Vocabulary is literally the name of the game when it comes to boosting children’s language and literacy development! The more words children know, the more they will learn about the world, which in turn will help with later reading comprehension.
One unchanging aspect of the world that will help build vocabulary when you talk and read about it with your children is WEATHER.
Something as simple as talking to your young child about what the weather is like at that moment – or will be later – or was last week – is a great opportunity to share words and improve their vocabulary.
Although your baby cannot reciprocate verbal language just yet, one activity you can do to encourage that is taking turns during this weather talk. When your baby babbles to you, that is your child talking to you! Ask your child questions and wait for them to babble at you.
The books “Spring Babies,” “Summer Babies,” “Autumn Babies,” and “Winter Babies” by Kathryn O. Galbraith are perfect weather reads for babies! While reading these board books, point out the different colors you see, ask your baby to wave to the babies on the pages, describe how the weather feels during each of the seasons, etc.
The book “Soaked!” by Abi Cushman is a silly book about animals turning their frowns upside down over rainy weather by finding something fun to do in the rain. If you read this picture book with your elementary school-aged child, you could make a vocabulary chart and add words that your child does not know that they see in the book. After reading, you could write a brief definition of the word and then add a synonym that the child does know. This will help them comprehend that there are different words to describe the same concept. For example, they might not know what drenched means, but they should know what wet means. A vocabulary building activity you can do with your baby or toddler is take your time on each page and list all the things you see that start with the letter of your choosing. For example, you could choose the letter B and you can point out the bear, badger, bunny, bumblebee, etc. Remember that your child cannot hear too many words!
Don’t feel like you cannot use nonfiction books with your little ones yet either! You could check out books like “Weather” that have easy-to-read sentences and facts about different types of weather. Talk about your interests or dislikes regarding weather. Tell your child what your favorite season is, which season they were born in, what happens to nature during each season, etc. All these activities will aid in your child’s vocabulary growth!
I’ll end with sharing a storytime song that I sing about the weather! It’s called, “What’s the Weather?” and it is to the tune of “Oh My Darling Clementine. The types of weather mentioned can be interchangeable.
What’s the weather, what’s the weather?
What’s the weather like today?
Is it rainy, is it snowy?
Is it sunny out today?
-Kena Hardin, Children’s Library Associate, Central Library