Making Food for My Family

Materials You Need: Anything you usually use to prepare a meal for the family, with simple ingredients; simple tools that your child can use to help (small bowl and spoon, plastic knife, etc.).

What You Can Do Together: At this age, most children love to be a helper, and preparing food is especially interesting. Working together to make part of a meal also lets you help improve your child’s language! As you work together, talk about what you are doing, using descriptive language that perhaps is a bit more complex than you might use at another time. For example, you might say, “I need a different spoon now. Can you find me one that is different — not the same? Oh, great, that one is bigger! Now we will put the cake in a pan. I need a big one. See those pans? Can you find a really big one?” You know your child’s language skills best. Make your conversation fun, not a test, but a way to use interesting, maybe new words in an activity they will love to do with you.

What Your Child is Learning: This kind of activity, with lots of talking together with doing interesting things, will strengthen vocabulary and general language development. Your child will expand their understanding of more complex words and phrases and will gradually begin to use these themself. Be sure to continue to look at and read books together and to tell stories. Talking with your child during these times is also an important way to build their language and communication skills.