Here are four helpful hints to keep in mind when introducing new words to your child:
- Give an example using kid-friendly words to explain the new word – “Enormous means that something is really, really big.”
- Share an example that will make sense based on their experiences –
“Remember that really big fish we caught last week? That was an enormous fish!” - Help your child to think of their own example – “What’s the most enormous thing you can think of? That’s right! The bulldozer was enormous!”
- Make sure to keep using the words in your daily conversation to reinforce it.
Adapted from: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/building-your-child-s-vocabulary
Suggestions for soaking up more summer words:
- Read books about the natural world or with summer themes
- Talk about summer foods, the plants growing outside, different animals you see, the temperature, etc. Ask questions about how summer is different from other seasons.
- Share sensory experiences: taste summer foods, smell flowers, listen to birds and insects, touch rocks/sand/tree bark, and look at summer clothing
- Summer I Spy – Explore your surrounding / go on nature walks
- Make it organic – who has time for flashcards? Introduce new words as natural opportunities come up