October 14, 2024
10 Games and activities to boost preschoolers’ vocabulary
Your child’s early years are vital for language development. At the ages of 2 to 4, children pick up new words and phrases naturally. In this way, they build the foundations of their communication skills.
But did you know that you can stimulate and even enhance that process at this stage? There are a lot of language development activities that can contribute to your little one’s growth.
Early language learning for kids can be beneficial in so many ways. A rich vocabulary builds the blocks for reading comprehension. It enhances self-expression as well as the ability to digest complex concepts.
These are skills they can use well into the future! That’s why making the most of this golden window of language learning is crucial. At 2 to 4 years, children’s brains are incredibly receptive to new information, so it’s the perfect time to do things like vocab building for children.
Here are some activities that can help you do that with your child.
1. Indulging in interactive storytime
Suitable for ages 2-4
Diving into the world of stories through books introduces children to many new words. Try to pick stories with rich vocabularies and engaging illustrations.
Encourage your child to act out emotion or action words as you read, perhaps by doing it yourself. This is a multi-sensory approach that will help your child remember and grasp new words more quickly.
2. Matching words and pictures
Suitable for ages 2-3
Make some paired flashcards, one with clear pictures and another with the matching words for those pictures. You can also buy these if you like.
Spread out the picture cards and have your child match the word cards with the picture cards. This is a great way to use visuals to reinforce word acquisition.
3. Doing creative arts and crafts
Suitable for ages 3-4
Try different arts and crafts projects with your little one. As you do so, you’ll find yourself introducing new materials and their names to him/her, e.g. “glue”, “crayon”, “paper”, and more.
This is a hands-on approach that not only stimulates vocab learning for children but also lets them have fun and be creative. Make the most of it by encouraging your child to let his/her creativity loose during the projects!
4. Dressing up and role-playing
Suitable for ages 2-4
Set up scenarios where you and your child can do pretend play, e.g. a role-play session about ordering food at a restaurant or seeing the doctor.
This is a very good way for you to help your child build context-specific vocabulary. A trip to a restaurant would help him/her learn words like “waiter”, “order”, and “menu”, for example. It also lets you start showing him/her how to act in such situations.
5. Drawing in pictionary
Suitable for ages 3-4
This is a classic game that you can easily play with your child. Simply take turns drawing simple objects and ask the other person to guess what the object is.
The best way to play this is to focus on words that your child has recently learned. This helps him/her remember those words and also strengthens his/her abilities when it comes to visual communication.
6. Playing “I spy” together
Suitable for ages 2-4
Here’s another classic game that parents and children can play together to support language learning for kids. The way to play it is to use descriptive clues that focus on colours, shapes, sizes, and other descriptive attributes.
As an example, you can start off the game of clues by saying, “I spy something round and red” if you’re talking about an apple on the table. This can help your child start learning about the relationship between words and what they represent, e.g. descriptions.
7. Shopping for groceries
Suitable for ages 3-4
This isn’t just about taking your child with you when you go to the supermarket, mind you. Involve him/her from the moment you start making a shopping list, so that he/she can also see the words being written down!
This real-world activity will introduce your child to a slew of new words related to items he/she can easily find around the home, helping with his/her recollection of them. At the same time, it will help him/her learn about the realities of chores, food, packaging, and shopping.
8. Singing and dancing
Suitable for ages 2-4
This is extremely effective as vocabulary building for children because most of them just love music! The trick here is to choose songs that you can easily pair with dances corresponding to the lyrics.
This gives you an engaging, wonderfully immersive approach to helping children associate words with actions. This can even help them recall the words they’re learning about, as they can link them to gestures they’ve performed.
9. Participating in nature walks and scavenger hunts
Suitable for ages 3-4
These are particularly good for children who love adventure and the great outdoors! Just take your child on a nature walk or scavenger hunt for little treasures in a safe area.
This will be sure to stimulate your child’s senses while also introducing him/her to many new words and objects: leaves, flowers, bushes, insects, etc. Interact with your child throughout the experience so that you can help him/her describe what he/she is finding as you go.
10. Sorting and categorising games
Suitable for ages 2-4
You can do this by using everyday objects or picture cards. Just invite your child to sort them based on various categories, based on which words you want to focus on at the time: colours, shapes, etc.
As you sort the objects with your child, tell him/her about new words for each category. This is another of the activities you can use to help children understand the meanings of words and how they help us distinguish objects from others.
Let us further boost your preschooler’s vocabulary
The fun and engaging activities we listed above should do a lot to support your child’s language learning. The key is to make these language development activities enjoyable ones.
That helps your child look forward to them and encourages retention of learning. At the same time, it enriches the time you spend with your little one.
Of course, consistency is key when it comes to learning – that’s where we can help. At My Little Campus, we can provide the child care and preschool experience children need to properly sustain their growth.
Our comprehensive and academically focused programmes are designed to support a child’s language development, among other things. Enquire now to learn more about them and how we can help your child develop key skills early on.
