Easy and Fun Craft Ideas to Help Your Children Learn New Words
From the time children start talking, they start learning new words. Initially, their vocabulary consists of about ten to twelve words. As they grow up, their vocabulary increases. By the age of four to five, they enter the phase of enriching their vocabulary.
Although children naturally learn new words from their surroundings, you can accelerate the process by exposing them to various things. They will discover new words and be encouraged to learn more.
Have a Lot of Conversation with Your Children
In most cases, children learn new words from hearing. This is why experts suggest parents talk to their children regardless of how young they are. Even babies can identify a few words when they are around six months old and can understand several commands by twelve months.
Toddlers and young children often discover new words from regular conversations. Having a lot of conversation is the easiest way to teach new words. Whenever you are with your kid, try talking to them. You can talk through the task you are doing or discuss something interesting. Also, consider talking about various topics. Children naturally ask for the meaning of the new words they hear out of their curiosity.
Read Out Loud
Another great way to teach toddlers and young children vocabulary is reading books out loud. As we mentioned, children learn from hearing much faster than other learning methods.
Young children might not be decent readers and might not feel like reading much. So hearing stories, rhymes, and poems can be more interesting for them. Additionally, they get to listen to numerous words. As they listen, they will also keep enhancing their vocabulary. Try to have different genres of books to increase their vocabulary of different types of words. Listening to songs is also a great way to learn new words.
Let Them Play Word Games
Although parents often get worried and restrict their children’s screen time, it can also be used for learning words. Many online games or apps are now available which are fantastic for learning words or improving vocabulary. You will find different difficulty levels or games for different age groups. You can check out this page, where children can search for new word search puzzles and learn.
Playing on electronic devices is okay at times. However, if you get the chance to play with your children, you should grab it. When you have a family activity, they feel more engaged and encouraged. As a parent, you should try to allocate some time to spend with your children when you can play these games. You can purchase different board games or puzzles that help kids learn new words.
DIY Word Games
Children grow up fast and learn new things. It can be challenging to keep up with their learning and buy new board games for them to learn new words. You can simply make some fun word games for your children to play with. You do not need to spend a ton, and the changing games will also amuse your children.
That being said, we have shared five games you can DIY easily with things you could find in your house.
- Create Flash Cards
- Utilize Bottle Caps
- Lego Puzzle
- Popsicle Puzzle
- Create Word Search
You can create your very own flashcards with the words you want to teach your children. All you need is some paper, scissors, and a pen. Write down different words in the flash cards.
The rules of this game are fairly simple. You tell your children to show the card with a particular word. They will look for it in a pile and give you that. Playing this game, they hear the pronunciation of the word as well as identify the spelling.
To ensure children keep feeling excited to play this game, you should switch to a new set of words after a while.
This is also an exciting game that can be incredibly helpful in improving vocabulary. For this one, you will need bottle caps. Collect all the plastic bottle caps of water or beverages you could find. Now write down letters on the caps. Write one letter on each cap. You can use paper and glue to stick a letter on the caps. Make multiple sets as many spellings might require the same letter multiple times.
Once your play set is ready, toss them. Then tell your children to search for letters and make words. They surely will enjoy the letter hunting part. Try helping them out if your kids struggle to make up words, and keep encouraging them for their excellent work.
Similar to the bottle cap game, you can do that with legos too. Instead of bottle caps, use legos to write down letters. Then let your kids make words using legos.
Apart from letters, you can also use sounds. They can use those to make words and learn the pronunciation.
You can make a reading puzzle game for your kids using popsicles. You will need plenty of popsicles, paints, and a pen. Paint two popsicles the same color. Write down a word in the middle of the same two-colored popsicle. It has to be like a two-piece puzzle. Even if your children cannot match the upper half of a word to its lower half, they can at least match them using color. From that, they can also learn the word.
You can create word search puzzles or crossword puzzles for your children. Even if you do not want to invest your time and effort to make up these games, you can get plenty of free printable word games. However, make sure to get the appropriate ones for your children’s age.
To Sum Up…
As a parent, you must be patient while teaching your children something. You should not force them to learn new words. Always remember, children can learn playfully. They will gradually enrich their vocabulary as they grow. All you can do is incorporate some activities or games that influence the desire to learn new words.
Moreover, children seek the encouragement and appreciation of their parents. So, when they learn new words, praise them. It boosts their confidence and encourages them to learn a lot more.
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