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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.

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Label your home!

Stick labels to different things in your home to help your child identify the word with the object.

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Make a list of words your child doesn’t know

Introduce these new words over a period of time and explain their meanings.

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Talk about ideas and feelings

This will help your child understand that things you can’t see have a name, too.

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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.