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 he/she 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 her/his understanding of more complex words and phrases and will gradually begin to use these her- or himself. 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 her/his language and communication skills.