Author: Sarah Childs

When you set the table for a meal, encourage your child to think of different ways to fold napkins or paper towels to make different shapes and sizes. You might say, “What shapes can you make?” “What does this shape look like?” “What would happen if you kept folding the corners down?”

Pretend you and your child are packing for a trip. It can be for a visit to a family member’s house or an imaginary trip, like to outer space. Take turns naming things to bring. As they get older, you can try coming up with things in alphabetical order.

Ask your child to listen to your words and do what you say, instead of following what you do. Say, “Stomp your feet” while you clap your hands. They should stomp their feet and try not to focus on the clapping. Try new words and new actions when they learn to do this. Take turns!

Special moments happen all the time. Trips to a new park, visits with family, or birthdays are a few examples. Stretch those moments! Ask your child to help you make a memory book using photos or drawings. Then write down the words they use to describe what’s happening in the pictures.

Ask your child to imitate you as you walk, jump, clap, or bend down to touch your toes. Then see if they can do the actions when you just say the words. Challenge them by going fast and slow or adding multiple steps like, “Reach up, turn around, and then jump!”

Sitting in traffic makes anyone antsy. So turn it into a clapping game with just a few simple rules. If the radio is on, have your child clap to the music. If you turn the radio off, they stop clapping and freeze.

Play “The Big Game” by naming something big. Then ask your child, “Can you name something that’s bigger?” Take turns and keep playing until you come up with the biggest, most gigantic, huge thing you can think of. Switch it up and name the smallest thing you can think of.