An infant communicates with the world through crying and non-verbally. You can expect your infant;

• Cries and smiles: A baby can cry or smile depending on the present condition; either being quiet down when soothed or picked up by someone (most of the time)
• Coos and gurgles: The child coos maybe when he listens to voices, in a pleasant and unpleasant sound varying in vocalization (laughs, giggles, or fusses),
• Non-Verbal Language: the child can communicate through body movement, e.g., Turns head toward sounds

Language routines

Language routines are crucial because they help children develop their social-emotional health and language skills. Whenever you engage a child in daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, playtime, diapering, rest time, taking a walk, talking, reading, and bedtime, you create multiple language development opportunities.

Dressing

• Describe your actions. "Alex, mama will now dress you."
• Be patient. "Adrian, this shirt is hard for me to get over your head. I am going to try a different way."
• Plan an extra time. "Let's get ready, Alex. It's almost time to go for a walk."
• Praise little things. "I saw you wiggled your foot into the sock. Bravo!"
• Enjoy. "We got your shirt on, Sasha! let's clap your hands!"

Play Time

• Follow baby's interests. "I see you are moving, Rose. Let's dance together!"
• Describe what you are seeing (parallel talk). "Look at those red and blue balls, Pedro!" Would you like one?"
• Read and sing. "Are you ready, Max, to Cuddle up and read this story?"
• Encourage your child. "Elizabeth almost rolled over. Let's try again!"
• Enjoy a good chuckle together. "I love your guffaws!"

Meal Time

• Because infants are shortsighted, hold your baby while bottle-feeding to make eye contact, which is a crucial element of communication with infants. "Right now, Brayden, I'm going to feed you." "I'll find us a nice place to sit."
• Connect with the infant by looking into their eyes. "I see you are gazing at me, Gabe, and I enjoy gazing at you too"
• Talk and sing to a baby while feeding them. "I see that smile, Anna. You like this food!"
• Describe your baby's hunger signals and describe what you are doing while preparing food and the feeding procedure. "I hear you cry," for example. That sounds like a cry of hunger. Let's get ready to eat."
• Use names for all people who interact with and feed your infant. "Today, Daddy is feeding you," for example.
• Make "music" while making eye contact with your infant at feeding time if they are awake. Make kissing noises, whistle, hum a tune, or sing a favorite song with your tongue.
• Look for cues from babies that suggest, "I'm done" or "I need more." "Kara, you're turning your head away; I think you are all done eating."

Rest Time

• Establish a predictable routine. "First, we'll read books, then get ready for naptime," says Aden.
• Stay consistent with your routines, even if you spend time in a different home/ or travel.
• Give yourself plenty of time for transition. "Mommy is on her way to get you." Let's talk about some of the things you did today, Hanna."
• Take care of the basics first. "Before you rest, Justin, let's change your diaper."
• Allow yourself to unwind and decompress. "Nina, I'm going to rock in this chair and finish my notes so we can play later."

Diapering

• Make a routine. "Hello, Derry, I hope you had a pleasant snooze!" Let's have a look at your diaper."
• Recognize the signs. "I notice you yanking on your diaper, Eli. Do you need to be changed?"
• Spend time connecting. "Look at Henry's enormous grin!" You bring a grin to my face as well!"
• Give choices. "Do you want me to hold the red ball or the teddy when I change you, Kia?"
• Be patient. "I know you don't like to be changed, Jordan, but we need to take good care of you." "I'm almost finished."

Bathtime

• Play gentle tickles with your baby's toes and feet when changing a diaper or getting ready for a bath. Touch a different toe on each line of "This Little Piggy Went to Market" (see song list).
• After bathing, play with textures on your baby's tummy. Gather a variety of soft, touchable household items. Brush each item softly across your baby's skin one at a time, describing the sensation as you go. "Can you feel the silky scarf?" for example. It's quite slick."
• Use infant massage oil or basic vegetable oil to massage your child's skin after a bath. Then rub it into your baby's skin carefully. Name it as you gently touch each portion of your baby's body.

Going for a walk

• Take a walk in the fresh air. Describe what you're seeing and experiencing. Stop for a picnic.
• Tie or tie some ribbons, fabric, or other fascinating streamers to a wooden spoon. Pull out the wooden spoon and gently dangle it over and in front of your baby's face while strolling or driving.
• Place your infant on their back and, while holding their ankles, gently spin your baby's legs while saying, "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat."

Talking and Reading

• Place your infant on a comfortable, flat surface. While singing "Pat A Cake," gently tap or rub your baby's hands and fingers. (List of songs)
• Place your child on their stomach (younger babies may only be able to handle a minute or two on their tummy, but it is important to provide some tummy time to infants every day). In front of your baby, place cardboard books or black-and-white photographs. Give a description of the images.
• Read to your infant in a soothing voice. It doesn't matter what you're reading at this age as long as you read with expression, use parentese (see above), and maintain constant eye contact with your infant.

Soft skills and Communication

• Play "Now you see it, now you don't." Show a toy to your infant. Ask, "Where is it?" as you cover the toy with a cloth. "Here it is," you say as you remove the fabric.
• Copy Cat. Hold your infant close to you or place them on a soft, flat surface. Make sure you're close enough to your infant (8-12 inches) that they can see you. Begin with tiny gestures such as pushing your tongue out or opening your mouth wide with a big grin. Your baby may try to emulate you if you are patient.
• Establish predictable routines for diapering, bathing, and bedtime. Routines and rituals develop a sense of security that serves as the platform for further investigation.

Bedtime

• As part of your nighttime routine, play "Goodnight Moon." Carry your infant around the room or the home, saying "goodnight" to their favorite toys, people, and things.
• Play a lullaby or other soothing music while soothing your infant, and leave it on low after you leave.

Fun and useful Activities

All baby activities help develop certain senses, like body awareness, social skills, language skills, coordination, body parts, hearing, vision, and feeling on the skin. Every single activity always incorporates language development (new words, new sounds)

Other Daily Communicational Routines:

• Stock up on board books. While reading, make comments and remarks about what you read, "He looks surprised to see that new toy," you say while holding the toddler on your lap.
• Imitate the child's emotions. Bring your baby close to a mirror to see their face. "Look, I see your smile—you're so pleased!"
• Talk when feeding, snacking, diapering, dressing, and so on.
• Always comfort an anxious, scared, or overwhelmed child with soft hugs and a soothing voice.
• Praise any child's efforts to interact. Look at what the child is pointing at and comment or label it.
• Recognize and respond to coos. Meaningful engagement contributes to the development of brain architecture in this way.
• Consistency fosters the baby's trust and language skills.

Reading

What Are the Benefits of Reading to My Baby? An infant will not understand all you do or why you do it. However, reading aloud to your infant is a great shared activity that you may do for years — and it is beneficial to your kid's brain.

Reading aloud:

• teaches a newborn how to communicate
• Introduces topics such as numbers, alphabet, colors, and shapes in a fun way; develops listening, memory, and vocabulary abilities;
• Informs newborns about their surroundings.
• Newborns will have learned all of the sounds required to communicate in their native language by the end of 1st year.
• The more stories you read aloud to your infant, the more words they will hear and communicate better.
• Hearing words contributes to developing a rich network of words in a baby's brain.
• Children whose parents often converse and read to them know more vocabulary by two than children who have not been read to.
• Children who are read to from an early age are more likely to learn reading at the appropriate age.

Plays to Play

Explore tender touch.

• Touch her face with the tips of your fingers as you speak sweet words to her.
• Always use her name when speaking to her. This gives her a crucial sense of identity.
• Maintain the same tone of voice whenever you're holding a baby. She'll soon realize that your voice means nice things.

Playing with baby's fingers.

Keep an eye on what your baby does with her fingers and develop activities to help her improve these skills. If you see the baby is opening and shutting her fingers, give her objects, such as a rattle to hold. Say the name of the object and what it does: "rattle. Rattle can rattle. The rattle is rattling. " If she is wiggling her fingers, help her wriggle them and praise her for that. Say the name of each body part as she touches it; this is how newborns learn.

"I love your..." game.

When dressing or changing her, say, "I love your nose nose nose nose." Then kiss the baby's nose. Name all the parts of the body and kiss them. This game helps the baby become aware of her body and your love. Newborns respond to touching and sounds. Every time you pick up your baby and speak to her, you establish trust.

Coos and hugs.

The language of an infant is cooing. When an infant sees something of interest, she responds with a coo. Play a coo game with your baby. Hold a brightly colored object in front of you baby's eyes. When a baby responds with a coo, answer her with a coo and hug. You will soon find out what pleases your baby. When babies learn that their sounds please other people, they will make more sounds. This encourages early language development and talking.

Fun Topics to Explore with your Infant

Skin

A different change in the temperature like cool & warm (vocabulary of temperature), textures on the skin (vocabulary of textures), gentle touch in different parts of the body (body parts vocabulary)

Textured glove: attach a small piece of fabric to an old glove: flannel, silk, velvet, and linen

Hearing

Whisper, try different music – fast tunes and slow; Find noise, and use squeaky toys to play with sounds, so the child can follow them. You can add “where is a sound?” “it over here!”, “it’s on your left! Now on your right”

Touch

Dance a marry jig (for English) or find the similar song in your target language

Pre-talking stage / Cooing (0-6 months)

From 3 to 6 months, the baby concentrates on hearing and phonetics. Expose your child to all the languages of your household with the primary condition that it should be human interaction or music. Please do not use videos or TV as a background or white noise. Babies learn better from humans. The baby understands simple instructions, especially if vocal or physical cues are given ("stay still until I change your diaper). Moreover, the parent must know that the infant is aware of the social value of speech.

Between the ages of 3-6 months, your baby

Begins to babble

Babbling is the use of repeated sounds or syllables over and over. At the early stages, babies repeat different combinations of vowels only, but later but six months, they start to use consonants as well, like “bababa,” “dadada,” but without specific meaning. In general babies babble to train their vocal apparatus and prepare to produce sounds of various complexity. Your multilingual baby may start babbling differently in each language. Check out this video where babies from different language backgrounds babble.

He babbles and mimics the sounds he hears.

Once child started to babble, you finally start engaging him into “meaningful” interaction! One you hear the string of sounds, imitate it and pause, giving your infant to respond. In no time your baby will understand the game of back-and-forth interaction and will reply to you with a new string of sounds. Good if you bring yourself close to your infant so she can see your face. If you maintain this type of the play, very soon you will find yourself babbling back-and-forth with your infant!

Cries in various ways to express hunger, discomfort, or exhaustion. When unhappy, cries and seeks consolation (i.e., snuggles into your shoulder)

Acknowledge baby’s feelings and always respond to baby’s cry. It is crucial to react to those cries, and they always inform us about some sort of discomfort! Babies do not cry without reason. IF you do not know why your baby is crying, try to play a guessing game by asking possible reasons. “Are you hungry? Bored? Wet? Maybe thirsty?”

Responds to his or her name.

Try to use the baby’s name all the time and if you use pronouns, then use pointing gestures; like Alex, you (exaggeratedly point finger at him) are hungry! Mommy, I (point the finger at yourself) is going to feed you.”

Laughs and smiles

Acknowledge and enjoy those smiles by tagging the action “I see you are smiling! And now you are laughing! Someone is very happy to see mommy.”

Shows excitement by waving their arms and legs

Say, “O my, Alex is very excited to see mommy! I see it because you wave your arms.”

Can be calmed by looking at and being near important people in their life (most of the time)

If the baby does not see you, she may start being nervous. Come over and tell your baby, “Mommy is here. You just do not see me from where you are”. You may want to relocate your infant close to you initially, but in general, the child may calm down by just hearing your voice if you keep talking. Use self-talk (describe what you do and see) to create background noise so the baby can feel your presence.

How can we help language development?

Communication tips

• Hold your kid and chat to him or her; smile and be joyful while doing so.
• Establish consistent sleeping and eating routines.
• Pay close attention to what your baby loves and dislikes; this will help you determine how to satisfy his requirements best and what you can do to keep your baby happy.
• Make the same noises as your baby.
• When your infant makes noises, be excited and grin.
• Have calm playtimes with your infant while you read or sing to him or her.
• Give your child age-appropriate toys like rattles or images to play with.
• Play games like peek-a-boo.
• Allow your baby to reach for objects and explore his surroundings in a secure environment.
• Place toys close to your baby so she may reach for them or kick her feet.

Communication Techniques

Three techniques that facilitate verbal communication and language acquisition are:

1. Parentese

Stick to parentese, the sing-songy tone of voice with an exaggerated speaking style marked by total engagement with a child that can enhance language skills and foster parent-child conversational "turn-taking."

2. Parallel talk

Use parallel talk by narrating what the child is doing

3. Self-talk

Use self-talk to narrate what YOU are doing around the house in child-friendly language to the child. Describe what you are feeling, seeing, and smelling.

Language routines

Language routines are crucial because they help children develop their social-emotional health and language skills. Whenever you engage a child in daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, playtime, diapering, rest time, taking a walk, talking, reading, and bedtime, you create multiple language development opportunities.

Meal Time

• Try the following finger play while snuggling before feeding time: 'Round and round the garden went the teddy bear.' Two steps, one step Tickle (Wrap your fingers around your baby's palm.) Take little steps up their arm, then tickle their armpit, chin, or feet).
• Hang a wind chime near where you feed your child. You may create your own by stringing metal pie plates together. During feeding, your baby will love observing and listening to the noises.
• Allow your baby to handle and investigate spoons once he or she can sit upright in a highchair or your lap. When your baby is ready to start eating solids, he or she will love holding a spoon while being fed.

Bathtime Time

• After you have changed your baby's diaper, get hold of his or her hands and wrists and count aloud, "one, two, three, and up!" CAREFULLY PULL YOUR BABY INTO A SEATING POSITION. Smiling and then lowering your infant, repeat.
• Recite "Hickory, Dickory, Dock" with accompanying movements after diapering, bathing, or getting dressed (see song list)
• Play "What is that Toy?" by putting a textured toy under your baby's shirt while diapering or dressing. Describe how the toy feels and where it is hidden.
• "Little fishie, swim" is a beautiful game to play in the bathtub. Recite the rhyme with your hands submerged in the water, as if they were a fish.

Swim little fishie

Swim around the pool

Swim little fishie

The water is cool

Where's the little fishie?

Where did he go?

There he is!

SPLASH, SPLASH!

Gently splash your baby as you say, "Splash, Splash."

The movements of the fish are identical, but the narration is in a different language. There is likely a rhyme with similar content, or you can directly translate it. Note: you can play any other appropriate song in your target language.

Rest Time

• Pull out a flashlight, turn it on, and say, "Look at the light!" while cuddling with your baby before nap or bedtime. Shift the light slowly, concentrating on different things. Discuss the items in detail.
• Place a sturdy mirror in front of your infant. Your baby will like seeing himself/herself in the mirror.
• Allow plenty of room for your infant to roll and rest. Add little cushions or pillows (supervised) if you want a challenge.

Going for a walk

• Play Baby Airplane! Rest your infant on your arm, stomach down, with your hand on the chest (similar to football hold). Secure your infant with your other hand (supporting head and neck). Swing your infant gently. Make aircraft noises when walking your infant.
• Hang safe toys that generate music or various noises when touched from your baby's car seat. Discovering them will encourage your infant to explore cause and effect. Recognize and praise your baby's efforts.
• If the weather permits, take your baby for a walk outside. Gather natural materials like leaves, grass, sticks, acorns, etc. When you reach home, put the things in transparent plastic bottles and tighten the lids (you can use glue or tape, as well). Let your infant explore the bottles. Punch small holes in scented bottles.

Talking and Reading

• Read a short story to your infant while holding him or her on your lap. The best board books are cardboard. Let your child explore the book (most babies will attempt to place it in their mouths). Draw their attention to images.
• Place exciting images and pictures throughout the house in places where your baby will see them (on the floor where your baby has tummy time, on ceiling above diaper area). When your infant discovers these images, discuss them with him/her. Your baby will be fascinated by photos of family members engaged in various activities!
• Conversing with your infant is an excellent way to bond. Pay attention to your baby's babbling. When he or she stops chattering, repeat what you heard and then wait. Your infant will probably answer, and you may continue this dialogue.
• When reading to a baby:
• Your infant can hear you using various intonations, emotions and sounds. This aids social and emotional growth.
• It stimulates your infant to gaze, touch, and talk. This aids social and cognitive growth.
• Using sounds, visuals, and words helps your infant learn a language.
• Reading aloud ties your baby's favorite things — your voice and closeness — with books.
• Instilling the significance of reading in your child. New readers are born as newborns and children associate reading with joy, excitement, and connection.

Fun and useful Activities

Cooking in the Kitchen

• Sit baby safely in an infant seat nearby while you cook in the kitchen. Talk about each step of the cooking process: "I am stirring," "I am pouring," "I am washing."
• Allow your child to experiment with measuring spoons, non-breakable bowls, and wooden spoons. As you use it, always list the ingredients.
• Also, label the things and actions in all of the target languages. It is sometimes enough to just state: “This is a spoon. Это ложка. Esto es una cuchara. 这是勺子 Zhè shì sháozi.”. Do not be concerned that the baby will become confused. Each language has its own pronunciation and intonation, which helps your infant learn new sounds and practice listening and changing languages.

All around the house - Learning Opposites.

• Learning Opposites can be found all over the house. Hold your infant and move around the house while talking and demonstrating pairs of opposite behaviors.

The light is off … and the light is on…

The door is open and the door is closed

I'm lifting you up.. and I’m putting you down..

The cup is full … and the cup is empty…

• Demonstrate those actions so that your baby can relate your words to your actions.

The stroking games

• Babies experience the world through their senses. Touch is vital in the first few months of life.
• Stroke your baby’s head and say, “I love your head”, then repeat the same procedure with other body parts: “I love your arm,” “I love your leg,” “I love your back,” etc.
• Repeat the exact phrases in all of your target or home language that you provide.
• This activity teaches the child a body vocabulary and feels secure.

Reaching

• At that age, babies are always reaching for things. This is a fantastic way to promote physical movement and gross and fine motor skills.
• Place your baby on your lap and give him a toy that he enjoys. Play with the toy for a time by talking to it, jiggling it, and generally making the experience enjoyable. Hold a toy a little higher than his hands can reach. Encourage him to reach for the toy by saying, "Say the toy goes up!" Can you reach it?”. Repeat the same game either in the comprehension check style, where you translate phrases into a different language, or repeat this activity at the different time.

Body awareness & Dressing up

This game improves vocabulary and physical awareness.

• Talk about different parts of the body.
• Touch each of the baby's fingers gently. "This is Max's finger," say in a singy parentese voice as you do so. "This is mommy's (or your name) finger," say as you place your baby's hand on the same finger.

DIY Glove- Colors

• Cut five holes in a baby's sock for the fingers.
• Use vivid colors (non-toxic materials or markers), exciting shapes, and faces to decorate the sock.
• Put the sock on the baby's hands so he may look at it, talk to it, and have fun with it. Be careful with the decoration because the baby will most likely start mouthing the sock.
• You can try sportscast what bay is doing with the sock in different languages or repeat the same fun but in the other target language at a different time.

Ideas of Songs and finger plays

Singing while rocking, promotes body awareness, trust.

This little piggy

Slow down before saying "wee, wee, wee" to create tension. Then say the final line a little faster than the others. You can choose from various voices to say "wee, wee, wee" - high, low, happy, sad after playing with voices, and tag emotions. Use a variety of target languages. You can also tickle your baby's toes softly.

This little piggy went to the market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none,

And this little piggy cried wee wee wee all the way home.

Five Little Finger

What can I do with five little fingers?

What can I do with five little fingers?

What can I do with five little fingers?

What can I do today?

I can wiggle my five little fingers. (Wiggle one of his fingers or toes)

I can wiggle my five little fingers.

I can wiggle my five little fingers.

I can wiggle them today.

Fingers and toes (touch both)

Here are your fingers ( touch his finger)

And here are your toes

Wiggle your fingers

Wiggle your toes

Here are your fingers

And here are your toes

Wave with your fingers

Wave with your toes

Here are your fingers

and here are your toes

The Cockle Doodle Doo

Put your hand on the head

Cockle doodle doo

Put your hand on the ear

Cockle doodle doo

Put your hand on the nose

Cockle doodle doo

Put your hand on the cheek

Cockle doodle doo

Use this song to place his hands on a familiar object

Put your hand on the table

Cockle doodle doo

Put your hand on the bottle

Cockle doodle doo

Overview

Stage of first language acquisition: Babbling stage (6-8 months)

• Understands "no-no"
• Babbles (says "ba-ba-ba") (lots of different, playful sounds) using at least 4 different sounds; strings vowels together ("ah," "eh," "oh"). Starts saying consonant sounds (jabbering with "m," "b").
• Babble a lot. When someone talks to a baby, she makes sounds back.
• Says "ma-ma" or "da-da" without meaning
• Tries to communicate by actions or gestures
• Tries to repeat your sounds - Makes sounds in response to sounds.
• Enjoys taking turns making sounds with a parent.
• Says the first word
• Responds to their own name
• Makes sounds to express happiness and unhappiness.
• Makes sounds and babbles to get attention
• Laughs, giggles, gurgles, and coos with familiar people
• Reacts to loud, angry, and friendly voices
• Turns and looks at new sounds. If your baby is looking at something, point at it and explain: This is a computer. I use it for work.

• 6-9-months-olds babble to express their thoughts. They babble a lot; when someone talks to a baby, she sounds back. At 6 to 11 months, the baby understands "no-no ."The child uses lots of different playful sounds; he may babble and say "ba-ba-ba," using at least four different sounds; strings vowels together ("ah," "eh," "oh") and starts saying consonant sounds (jabbering with "m," "b").
• The child tries to repeat your sounds and make sounds in response to sounds and communicate by actions or gestures. They say "ma-ma" or "da-da" without meaning and enjoy taking turns making sounds with a parent. The child responds to their name, makes sounds to express happiness and unhappiness, and babbles to get attention.
• Moreover, they laugh, giggle, gurgle, and coos with familiar people and react to loud, angry, and friendly voices. He as well turns and looks at new sounds. If your baby is looking at something, point at it and explain, "That's a radio. It plays music."
• Use words to describe your baby's feelings; "You are angry that Daddy took away the crayon. You can chew on this rattle instead." The baby imitates the actions you make, like waving "bye-bye" and shaking your head "no-no." Copy your baby's sounds and movements. If she waves, wave back and say "Hello!"

Supporting language development

• Engage in playful conversations with your baby: Create a serve-and-return or back-and-forth interaction by repeating the sounds she makes to her.
• Familiarize your baby with her name by using it frequently.
• Have conversations with your baby about different objects he puts into his mouth.
• Babies learn by hearing words. Talk or sing to the baby while you do things together and read to your baby as often as possible.
• Encourage family members and caregivers to talk and use lots of words with your baby.
• Talking is a natural part of many things you do with your child, like reading aloud and singing.
• Make talking a game. When you ask, "Where is baby? Peek-a-boo! It's also part of the play when you make your child's toys "talk," such as when the plush cow says moo or the toy truck sounds "vroom, vroom."
• Encourage and respond to your child's communication methods. You can keep the discussion continuing by repeating back to him what he is trying to say and adding to it.
• Your kid understands more than she can express! Allow her time to respond to your questions or directions. Wait patiently for her response.
• Laugh aloud. Respond to infant's laughs and make faces or sounds to encourage continued laughing.
• Just because your child little does not mean you have to use simple language. Use whole sentences and catchy phrases. If your child says, "go park," you may remark, "it is a wonderful day. Let us fetch your stroller and go!"
• A trip to the shop, zoo, or aquarium provides plenty of topics for discussion. Name and describe what you put in your shopping cart or the animals or fish you see.
• May startle or weep at loud noises. Respond quickly by verbally acknowledging a child's attempt to communicate, modeling language, gently stroking or picking up the infant. Use the baby's primary language.
• Turn to face the speaker when they talk or smile back. Respond by making eye contact, naming the baby, and using descriptive language.
• Use facial expressions or body movements to communicate. (Turns toward the sound, smiles, squeals, etc.) Listen and express support. Take turns talking to the baby and matching their sounds and facial expressions to get them to respond. Install an unbreakable mirror on the wall for the baby.
• Communicate via gestures, voice, or body language. Lean in close to the caregiver, or coo with a few consonants and vowels.
• Respond to the infant's sounds by copying them and waiting for a response.
• Respond to an infant's gestures and use language to describe how they are trying to communicate. Use language throughout routines and playtime (songs, fingerplays, etc.).

Language routines

Meal Time

• While your family is eating, bring your baby to the table. Give your kid finger foods such as banana slices or cornflakes to learn to pick up small items.
• Introduce new meals gradually. When your doctor advises you to introduce soft, solid foods, like rice cereal, introduce one food at a time to allow your baby to become accustomed to the taste. If your infant does not seem to like it, try it again a few days later.
• Assist your child in discovering why or how things happen. When your child drops a spoon or a bottle, pick it up and explain what has happened. "You made a loud noise when you dropped the spoon." Babies learn by repeatedly performing the same thing.

Bathtime Time

• Peek-a-boo! After changing your baby's diaper, cover a portion of his or her face with a soft blanket or clothing item and say, "Where is baby?" Then, carefully remove it off while shouting, "Peek-a-boo!" Play the same game with your baby's arm or leg, describing the covered body part as you go.
• Allow your infant to splash with a rattle or small toy while being bathed.
• While undressing your baby, run your fingers up to the chin, saying, "Spooky, creepy mousy, from the barn (tummy) to the housy (chin)." When your fingers reach your baby's chin, tickle it.
• While dressing, hold your infant up to the mirror. Describe your baby's facial features. Allow your kid to touch the mirror to learn that what he or she sees is not "the real thing."

Going for a walk

• Verify that there are no little things under the couch or dresser that your crawling baby could ingest.
• Place a toy just out of your baby's reach and urge them to crawl or move to get it. Shake it up or move it around to get your baby's attention.
• As you wander through the grocery store with your baby, talk about the amazing colors and smells. Make use of your shopping excursion to discuss healthy eating.
• Hold your child on your lap and bounce while saying, "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall." Humpty Dumpty had a terrific... pause and, while safely holding your infant, bounce him/her between your knees as if to drop, exclaiming enthusiastically, "had a great fall."

Talking and Reading

• Describe objects and events as they occur. "I am putting on your socks," "have a look at that big ball," "it feels incredibly soft."
• Play word games by echoing your baby's sounds... "Dada, Dada," he says. Then, observe your infant see if he or she speaks them again. Change the sound a little... "Mama, Mama," and then wait to see if your baby tries another sound.
• Make up songs about your baby's actions, clothing, and so on. This teaches new vocabulary. "Pretty Polly is dressed in a green shirt."
• With your infant, read the book Baby Faces (see book list). Discuss each of the pictured faces.

Soft skills and Communication

• When a familiar person leaves, raise your baby's hand and say "Good-bye." Make sure your kid sees favorite people leave so he or she does not become concerned about people disappearing.
• Show (or model) how you say hello or greet visitors or new people to teach your infant how to respond to visitors or new people. Your baby will learn to react similarly. Do not be surprised if your baby is afraid of new surroundings or adults; make your infant feel at ease in unfamiliar situations by giving him or her time to warm up gradually.
• Sing "Where has Thumbkin gone?" (see song list). This action song will teach your infant that objects do not vanish when they are removed.

Bedtime

• Your infant may wake up in the middle of the night and cry. This could be a sign of separation anxiety. Gently pat your baby's back to convince him/her that you are nearby.
• Begin your baby's day with a bonding activity. Sing "Good Morning Song" to your baby when he or she wakes up (see song list).
• Before going to bed, read Baby Can't Sleep (see book list). Pretend five cotton balls are sheep. Count the "sheep" as you jump them over your baby's head.

• Says at least one word
• May say "mama" and/or "dada"
• They are starting to say basic words and understand many things they hear.
• Understands "no"
• Makes a lot of different sounds like "mamamama" and "bababababa." It is called the Babbling stage
• Babbling starts to sound like "real speech" – this is called jargon
• Tries to imitate sounds or facial movements (lip circle, sticking out tongue, etc.)
• Shouts or vocalizes loudly to get attention
• Copies sounds and gestures of others
• Repeats a syllable or sequence of sounds often
• Uses smiling and crying to indicate how they are feeling
• Shows affection for special and significant people in their life
• Uses fingers to point at things
• Understands simple commands such as 'no' and 'give it to me.'

Stages of first language acquisition:

• Babbling stage (6-8 months)
• Holophrastic stage (9-18 months)

How to Support Language Development

• Keep on practicing parallel talk and self-talk with parentese.
• Make talking a part of the play. Talk is part of the play when you say, "Where's baby? Peek-a-boo!" It's also part of the play when you make your child's toys "speak"— the stuffed cow says moo or the toy car says vroom vroom.
• Encourage and respond to your child's various communication methods. When he points, babbles, makes animal or car sounds, uses gestures or sings, or tries to utter words, repeat what he's saying and then add a little more to keep the dialogue going.
• Your kid understands a lot more than she can express! Allow enough time for her to respond to your remarks, questions, or directions. Patiently wait for her to figure out what to say.
• You don't have to use small words or short phrases because your child is young. Make use of complete sentences and new interesting words. If your toddler says, "Go park," you could respond: "Yes, I agree, it is a gorgeous day to go to the park. Let's get your stroller and go!"
• Use "grown-up" words to expand your child's vocabulary while you comment on what's going on. You may say, "This traffic is awful (terrible, aggravating)!" Alternatively, "Here we are! We arrived at the pediatrician's office on time for our scheduled appointment." Or "take a look at that massive (gigantic) tree!"
• Use the same approach in the other languages of your household. Make a habit of expanding your child's words in every language they use.

Language routines

Meal Time

• When babies are permitted to feed themselves, they are more likely to eat new foods. Allow your infant to explore new foods on the plate. Be ready for a mess as your baby learns to eat. Take a photo of your messy baby for the family album!
• Bring out the stackable plastic food containers. Show your infant how to stack them, and then let them try it.
• Play some upbeat music while cooking. Encourage your baby to dance or bounce. Music can help you develop control over your body.

Bathtime Time

• While showering or dressing, play "Name the Body Part." "Show me your nose," for example, or "Where are your hands?"
• Make bath time more exciting for your baby! Place a favorite toy or rattle just out of reach of your infant and encourage them to reach for it. Continue to move it closer and closer to where you bathe your kid.
• Dip a kitchen spatula or a spoon with holes into the bubble solution (dish detergent works excellent!) and blow bubbles for your infant to see. Encourage your child to attempt to catch them.
• Paint in the bathtub to introduce your kid to art and painting. Give your child a clean paintbrush and invite them to use it to paint the walls with water.

Going for a walk

• Chant your baby's name or other familiar words to keep your baby's attention while traveling in the car. Then, add words that rhyme. "vehicle, car, far, far," "Beep, cheep, heap, sleep."
• Put a toilet paper or paper towel roll behind a large book or flat object to make a ramp. Then, try rolling a small ball or anything down the ramp and see what happens! Repeat as many times as you can and clap when the ball reaches the bottom.
• Make a texture book by arranging various objects on sheets of paper and taping the sheets together. Make one page of cotton, one of sandpaper, and one of felt or ridged cardboard. Assist your baby in feeling each page and discussing how the materials feel. Put this book in your diaper bag for touching and reading while waiting for the doctor.

Talking and Reading

• Make a family album by taking images of each family member and pasting them on cardboard. Read the book and discuss each member of the family. "There she is, Grandma." In this photograph, she is smiling." Before bed or before leaving for child care, read this book every day.
• Tape a big piece of Velcro or sticky paper on the floor. Place objects on top of the sticky paper and then try to pull them off with your baby. Use words that describe what is going on. "It sticks!" "It is difficult to peel off the plate."
• Give your child a piece of paper and a non-toxic, thick crayon or marker. Show your child how to draw marks on paper and then let him or her scribble away. Scribbles are a great way to get started with writing!

Soft skills and Communication

• Allow your baby to participate in the hello-good-bye routine by letting him or her push the doorbell or elevator button when you enter childcare or visit a friend or neighbor.
• Make a set of car or stroller shakers. Fill small plastic containers with non-hazardous ingredients such as rice or dry lima beans. Put on the lids and use glue or thick tape to seal the containers. Keep them with you when you're out and about.
• Hold up your pointer fingers and make the motions for "Two Little Blue Birds Sitting on a Hill." One is named Jack (wiggle one finger), and the other is named Jill (wiggle the other finger). Jack, take off! (Move finger behind back). Jill, take off! (Move another finger behind the back). Jack, please return (bring your finger back in front of you). Jill, please return (bring the second finger back).

Going for a walk

• Pre-nap fresh air helps newborns sleep. Take a walk around the block and talk about what you see. "The leaves are becoming green. A dog is barking. “Hear that truck.”
• Sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star for bedtime. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (wiggle fingers) What are you? Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (wiggle fingers); How I wonder what you are.
• Count your baby's toes when you remove his/her socks before bedtime. “1-2-3-4-5, I once caught a toe alive.” 6-8-9-10 And then I let it go.

• Uses several single words.
• Points to things he/she wants
• Says and shakes head “no”
• Answers simple spoken requests
• Uses simple gestures like nodding or waving
• Makes sounds with different tones (sounds more like speech)
• Says "mama" and "dada," as well as words like "uh-oh!"
• Tries to say words that you say.
• Can name several objects common to his surroundings
• Can use at least two prepositions, usually one of: in, on, or under:
• Combines words into a short sentence, mostly noun-verb combos. (mean) There are 1.2 words in each sentence.
• The vocabulary of approximately 5-20 words - mainly of nouns
• Some echolalia (repeating a word or phrase over and over)
• Able to follow simple commands
• Rhythm and speed are often poor.
• Voice volume and pitch are not yet controlled.
• Can correctly use two pronouns: I, me, and you. Me and I are often mixed up. "My," "mine," and other words like that are starting to show up more and more..
• Responds to such commands as "show me your eyes (nose, mouth, hair)"
• nonverbally answers simple questions
• Points and gestures to draw attention to an event or express a wish
• Imitates (copies) words that you know.
• Mixes jargon and real words in an attempt to communicate (e.g. babbling that sounds like actual words)
• Vocalizes for fun
• When asked where his mouth is, he points to it.
• Imitates animal sounds
• He starts to show a sense of humor

Stages of first language acquisition:

• Holophrastic stage (9-18 months)
• The two-word stage (18-24 months)

Supporting Languages at Home

Toddlers are communicators

Toddlers are great communicators. They are constantly learning new phrases and using gestures to communicate their thoughts and feelings. For example, they take your hand, lead you to the shelf, and say, “Book.” Things you can do: Even if you think you know what your child wants, you should encourage him to use words, sounds, and gestures to tell you what he wants. Play games with instructions to see how well he can understand the task.

Toddlers are communicators

Toddlers understand a lot more than they can say, but they cannot say it all. By 12 months, they should be able to follow a one-step instruction like "Go get your shoes." It's likely that by 18 months, they will be able to follow 2- and even 3-step directions. You can read to your child. It helps him to learn new words and concepts. It also helps him fall in love with books and reading

Understands but cannot stop

Remember that while your child understands "Stop!" or "Don't Touch," he or she lacks the impulse control to stop themself the next time temptation presents itself. Slow down: Because they are better at doing things than stopping, "Walk slowly" is better than "Don't run. Take a look at ways that you can keep your child away from a forbidden object so you do not have to say "no" all day." If he is obsessed with the TV remote, a toy with buttons and twisty knobs would suffice.

Pick books with questions.

Help your child learn to communicate with books that ask simple questions, such as Karen Katz's Where Is Baby's Belly Button?, books with simple illustrations of everyday things ( name the photos), and short stories with predictable stories. Apply this to all of your target languages.

Read a lot to your child.

Reading with your child helps them become more interested in reading. It also helps her learn how to read books (such as turning the pages, reading the words, and talking about the pictures). By reading aloud to your child, you can help them develop their language and listening abilities.

Pay attention and build on your child's interests

Your child will communicate his interests and excitement to you through his actions, facial expressions, and voice. Puts his movements into words when he points out the window or gives you a puzzled look: "Yes, that's a squirrel. Take a look at him as he runs along the fence!"

Use new words

When chatting with your toddler, introduce new words. A snack can be anything: tasty, healthful, crunchy, spherical, and so on. Discuss what you are doing ("I need to wipe the crumbs off the table"), as well as what you observe your child doing ("You're destroying your block tower. Take a look at it go boom! "

Ask questions and give choices

Pause and ask questions as you read.

Where is the caterpillar? You can also start asking your child things such as, "Would you like to read a book?" or "Would you like to play?" Which book would you like to read? Your child will soon pick up a book and return it to you.

Chat with your child

According to research, the more parents talk to their children, the more their vocabulary grows. Additionally, these kids use more complex sentence structures. So talking with your toddler—whether in the car, at the playground, or at bath time—is critical.

Do not correct mistakes.

It is unnecessary to correct your child. Simply repeat the word with the correct pronunciation. If your child says, "Gamma," you could respond, "I see Grandma brought you a cookie, yum yum!" to allow your child to hear how the word sounds. Correcting your kid may discourage him from trying new words.

Be a translator

You can "interpret" what your baby is saying if other adults have trouble understanding him. Allow your child to talk first, then explain: "Ben is letting you know that this is his new vehicle."

Repeat

Choose stories containing repeated words or phrases in the narrative. Repetition helps children learn new words and pronunciations. Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a fantastic pick for this age range.

Language routines

Language routines are crucial because they help children develop their social-emotional health and language skills. Whenever you engage a child in daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, playtime, diapering, rest time, taking a walk, talking, reading, and bedtime, you create multiple language development opportunities.

Meal Time

• The more time you give your toddler to practice feeding and drinking from his or her own spoon, the better he or she will get at these skills.
• Make sure your toddler has time to play with his or her doll or stuffed animal and feed it.
• Your toddler will be able to "cook" with play food, plates, pots and pans, cups, and more. Enjoy your pretend meal!

Going for a walk

• Encourage your toddler to throw, push, and kick a ball forward, and help him or her learn how to do this.
• Dance, hop, and march.
• Sing songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Wheels on the Bus” (see song list).
• Take a nature walk and pick up things like acorns, leaves, sticks, pinecones, and more to fill a wagon or bucket. Fills and dumps things over and over again is a favorite thing for toddlers because they enjoy it so much!
• Make instruments from oatmeal containers, rice-filled paper towel rolls, bells connected to ribbons, etc. March in a band.

Bedtime

• To help your toddler get ready for bed, cover the doll or stuffed animal with a blanket and pat its back.
• Goodnight Moon is a book you should read before going to bed (see book list). Find the moon and talk about it. Then you can pretend to jump over the moon and fall down.
• Read Time for Bed (see list) and discuss where, how, and when animals sleep.
• Slowly let your child color or paint while listening to lullabies or other slow, relaxing, or classical music. He or she could also crawl, walk, or dance slowly to the music.
• Give your child choices! For example, let your child choose from two pairs of pajamas. He or she could also choose from three books. Point to each book and count how many there are.

Soft skills and Communication

• Make a "take-along" book with pictures of things you know, people you know, and things you do. Glue photos on big index cards. Label each picture. You can laminate index cards or place them into small zipper plastic baggies. After that punch a hole in the corner and tie it with yarn or book rings.
• When a storm is coming, or if you get caught in the rain, sing a song about rain, like "I Hear Thunder" (see song list)
• After the bath, have your child use a cup to scoop out the water and put it in a bucket. Then go outdoors and water the garden!
• Your toddler should know where you are going ahead of time. You can tell them before going to grandma's, childcare, etc. Do this by writing in a book or making a diagram that shows how the day's activities and events will happen.

Talking and Reading

• Read the Mouse Paint (see book list). Dip your toddler's finger in red, blue, and yellow non-toxic paint, and then press it on paper to make mouse tracks. As you talk about how the colors mix together to make other colors, think about how they look.
• After reading a favorite story, ask your toddler to act out something a character did. Have your child move and sound like a train after reading The Little Engine That Could (see list).
• Find books with actual animal illustrations and make animal sounds together. Discuss each animal. For example, “the snake is slimy and makes hissing sounds.”
• Take books with you everywhere! Let your child "read" to you! Listen as he or she points and talks. Smile and laugh as he or she talks.

Bathtime

• It is fun to play with bath toys like cups and squirters, and strainers in the bathtub. Pour water into the bath from different places.
• Take a small bath toy and put it in a water-filled paper cup. Then freeze it. Peel off the cup and watch as the ice in the bathtub melts. If the toy is too small, the child could choke on it.
• Sing "Five Little Ducks" (see the song list) as you act out the song with five rubber duckies in the bathtub while singing. Count up to five.
• Before and while you take the plug out of the bath, make crazy, fun sounds.
• Give your child a brush or comb so they can brush the hair of their stuffed animal or doll.

• Uses 10-50 words
• Begin combining 2 words into two-word phrases, mostly noun-verb combos (e.g., baby sleep, "more milk")
• Uses words like "more," "up," and "juice" to express needs.
• Imitates sounds and words better.
• Points to things and makes gestures to show or draw attention to something.
• Brings something from another room when asked (follows 1-step directions)
• Sings simple songs
• Uses a combination of actual words and jargon.
• Practices words over and over on their own (e.g., while playing in their bed, etc.)
• Says "no" and shakes his head.
• Points to show what he wants
• Makes animal noises like "moo"
• Can name several objects common to his surroundings
• Can use at least two prepositions, usually one of: in, on, or under:
• At least 2/3 of what a child says should make sense.
• The passive vocabulary has about 150-300 words.
• Rhythm and speed are often poor.
• Voice volume and pitch are not yet controlled.
• Can correctly use two pronouns: I, me, and you. Me and I are often mixed up. "My," "mine," and other words like that are starting to show up more and more.
• Responds to such commands as "show me your eyes (nose, mouth, hair)"
• Asks for common foods by name

Vocabulary and Grammar development

There are six stages in children's first language acquisition. Multilingual kids who acquire several languages have the same order of acquisition. If they coo, they do it in all languages they hear around them, similar to babbling and first words. When they start producing words, they do it in every language.

Your kid is transitioning from the babbling stage into the Holophrastic phase (one-word communication), and by 24 months, they can start combining two words, signaling the beginning of the Two-Word Stage. Of course, all kids are different, especially multilinguals. Some will hit expected milestones on time, and others will start talking with delay. In any case, it is normal and should not worry you much.

Stage of first language acquisition: The two-word stage (18-24 months)

Language routines

Meal Time

• Look at food pictures and photos in magazines and try to name them. Help your toddler shred or cut out photos of food (using acceptable child-size scissors) and glue them together to construct a food collage or book. Add up the totals of all the foods.
• Discuss how vegetables grow and assist your child in planting and caring for a bean seed.
• Have your toddler point to, draw, and speak about different meals on the children's menu when you're out to eat. Count the food items as your child points them out.
• Make pudding as a group. Assist your child in pouring and stirring the ingredients. Extend your toddler's vocabulary by describing the ingredients (for example, if your toddler says "milk," you might add "sure, the milk is white and creamy").

Bathtime Time

• Brush your toddler's teeth while singing/playing Raffi's "Brush Your Teeth" song (see song list).
• Encourage your kid to name different body parts while he/she washes during bath time. To experiment with different textures, use a variety of washers (sponge, washcloth).
• Wipe worktops, tables, and other surfaces with a damp sponge or washcloth. Allow her/him to assist in cleaning with child-sized brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies.
• Fill a water table, sink, or tub with a bar of soap and plastic animals or dolls for your child to wash. Because many families use liquid soaps, experimenting with a soap bar might be a novel experience. Discuss how the soap makes you feel. "Slippery and damp," for example.

Going for a walk

• Before taking a stroll, make a simple map with three locations (such as your house, a tree, and a neighbor's house) and point out the locations on the map as you pass them.
• Read stories like Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed to stimulate movement and singing (see book list).
• Move like various animals (ex: jump like a frog, crawl like a bug, etc.)
• Outside, throw and catch a ball. Toss balls or beanbags into baskets or inside a hula hoop on the inside.
• Play "Follow the Leader" with your child by having him or her follow you as you march, hop, etc., and then allow him or her to be the leader, with you following what he or she does.
• Play outside every day if the weather permits! Toys that can be pushed or pulled and those that can be ridden should be used.

Talking and Reading

• As you read, give your toddler a giant paper heart, a blanket, and/or headwear, and let him/her hide various stuffed animals/dolls behind the heart, blanket, or hat. I Love You, Peek-a-Boo! (see book list). As you read "Peek a Boo, I Love You!" the book finishes with a heart-shaped mirror allowing your toddler to see himself/herself.
• Ask questions like, "Where do dogs live?" to connect stories to something your toddler understands. "What does a dog sound like?" or "What bath toys do you prefer to play with?"
• While reading, play "I Spy." "There is something large and blue here," says the narrator. "What exactly is it?"
• While reading, describe your toddler's emotions. "This part of the story makes you laugh, cry, or think about something else."
• Allow your child to go through books on his or her own and tell you the tale.

Soft skills and Communication

• Sing "Toys away. Toys away." when it's time to put toys away. Time to put the toys away.” Alternatively, sing "Clean Up" (see song list). Clean up with your toddler, showing him or her how and where to place things, and rewarding him or her for doing so. "Wow, you're so good about putting your toys away!"
• Move like an animal: enter the doctor's office or library softly "like a mouse," then leap "like a cricket" to the door before heading outdoors to seek for bugs.
• Take a look at a calendar together. Point to and count the days till a big occasion like a play date, school start, or vacation.

Bedtime

• Ask that your toddler wiggle his or her sillies out, then point to a body part (nose, mouth, arm, etc.) and "put it to sleep" until your toddler's entire body is asleep.

By age 2, most children can:

• Use simple phrases, such as "more milk"
• Ask one- to two-word questions, such as "Go bye-bye?"
• Follow simple commands and understand simple questions
• Speak about 50 or more words
• Be understood at least half the time by parents or other primary caregivers

From 24-30 months  

• Knows from 200 to 500 words (in one language or combined)
• Most of what they say makes sense.
• Forms sentences of 3-4 words.
• Asks and responds to "who," "what," and "where" questions
• Uses "I," "you," and "me"
• Knows prepositions like in, on, and under
• Often makes mistakes with negatives and use "double negatives," i.e., "I do not want to go."
• Following a three-part directions
• Repeats sounds and sentences
• Sorts (matches) objects according to their function (find something to play with, wear, etc. ); size (large, small); and recognizable colors.
• Developing number concepts – can give you 1, more, or all of something
• Counts objects even if the quantities are incorrect.
• Repeats noises, words, or phrases (may sound like stuttering)
• Can stay focused on one task for 8-9 minutes
• Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him or her
• Uses verbs that end in "ing," such as "walking" or "talking"
• Answers simple questions, such as "What do you do when you are hungry?"
• Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences
• Responds with words to questions that begin with “what,” “who” and “where.” (Will learn “what” first, “who” second and “where” third.)
• Answers questions with “yes” or “no.”
• Names one color, count to 3 and names four body parts or items of clothing.

Between 24 and 30 months, developmental goals include using phrases with three to four words, identifying up to five different objects and pictures, and following at least four verbal directions (one direction at a time).

You can help them develop their language skills by reproducing what they learn, see, or hear from literary materials. Their vocabulary grows and now they can say sentences with 3-4 words. Their words become more logical, and they enjoy talking and asking questions. Your toddler knows "in, on, and under" and uses "I," "you," and "me." The child frequently utilizes "double negatives," i.e., "I don't want to go."

In your second language, you can introduce similar to English concepts and vocabulary, such as colors, shapes, prepositions of location, give 2-3 step directions, etc.

Vocabulary and Grammar development

• The fourth stage of negation is that children begin to attach the negative element to the correct form of auxiliary verbs such as "do" and 'be': You didn't have supper. She doesn't want it. They may still have difficulty with some other features related to negatives, e.g., I don't have no more candies.
• The third stage of question acquisition. Gradually, children notice that the structure of questions is different and begin to produce questions such as: Can I go? Are you happy? However, children tend to generalize that all questions are formed by putting a verb at the beginning of a sentence. For example, "Is the teddy is tired? Do I can have a cookie? Why you don't have one? Why you watched it?"
• The fourth stage of question acquisition. Children begin to use subject-auxiliary inversion and can even add 'do' "Do dogs like ice cream?"
• This work occurs concurrently in multilingual. We can aid by focusing on specific grammatical aspects through modeling or language games, but most knowledge comes from balanced exposure. If one language is slipping behind, it is recommended to start with more exposure to that language and only after playing language games. 
• Modeling the correct question form is always helpful and frequently the only way to teach it.
• As a parent, speak clearly to your child and naturally model good speech.
• Repeat what your child says to show that you understand.
• Add on to what she says. Use words like, "Want juice? I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?"
• To help your child learn the rhythm of speech, sing simple songs and say nursery rhymes.
• Place familiar objects in a box and have your child take one out and tell you its name and how to use it, "This is my ball. I bounce it. I play with it."
• Help your child understand and ask questions. Play the yes–no-game. Ask questions such as, "Are you Marty?" and "Can a pig fly?" Have your child make up questions and try to fool you. Ask questions that include a choice, "Do you want an apple or an orange?" "Do you want to wear your red shirt or your blue shirt?"

For language, social and brain development

• Reading together and talking about the pictures in books. Ask, “What do you see? Where is the balloon?”
• Talking about your activities as you move through the day. Name your actions as you complete them.
• Playing with toys that mimic real activities (farm sets, kitchen sets, dollhouses, play tools). Talk to your child while you play together. Start with simple, two-word sentences like “Cow walking” or “Cooking pizza.”
• Singing simple songs such as “Old MacDonald” and the “Wheels on the Bus.” Urge your child to sing with you and follow the hand and body movements.
• Ask about your child’s ideas: What part of the book did you like?
• Recognize emotions while also teaching social skills: I know the doll stroller is your favorite toy, but Peter would want to take a turn pushing it.
• Assist your child in recovering from a temper tantrum. Some toddlers are soothed when they are hugged. Others appreciate having some time alone in a safe, peaceful environment.
• Since a child can use one object to stand in for another. A shoebox may become a bed for my stuffed hippo. Let your child lead the play. Ask: Whom should I be? What will happen next?
• Use a pretend play to help your child handle challenging situations. You might act out a story together about meeting a new babysitter.
• Sometimes I get scared. I am getting so good at using my imagination but am not always sure what’s real and what’s pretend. Respond sensitively to your child’s fears. Explain what is real and pretend. This builds trust and security.
• Encourage turn-taking using toys, materials, and equipment.
• Encourage children to solve problems by talking to one another.
• To help kids deal with conflict or solve problems with each other, show them how to use the right words.
• Follow children's interests and make their interests a part of the environment.
• Children should be encouraged to talk about what they think and how they feel about things that happen. This may be especially important if a parent is away or deployed.
• Expand your child's vocabulary by adding new words or synonyms: Is your snack delicious?
• Do not ask yes-or-no questions. "What is the squirrel doing with the nut?"
• Be patient with your child's Why questions.
• Before you respond, ask him what he thinks.

Tips to increase your child’s vocabulary

• When your child points to an object, name the object before responding to the gesture.
• Rather than ask yes-or-no questions, offer a choice between two options. Instead of asking, “Do you want the toy car?”, you might say, “Do you want the car or the ball?”
• If your child does more pointing than speaking, ask him or her to “use your words.” Ask the child to say “help” if he or she needs help.
• Ask your child to follow directions for simple, well-known tasks: “Go get your coat and bring it to mom” or “Pick up your toys and put them on the shelf.”

Language Routines, Low and No Prep Language Games

Set Your Language Routines.

• I hope you have already developed verbal routines in each of your languages by this age. It is also a good moment to establish a few ground rules if you are just getting started.
• Decide which types of home language policies are most appropriate for your family at this time. You can pick between OPOL (one parent, one language) and Time & Place (time of day/week, or places where you use your minority languages). More complicated policies such as One Parent Two Languages or Translanguaging, which allow you to use multiple languages concurrently in the same scenario, are a better fit for situations with three and more languages.
• Incorporate Languages into daily routines (e.g., diaper change, feeding, changing, playing, going out). Because routines are systematic actions repeated every day, they are the most successful technique of applying languages at home. Routines offer numerous opportunities for language development and practice.

Expanding a child's language in meaningful ways

whether nonverbally, in English, or minority language, is an effective technique to support minority language and teach new vocabulary. Here are some key strategies to build on what kids say or communicate.

• Complete phrases by expanding them.
• Make phrases more complicated.
• Use words that are new and interesting.
• Recap their ideas.
• Relate to their lives, knowledge, or experiences.
• Describe your thinking.
• Link new and old ideas.

Expand on their observations.

• Expand on what your kid notices when they share an observation. When your child points out a full moon, take the time to discuss the moon's cycles. When your child sees a stop sign, have her look for additional traffic signs. Not only it teaches new facts and vocabulary, but also it allows them to feel heard.

Meal Time Language Routines 

• Assume your kitchen is a science lab. For instance, ask your kid what he or she thinks would happen if you mix baking soda and vinegar OR make "goop" by combining corn starch and water. Discuss how the "goop" feels (dry and wet at the same time).
• When snacking on strawberries, talk about the seeds outside. After washing, slice the strawberry in half and discuss what you observe. JOKE: What do you call a sad strawberry? (This is a "blue" berry.)
• Try novel fruits and vegetables such as star fruits, kiwis, husked corn, and so on. Talk about the shape, texture, and scents. Compare how the fruit/vegetable appears on the outside to how it appears on the inside. Ask your child questions and pay close attention to his or her responses.
• Give your child a few options when dining out (use the picture menu if the restaurant provides one). Allow your child to choose what he or she will eat from the options provided.

Bathtime Language Routines

• During bath time, provide numerous objects (a feather, cotton, leaf, pebble, etc...) and have your child predict whether the object will float or sink, then test them.
• Time their toothbrushing. Play one of your child's favorite songs while he or she brushes his or her teeth until the song is over.
• In the tub, you may stimulate creativity! Make bath paintings with your child using 1 tablespoon (or more) of cornstarch, 1/3 cup (eco-friendly) dishwashing soap, and food coloring. Allow your child to paint as much as he or she wants.
• Make a microphone out of an empty toilet paper roll and crumpled aluminum foil. Tape the ball of aluminum foil to the toilet paper roll. Encourage your child to use the microphone while in the tub to sing or tell stories.

Going for a walk

• Take your child on a scavenger hunt. Look around your house for any loose coin that has fallen between the sofa cushions. Once identified, assist your child in sorting the coins into various heaps based on category. The money he or she discovers can be used to buy a treat the next time you're out and about!
• Study Birds.
• Scatter birdseed or stale bread about the yard. Estimate how long it will take the birds to arrive. Keep an eye out for birds. Make sure to discuss the colors, sizes, and sounds that the birds make. Take some paper and ask your child to sketch some birds.
• Volunteering is an excellent method to teach your child the value of giving back. Your local SPCA is always looking for volunteers to walk its pets. As long as you have control of the leash, your child will be content to walk with a canine companion. Make the most of this opportunity to expand your vocabulary and spark conversation. You may also discuss dog safety.

Soft skills and Communication

• Transitioning from one activity to another can be difficult for kids and parents. Having two good options can help ease the stress of transitions. Ask, "Want to slither like a snake or hop like a frog?"
• Make cleaning up the fun by making it a game. Keep in mind to give a warning before you start to clean up. Warning signals include: a 5-minute verbal warning, ringing a bell, turning on a favorite song, or turning off the light.
• What should you do when you pick your child up from a play date, school, or a relative's house? Ask specific questions about what they did. To keep the conversation going, listen to what he/she says and add comments or ask more questions to keep it going.
• The number of words exchanged DOES matter in language growth!

Rest Time Routines

• Yoga has many health benefits for both children and adults.
• Try Tree pose with your child. "Tree Pose," then stand up tall. Breathe in and out and feel your legs and head reach for the ground and the sky. Lift your right leg, bend it at the knee, and put it on your left leg above or below the knee. Do this for both legs. The trunk of a tree should be strong, so let your leg be like that. Stretch your arms up like branches.
• Read stories aloud to your child.
• Your child will love hearing the same story again and again. As a parent, you can help your child learn about the structure of stories through repetition. This helps your child become a reader and a writer.
• Take a peaceful, quiet walk inside or outside.
• Agree to be extremely silent and attentive to the sounds that surround you. Make a question: "What do you hear? " Talk about where the noises might be coming from, and think about how they might be made. After your walk, think about all the different sounds you heard together. Find out how many your child can remember.

Talking is Teaching

Receptive language

• Has a 900-word vocabulary
• Follow two/three-part directions and requests, such as "put your pajamas in the hamper and your slippers in the closet."
• Understands the function of the objects (find something to play with, wear, etc.), size (large, small), and recognizable colors.
• Begins to recognize some frequently meet letters and words ( for instance "stop" sign, the "M" for MacDonalds, etc.)
• Learn new words quickly; know the most common object names.
• Understand the concept of "two."
• Understand gender differences.
• Know their own full name.
• Like silly humor, riddles, and practical jokes.
• Has fun with language; enjoys poems and recognizes language absurdities, such as, "Is that an elephant on your head?"
• Are aware of rhyming sounds in words.
• Recognize print around them on signs or in logos.
• Know that each alphabet letter has a name and identify at least 10 alphabet letters, especially those in their own names; and
• At the age of three, preschoolers start to develop number concepts – they can give you 1, more, or all of something.
• Speak 250 to 500 words
• Answer simple questions
• Speak in sentences of five to six words, and speak in complete sentences by age 4
• Speak clearly, although they may not be fully comprehensible until age 4
• Most of what they say makes sense.
• ·Begin correctly using plurals, pronouns, and prepositions more consistently.
• ·Frequently ask and responds to "who," "what," and "where" questions
• ·Often use complete sentences of 3 to 4 words.
• Asks a LOT of questions
• Likes to converse with others.
• Mainly uses proper grammar.
• Uses "I," "you," and "me"
• Knows his or her name, gender, street address, and a few nurseries rhymes
• Knows prepositions like in, on, and under
• Often makes mistakes with negatives and uses "double negatives," i.e., "I do not want to go."
• Able to describe the use of objects, such as "fork" or "car"
• Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just talking about the world around him or her
• Uses verbs that end in "ing," such as "walking" or "talking"
• Answers simple questions, such as "What do you do when you are hungry?"
• Repeats sentences
• Repeats noises, words, or phrases (may sound like stuttering)
• Uses most speech sounds, but may distort some of the more difficult sounds, such as l, r, s, sh, ch, y, v, z, th. These sounds may not be fully mastered until age 7 or 8.
• Uses consonants in the beginning, middle, and end of words. Some of the more difficult consonants may be distorted but attempts to say them
• Says “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
• Use new words and longer sentences.
• May attempt to read, calling attention to themselves and showing pride in their accomplishment.
• "Write," or scribble messages.
• Counts objects even if the quantities are incorrect.
• Tell stories

Pragmatic skills

At age of 3, we start paying attention to pragmatic skills in each of the languages available in the child's repertoire. Pragmatic language skills are the most abstract and complex of all language skills. Even when the child has age-appropriate vocabulary and syntax skills, she or he may not yet have learned how to use these skills in a socially appropriate manner for specific social purposes. Young children with NH acquire these skills rapidly between 3 and 4 years of age and are able to use these pragmatic language skills using complex language.

The areas of pragmatics where we should pay attention after preschoolers turn 3 are instrumental, regulatory, personal, interactional, asking for an explanation, sharing knowledge, and imagination. The percentage shows how many kids mastered those skills from 3 to 4 years old.

Instrumental – States needs (I want….)

• Makes polite requests (90% of kids acquire those pragmatic skills between 36-42 months)
• Makes choices (85%)
• Gives a description of an object wanted (83%)
• Expresses a specific personal need (89%)
• Requests help (84%)

Regulatory - Gives commands (Do as I tell you…)

• Gives directions to play a game (79%)
• Gives directions to make something (79%)
• Changes the style of commands or requests depending on who the child is speaking to and what the child wants (84%)

Personal – Expresses feelings

• Identifies feelings (I’m happy.) (79%)
• Explains feelings (I’m happy because it’s my birthday) (80%)
• Provides excuses or reasons (Emerging 30-36 months and 80% of kids master it by 36-42 months)
• Offers an opinion with support (74%)
• Complains (79%)
• Blames others (75%)
• Provides pertinent information on request (2 or 3 of the following: name, address, phone, birthdate) (75% by 36-42 months)

Interactional - Me and You

• Interacts with others in a polite manner (89%)
• Uses appropriate social rules such as greetings, farewells, thank you, and getting attention (79%)
• Attends to the speaker (79%)
• Maintains a conversation (able to keep it going) (79%)
• States a problem (74%)
• Disagrees with others (74%)
• Compliments others (79%)

Wants explanations - Tell me Why

• Asks questions to get more information (79%)
• Asks questions because of curiosity (90%)

Shares Knowledge and Imaginations - I've got something to tell you

• Role plays as/with different characters (74%)
• Role plays with props (e.g., banana as a phone) (90% by 36-42 months)

If you see a lack of pragmatic knowledge, you can always teach it directly. It takes practice and repetition before new skills become automatic, so do not rush but be consistent. Examine their pragmatic skills in all your native languages as well. Multilinguals should develop pragmatics abilities in each target language, as pragmatics competence varies between languages. Kids should have no problem learning pragmatic competence in many languages.

Vocabulary and Grammar development

• Three-year-olds who speak English show the following development stages in negation and question acquisition. However, each child is unique and has unique language challenges. Your child can work on all the stages at the same time. You can observe more consistent usage of the articles, and by the age of four, kids will be using the simple past tense.
• Children also expand their negation skills and most likely will be in the fourth stage of negation. They begin to attach the negative element to the correct form of auxiliary verbs such as "do" and ‘be’: "You didn’t have supper." "She doesn’t want it." They may still have difficulty with some other features related to negatives., such as double negatives "I don’t have no more candies."
• At three, most children are in the third stage of question acquisition. Gradually, children notice the different question structures and start producing questions like: Can I go? Are you happy? However, kids tend to generalize that all questions begin with a verb. Is the teddy is tired? Do I can have a cookie? Why you don’t have one? Why you watched it?
• Some of the preschoolers will advance into the fourth stage of question acquisition, where they start using subject-auxiliary inversion and can even add 'do’. Do dogs like ice cream?

Modeling the correct question and its answer is always helpful and frequently the only way to teach it.

• Speak clearly to your child, use adult words, and complete sentences.
• If you don't understand what they say, repeat their words. If they speak in a word chunks, try to guess and complete their sentence, offering options (e.g., "Wait, you say, "Mama, want a spoon?" Do you want me to give you a spoon or do you want me to take the spoon?")
• Play with words, introduce new synonyms, and expand their sentences by adding more complexity. Convert disconnected words like "Juice" into complete sentences. "Want juice? I have juice. I have apple juice. Do you want apple juice?"
• Your child works on inverted and wh-questions. Help him in asking and answering those questions. Ask Wh-questions frequently, demonstrating the correct grammatical order - WH-subject pronoun + main verb by asking questions. ("Who can help me?").
• Also, ask questions that include a choice, "Do you want an apple or an orange?"
• To help your child learn the rhythm of speech, sing simple songs and say nursery rhymes.

Boosting their language

• When your child is speaking to you, pay attention.
• Before you speak, make sure your child is paying attention. Maintain eye contact with your kid while speaking.
• Talk to your child clearly. Use complete sentences and use good speech.
• Ask questions with options. "Apple or orange?" "Do you want to read the red or blue book?"
• Restate your child's words to show you've heard them. Add to what he says.
• Teach new words to your child. Describe body parts and their functions. "These are my ear. I can hear with them. I hear birds, a car passing by and. What do you hear?"

• Show pictures of recognizable faces and places. Talk about who they are and what has happened in the past. Try imagining new scenarios of the actual events.

• Put familiar things in a box. Have your child pick one out and explain how to use it. "It's my toy truck. It can drive around. "

• Practice Wh- and inverted questions

  Help your child with inverted and wh-questions. Practice asking and answering those questions with him. Ask Wh-questions frequently, demonstrating the correct grammatical order - WH-subject pronoun + main verb by asking questions. ("Who can help me?") and Inverted Question where the predicate (verb) comes before the subject (noun) - Does she go outside today? Did you eat?

• Expand your child's language in meaningful ways

  whether nonverbally, in English or minority language, is an effective technique to support minority language and teach new vocabulary. Here are some key strategies to build on what kids say or communicate.

  • Complete phrases by expanding them.
  • Make phrases more complicated.
  • Use words that are new and interesting.
  • Recap their ideas.
  • Relate to their lives, knowledge, or experiences.
  • Describe your thinking.
  • Link new and old ideas.
• Use words like "first," "middle," and "last," as well as "right" and "left," to describe where things are. Consider the terms "up" and "down," as well as "on" and "off." Do not forget to teach those words in your target language(s)
• Memorize and recite simple melodies and rhymes. It teaches your child verbal rhythm.

Set Your Language Routines.

• I hope you have already developed verbal routines in each of your languages by this age. It is also a good moment to establish a few ground rules if you are just getting started.
• Decide which types of home language policies are most appropriate for your family at this time. You can pick between OPOL (one parent, one language) and Time & Place (time of day/week, or places where you use your minority languages). More complicated policies such as One Parent Two Languages or Translanguaging, which allow you to use multiple languages concurrently in the same scenario, are a better fit for situations with three and more languages.
• Incorporate Languages into daily routines (e.g., diaper change, feeding, changing, playing, going out). Because routines are systematic actions repeated every day, they are the most successful technique of application languages at home. Routines offer numerous opportunities for language development and practice.
• Be a language role model for your child. Speak clearly to your child and show your best speech. Maintain eye contact while speaking.
• Pay attention when your child is speaking to you.
• Make sure your child is paying attention before you speak.
• Pause after you speak. It creates an opportunity for your child to respond.
• Restate what your kid says to show you understand what she said.
• Keep teaching your child new words so that they can speak them. Say a new word and explain what it means or use it in a way that makes sense to him. For example, instead of "car," you may say "vehicle." You can tell, "I think I will drive the vehicle to the store. I'm too exhausted to walk." Name body parts and talk about what you do with them. "This is my nose. I can smell roses, apples, and shampoo."
• Praise your child when they tell you something.

Fun and useful Activities

Talk, Read and Sing Together Every Day!

Language-rich environments provide children with many opportunities to interact with people and exchange ideas throughout the day. A rich language environment benefits early language, vocabulary, reading, math skills, and social-emotional development. Read to your child at least once a day (but preferably several times per day), play games, cuddle up, and discuss different things with your kids as often as you can.

Actively involve kids in conversations.

• Pay attention to the child's words. If the child is not yet speaking, pay attention to what they are doing or pointing. Use these opportunities to converse. Take communicational turns and wait for their response. Your child may be communicating nonverbally through gestures, looks, smiles, babbles, and word approximations (children's attempts at words).
• Talk about what he is doing, seeing, or is interested in and ask questions about the child's experiences or interests. Try to model new language by adding words or questions to what the kid says or does.

Start Storytelling

• Developing early narrative skills is one of the most critical skills to work on at this age, and it starts with reading books.
• When you read, make pauses to make sure that the child understands the story's plot.
• To elicit understanding, you can ask your child to point to pictures as you read.
• Work on two step-directions - ask your child first to point to one picture and then to a second one. For example, "Point to the car and the truck" or "Where is the dog and the cat?"
• After finishing the story, try to retell the story again, asking the child to point at the pictures chronologically. For example, 'The boat sank. Point to the boat, please. Then everyone had to swim to the beach. Can you point to people? Where is the beach?"
• Use different linking words correctly, such as 'because,' 'then,' 'now,' 'when,' before,' while,' and 'although.'
• Present the same information using a variety of sentence types.
• Your child understands the difference between fact and theory – that is, the difference between 'What happened?' and 'Why do you think...?'
• Your child's Storytelling will improve as they continue to learn and practice the language.
• Practice this technique in your second or target language. You can even use the same book but narrate in a second language.
• What if the child starts answering in a first language? Model/translate his answer in the second language. Ask him to repeat after you. Kids love to repeat at this age, so the child will not object to following your lead.

ASKING QUESTIONS IS IMPORTANT

• To improve communication, ask stimulating and developmentally appropriate questions. Here are four ways to ask questions to extend talks.
• Ask kids what they're doing: What are you working on today? You've been busy, tell me about your project. What do you want to do with them?
• Ask kids for explanations: How do you explain it? How may I help you? How did you do it?
• Ask kids to predict. What do you expect next? What else could we do with this? What would you do?
• Ask them to relate what they're learning to life. What do you think this reminds you of? These bricks are blue — what blue items do we have at home? The girl in the story adored her goldfish. Do you own a pet? Please tell me about them.
• Giving kids with little language, a choice can make it easier for them to answer to questions. “Did you draw that with crayons or markers?”
• Maintain high expectations for all kids and gradually increase the difficulty of your questions as they mature.

Promote “big” talks

• “Big” talks benefit children. Give children numerous opportunities to speak and communicate, ask open-ended questions, encourage them to think and imagine, and have many back-and-forth exchanges. Here are four basic methods to get kids to talk in English or their native language.
• Encourage back-and-forth interaction. Talk about children's interests and experiences. Take turns talking. Show that you care about what they do and what they say. Give a child plenty of time to respond.
• Expand the child's language. Extend children's words or attempts towards speaking. If a toddler says "ball," you can say, "the purple ball rolls!" Add new vocabulary words to what children already use. Rephrase the child's language using correct grammar.
• Invite your kid to describe their actions. Comment on the child's actions. Ask them about their current activities, previous activities, and further plans. Encourage kids to compare and examine alternatives and possibilities.
• Boost higher-order thinking. Encourage children to establish links between school, family, and community life. Demonstrate and explain your thought process. Bring new ideas or concepts.

INTERACTIVE AND DIALOGIC READING

Dialogic reading is a fun technique to discuss books with young children. This strategy aims to keep a child engaged in a discussion so they can acquire new concepts and vocabulary, practice using words, and build longer phrases and sentences. It can assist children in learning vocabulary and language, especially those learning multiple languages. It is critical to read in your child's native language and English.

• Show the book and encourage kids to make guesses about the story.
• Highlight key phrases or concepts to assist the kids get ready for the story.
• Talk about the pictures in books. Ask, “What do you see? Where is the balloon?”
• Read the book from start to finish, using as much expression and gesture as possible.
• Encourage kids to participate by making predictions, answering questions, and pointing out or commenting on pictures, letters, and words.
• Let the kids tell more of the story each time you read the book.
• Talk about new words, concepts, and silly actions.

Ask "thinking" questions

When reading a book ask your child "thinking questions." CROWD is a reliable approach to remembering how to ask thinking questions. That is:

• Questions of completion (ask children to fill in the blank)
• Questions of recall (ask children if they remember something about the story)
• open-ended questions (encourage more than one-word answers)
• WH- QUESTION (ask children who, what, where, when, how, and why)
• Make connections between the story and your own experiences (distinguishing questions).

Tips to increase your child’s vocabulary

• When your child points to an object, name the object before responding to the gesture.
• Rather than ask yes-or-no questions, offer a choice between two options. Instead of asking, “Do you want the toy car?”, you might say, “Do you want the car or the ball?”
• If your child does more pointing than speaking, ask him or her to “use your words.” Ask the child to say “help” if he or she needs help.
• Ask your child to follow directions for simple, well-known tasks: “Go get your coat and bring it to mom” or “Pick up your toys and put them on the shelf.”

Teach new words

Keep teaching your child new words so that they can speak them. Say a new word and explain what it means or use it in a way that makes sense to him. For example, instead of "car," you may say "vehicle." You can tell, "I think I will drive the vehicle to the store. I'm too exhausted to walk." Name body parts and describe their functions in your home or target language. "These are my hands. I can clap with them."

Ideas for improving early bilingual or multilingual children's linguistic environments

• Use multimedia and real-world things to connect both languages. If you are discussing a seahorse, show a toy or a photo of one.
• When speaking in a new language, use gestures, and body language. Face expressions teach children.
• VOICE: SLOW AND CLEAR Children require time to hear and comprehend what is stated.
• Repeat, repeat and repeat new words in different contexts, so your child understands how to use it and can generalize patterns.
• Predict new words and their meanings. Use lots of contexts based on everyday objects, routines, and the kids' current experiences.
• Encourage peer-to-peer play. Children learn a lot of language from their classmates.
• Encourage children to keep learning their new language by praising their responses.
• Talking about your activities as you move through the day. Name your actions as you complete them.

Language routines

Language routines are crucial because they help children develop their social-emotional health and language skills. Whenever you engage a child in daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, playtime, diapering, rest time, taking a walk, talking, reading, and bedtime, you create multiple language development opportunities.

Meal Time

• The more time you give your toddler to practice feeding and drinking from his or her own spoon, the better he or she will get at these skills.
• Make sure your toddler has time to play with his or her doll or stuffed animal and feed it.
• Your toddler will be able to "cook" with play food, plates, pots and pans, cups, and more. Enjoy your pretend meal!

Going for a walk

• Encourage your toddler to throw, push, and kick a ball forward, and help him or her learn how to do this.
• Dance, hop, and march.
• Sing songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Wheels on the Bus” (see song list).
• Take a nature walk and pick up things like acorns, leaves, sticks, pinecones, and more to fill a wagon or bucket. Fills and dumps things over and over again is a favorite thing for toddlers because they enjoy it so much!
• Make instruments from oatmeal containers, rice-filled paper towel rolls, bells connected to ribbons, etc. March in a band.

Bedtime

• To help your toddler get ready for bed, cover the doll or stuffed animal with a blanket and pat its back.
• Goodnight Moon is a book you should read before going to bed (see book list). Find the moon and talk about it. Then you can pretend to jump over the moon and fall down.
• Read Time for Bed (see list) and discuss where, how, and when animals sleep.
• Slowly let your child color or paint while listening to lullabies or other slow, relaxing, or classical music. He or she could also crawl, walk, or dance slowly to the music.
• Give your child choices! For example, let your child choose from two pairs of pajamas. He or she could also choose from three books. Point to each book and count how many there are.

Language Development

• Continues to learn new words quickly.
• Uses 4-6 word sentences
• Enjoys listening to and discussing stories.
• Recognize that print has meaning.
• Recognize well-known symbols.
• Make some letter-sound matching.
• Try to read and write by using familiar letters (or their best attempt at writing the letters) to represent written language, particularly for key terms like their names or sentiments like "I love you."
• Talks about everything they do or think
• Tells extensive stories on personal experiences
• Asks "who" and "why" questions
• They're looking for answers to their "how" and "why" questions.
• Understands and uses "yesterday" and "tomorrow."
• Correctly uses past, present, and future tenses.
• Matches and sorts items in multiple ways
• Knows prepositions and understands spatial positions (e.g., beside, behind, in front)
• Plays with words, sounds, and rhymes.
• Names many colors and shapes.
• Uses possessive(my, his, her, etc)
• Uses double negative sentences
• Asks and answers simple who, what and when questions
• Follows 4 step instructions
• Use the third-person ending (walks, reads).
• Makes simple jokes
• Says his full name.
• Knows about 900 words
• Language development is quick.
• He comprehends more words than he can articulate.
• Tells simple events in sequence
• Shows early phonological awareness (hearing and recognizing the sounds of language)
• Uses words to talk about ideas and feelings.
• Usually obeys requests and can be reasoned.
• Comprehends difficult questions
• Speech is understandable, although it contains errors. pronouncing terms like "hippopotamus" that are long, difficult, or complex
• Uses irregular past tense verbs like "ran" and "fallen."
• Explains how to do things like painting a picture.
• Knows some basic grammar rules, such as how to correctly use "he" and "she."
• From memory, sings or recites a song or poem like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheels on the Bus."
• Tells stories

Four-year-olds are imaginative, curious, and self-reliant. Their imaginations run wild, and they want to show off their skills. Their ability to solve issues and regulate emotions grows with their linguistic skills. Nevertheless, they still require tons of adult help to acquire the habits needed to succeed in school and afterward.

• Talking means learning for kids in the preliteracy stage, therefore it is one of the most effective strategies to build your kids' expressive language and literacy skills.
• At four, kids can understand and answer more complicated questions ("why"), apply the new spatial vocabulary (next to, above), and explain their own actions (how they solved a puzzle). They are learning to take turns in conversation and build on others' ideas at this age. 
• Children at four can effectively articulate themselves predicting what will happen next in a book. In the meantime, they can't always tell what's real and what's made up yet. 
• Four years old is a great time to talk about what they like and are interested
• The ability to learn new things and stay focused is universal. Take advantage of growing minority languages. Try to talk about new things and activities in your target languages.
• Because four-year-olds can follow game rules with some adjustments, the plays become increasingly sophisticated. Nonetheless, they like trying new things and become more inventive with pretend play, both alone and with other children. At this age, they frequently play "Mom" or "Dad." Also, because they prefer playing with other kids over playing alone, it is a great time to practice establishing new friends, collaborating, keeping caring-sharing attitudes, and resolving conflicts. Playdates in a target language are always an excellent opportunity for minority language development (s). Kids are also ready to play board and card games. Many board games, like "Headband" and "Guess who," aim to teach language skills. 
• Talking to your children is one of the most effective and simple ways to help them improve their expressive language skills in target languages. Chatting with kids expands and activates their vocabulary. At four, children enjoy listening to and discussing stories. They also comprehend more words than they can articulate, so do not be afraid to read books that are a little bit above their current developmental level. However, when you read, pause frequently to check if they understand words and general ideas. It applies to all the languages of your household. The great news is that their language rapidly develops, and they learn new words quickly.
• Developmentally they are ready to tell extensive stories on personal experiences, what they like and are interested in, and talk about everything they do or think. Also, they eagerly "teach" or explain how to do things like painting a picture, which allows you to engage them in extensive "discussions." They are ready to tell simple events in sequence, using “at the beginning,” “then,” and “in the end.” They understand and use “yesterday” and “tomorrow” correctly, applying past, present, and future tenses.
• Help your kids with the sequential retelling of the read stories or actual events. It tremendously improves their expressive language skills. Of course, in the case of multilinguals, they may still be a bit hesitant about tenses in each of their languages, so help them by intentionally asking about their past and future plans and activities.
• "Who," "How," and "Why" become more profound and intentional questions. Please spend some time answering them, even if it requires some research from your side. It is a critical moment when kids start developing scientific inquiry alongside language. Those questions are also your guide to what interests your child now. Use them for teaching both language and knowledge. At the same time, they are not only asking questions but also can answer “how,” “who,” and “when” questions by themselves. Asking and answering questions is an important skill in language development, so use this time to practice questions in your minority languages.
• It is also when they become more imaginative with pretend play and often can not tell what's real and what is made up.
• The great news is that preschoolers usually follow requests and can be reasoned with words. Use this wonderful time to expand their passive and active vocabulary. Talk at length about their and others' behavior reasoning and draw attention to the consequences of their actions in different situations. Their ability to follow 4 step instructions gives you a fantastic opportunity to practice comprehension in minority and target languages.
• You can expect your child to know about 900 words in any language and use 4–6-word sentences in the strongest language or every language if they are well balanced. Also, it is expected that children at this age understand spatial ideas like (e.g., besides, behind, in front, next to, right, left) and know and use correct prepositions. At this age, all kids are ready to sing or recite simple songs or poems like "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "Wheels on the Bus" from memory. Do not shy away and teach them short children poetry from your native language.
• In terms of literacy, four-year-olds from any language background recognize that print has meaning. When they write, try to use familiar words and letters (or their best efforts at writing them) to show written language, like when they write their names or say things like "I love you." Shows early phonological awareness (hearing and recognizing the sounds of language). They enjoy playing rhyming games.

Vocabulary and Grammar development

English speakers between 4-5 years are expected to

• Use possessives
• Use double negatives sentences
• Use third person
• Use irregular past tense verbs like "ran" and "fallen."
• Know some basic grammar rules, such as how to use "he" and "she correctly."
• Join sentences to form complex sentences
• Speech is understandable, although it contains errors. pronouncing terms like "hippopotamus" that are long, difficult, or complex
• Mispronounce 40 percent of speech sounds.

At the age of 4 yo, many English-speaking children pass through the 5th and 6th stages of question acquisition. These are naturally accruing language developmental sequences for monolingual native speakers. In bilinguals and multilinguals, those stages may occur at different ages under natural conditions. Suppose you are interested in helping your child improve their questions and negations. In that case, you may play various question games,  like "wh- bingo," or dedicate time to work on asking and answering questions verbally.

Remember that kids need active participation to practice new skills, so let them talk and not forget to model correct questions.

Question Acquisition

English language development passes through stage 5 of question acquisition and is characterized by inversions. Children learn to use inversion in both yes/no and wh-questions.

The way how children learn to create questions in English is remarkably consistent. It is important to note that the "wh" words appear in a specific order.

• "What" is often the first question asked in the wh- series.
• Then you may expect "Where," "Who," and "Why.
• "When" and "How" appear the last.

Question Acquisition In English and Typical Errors

A.

• Inversion: Auxiliary (e.g., is) in 2nd position
• *Who is the woman who talks to the girl?
• Who's buying it?
• What's he doing?
• What's she going outside for?
• Are these your boots?

B.

• Inversion: Do operator (e.g., does/do) in 2nd position
• What does she hold in her hand?
• *What does she asking for, this girl?
• How do you call it?
• *Why did he crying?
• Why did you do that?
• Does daddy have a car?

C.

• Inversion: Modal (e.g., may) in 2nd position
• Who may be calling?
• Where will she take this?
• Stage 6 of question acquisition
• Negative question with do operator. However, the negative question is still challenging.
• Why the teddy bear can’t go outside?
• Doesn't she want to come in?
• Finally, wh-words appear in subordinate sentences or questions.
• Do you know where the ball is?

We expect kids to practice asking questions and making mistakes when they learn English organically. If English is not the child's first language, asking questions is a skill that you may teach directly and through games.

Modeling the correct question form is always helpful and frequently the only way to teach it. You may also observe transfers from other languages in asking questions. In Russian, for example, the words' position does not alter when we ask. Russians ask questions tonally. My child used to ask questions in English with intonation. It was fine for me but trying to communicate with English speakers, in the same way, confused them. So we had to practice asking questions in English until she became more confident in it.

Pragmatic skills to work on

At the age of three, we began to focus on pragmatic skills in all languages in the child's repertoire, by age four pragmatic skills should be already present in a child. In the meantime, pragmatic language abilities are the most abstract and challenging to master and often require special attention from our side. Even if the child possesses age-appropriate vocabulary and syntax skills, they may not have learned how to apply these skills in a socially suitable manner for specific social reasons. Young children with normal hearing learn these skills quickly between the ages of 3 and 5 and can employ them with the help of language.

The areas of pragmatics which we should pay attention have different functions: instrumental, regulatory, personal, interactional, asking for an explanation, sharing knowledge, and imagination. These skills are also universal and transferrable across languages. However, each culture has its peculiarities.

It would be good to explain those cultural differences at this age. Hence, the child knows some potential problematic or contradictory areas.

Pragmatics expectations are your guidelines. You can practice those skills in languages that are not strong enough yet. The percentage shows how many kids mastered those skills from 4 to 5 years old.

Pragmatic skills to work on at age of four

INTERACTIONAL - Me and You…

• 80% of four-year-olds master how to revise/repair an incomplete message,
• 90% know how to end a conversation without just walking away.
• 85% interject appropriately into an already established conversation with others, and
• 86% know how to apologize or explain behavior.
• 90% ask for clarification about things they do not understand, and
• 81% can judge and criticize others.

WANTS EXPLANATIONS - Tell me Why…

As we have seen earlier, kids start to ask more profound questions at this period.

• 77% learn how to ask questions to gather information systematically.
• 90% ask questions to solve problems (What should I do? How do I know?),
• 78% ask questions to make predictions (What will happen if…?)

SHARES KNOWLEDGE & IMAGINATIONS - I’ve got something to tell you…

• 95% of preschoolers describe a situation, including the main events,
• 90% relate the content of a 4-6 frame picture story using correct events for each frame.
• 81% create an original story with a beginning, several logical events, and an end. 80% can explain the relationship between two objects, actions, or situations.
• 100% compares and contrasts qualities of two objects, actions, or situations.
• 81% of the kids can correctly re-tell a story told to them
• 86% can tell a lie.
• 91% understand and express humor or sarcasm.

You must be wondering what pragmatics is and how to use a pragmatic checklist. It is your guide. Just focus on one component and ask yourself: "Can my 4-year-old ask questions to solve problems? Can she do it easily in all her languages?" If the answer is no (and your child is likely stronger in one of the languages), consider how you can incorporate teachable moments into your everyday routine to practice those skills. 

Everyday Fun With Speaking

Set Your Language Routines.

• I hope you have already developed verbal routines in each of your languages by this age. It is also a good moment to establish a few ground rules if you are just getting started.
• Decide which types of home language policies are most appropriate for your family at this time. You can pick between OPOL (one parent, one language) and Time & Place (time of day/week, or places where you use your minority languages). More complicated policies such as One Parent Two Languages or Translanguaging, which allow you to use multiple languages concurrently in the same scenario, are a better fit for situations with three and more languages.
• Incorporate Languages into daily routines (e.g., diaper change, feeding, changing, playing, going out). Because routines are systematic actions repeated every day, they are the most successful technique for applying languages at home. Routines offer numerous opportunities for language development and practice.
• Be a language role model for your child. Speak clearly to your child and show your best speech. Maintain eye contact while speaking.
• Pay attention when your child is speaking to you.
• Make sure your child is paying attention before you speak.
• Pause after you speak. It creates an opportunity for your child to respond.
• Restate what your kid says to show you understand what she said.
• Keep teaching your child new words so that they can speak them. Say a new word and explain what it means or use it in a way that makes sense to him. For example, instead of "car," you may say "vehicle." You can tell, "I think I will drive the vehicle to the store. I'm too exhausted to walk." Name body parts and talk about what you do with them. "This is my nose. I can smell roses, apples, and shampoo."
• Praise your child when they tell you something.

• Expanding a child's language in meaningful ways

  whether nonverbally, in English or minority language, is an effective technique to support minority language and teach new vocabulary. Here are some key strategies to build on what kids say or communicate.

  • Complete phrases by expanding them.
  • Make phrases more complicated.
  • Use words that are new and interesting.
  • Recap their ideas.
  • Relate to their lives, knowledge, or experiences.
  • Describe your thinking.
  • Link new and old ideas.

• Extend their observations.

  Expand on what your kid notices when they share an observation. When your child points out a full moon, take the time to discuss the moon's cycles. When your child sees a stop sign, have her look for additional traffic signs. Not only it teaches new facts and vocabulary, but also it allows them to feel heard.

• Sing simple songs and nursery rhymes. It allows your child to grasp speech rhythm.

• "Let's Investigate Together!"

  With a smartphone, you can now answer many of your child's "Why?" questions. When they puzzle you with the question, say “I have no idea. Let's find it out!" and use the internet to find the answer, but first, ask your child, "What do you think?"

• Make a Grocery List with New Words and Go grocery shopping together.

  Discuss what you'll buy, how many you'll need, and what you'll make. Talk to your child while you pick and add goods to the cart. Name foods in the aisle and describe them with new adjectives. Talk about size, shape, and weight. "The bananas are ripe and yellow. We can eat these for lunch. Let's gently lay those ripe bananas down, so they don't damage."

• Teach Shapes and Sizes Words.

  Hearing spatial language helps young children acquire spatial reasoning. Shapes (triangle, square), sizes (tall, wide), shape attributes (corner, edge), and orientation (above, below, near, between) are words that they should be familiar with. Help your child by describing daily activities. As in: "I see several round grapes on the floor. Place them in this container."

• Learn the language by doing everyday tasks.

  For example, when you are in the kitchen, chat about the menu's foods, color, texture, and flavor. Discuss where you want to put things. Ask her to put the napkin on the table, in your lap, or under the spoon. Discuss to whom the napkin belonged to. "It's my napkin," you say. "It belongs to Daddy." "It belongs to Tamara."

• Use words like "first," "middle," and "last," as well as "right" and "left," to describe where things are. Consider the terms "up" and "down," as well as "on" and "off."
• Do not forget to teach those words in your target language(s)

• Watch movies on the big screen or a tablet as a family.

  Talk to your kid about what they are watching. Ask her to predict what will happen next. Discuss the characters. Are they happy or sad? Ask her to tell you about the story. Act out a scene together, or come up with a different ending.

• Actively involve kids in conversations.

  • Pay attention to the child's words. If the child is not yet speaking, pay attention to what they are doing or pointing. Use these opportunities to converse. Take communicational turns and wait for their response. Your child may be communicating nonverbally through gestures, looks, smiles, babbles, and word approximations (children's attempts at words).
  • Talk about what he is doing, seeing, or is interested in and ask questions about the child's experiences or interests. Try to model new language by adding words or questions to what the kid says or does.
• Work on categories or groups of objects. Find the item that does not belong in any of the groups. For example, "Because you cannot eat a shoe, it does not go with an apple or an orange. It is not round. It is not a fruit at all."
• Help your child to follow two- and three-step instructions. "Go to your room and bring me your teddy bear," for example.
• Ask your child to give directions. Follow his directions to create a block tower.
• Encourage peer-to-peer play. Children learn a lot of language from their play partners.
• Encourage children to keep learning their new language by praising their responses.
• Finally, give the child time to answer. It may be a nonverbal response for young children, such as gestures or looks. Keep an eye on the child's facial and body expressions to see if they are interested.

• Promote “big” talks

  “Big” talks benefit children. Give children numerous opportunities to speak and communicate, ask open-ended questions, encourage them to think and imagine, and have many back-and-forth exchanges. Here are four basic methods to get kids talking in English or their native language.

  • Encourage back-and-forth interaction: Talk about children's interests and experiences. Take turns talking. Show that you care about what they do and what they say. Give a child plenty of time to respond.
  • Expand the child's minority language: Extend children's words or attempts towards speaking. If your kid says "ball," you can say, "the purple ball rolls!" Add new vocabulary words to the ones children already use. Rephrase the child's language using correct grammar.
  • Invite your kid to describe their actions: Comment on the child's actions. Ask them about their current activities, previous activities, and further plans. Encourage kids to compare and examine alternatives and possibilities.
  • Boost higher-order thinking: Encourage children to establish links between school, family, and community life. Demonstrate and explain your thought process. Bring new ideas or concepts.
• Use multimedia and real-world things to connect both languages. If you are discussing a seahorse, show a toy or a photo of one. Provide a name in your second (and other languages)
• When speaking in a new language, use gestures and body language. Face expressions and body language teach children a lot and provide visual cues.
• Use SLOW AND CLEAR VOICE Children require time to hear and comprehend what is stated. If you notice that the child does not understand, slow down and say the new word/concept clearly and loud.

• Storytelling.

  • Kids get better at telling stories between the ages of 4 and 8. One of the most critical skills to work on at this age is early narrative skills, which starts with reading books. Pause reading to ensure the child understands the plot. Ask your kid to point to pictures as you read to them. After finishing the story, ask the child to point to the images in order. For example, 'The boat sank. Point to the boat, please. Then everyone had to swim to the beach. Can you point to people? Where is the beach?"
  • Work on two step-directions - ask your child first to point to one picture and then to a second one. For example, "Point to the car and the truck" or "Where are the dog and the cat?" Use different linking words correctly, such as 'because,' 'then,' 'now,' 'when,' before,' while,' and 'although.' As a parent, you need to be dynamic by presenting the same information using a variety of sentence types. By doing that, your child understands the difference between fact and opinion. In other words, the difference between 'What happened?' and 'Why do you think...?'
• Your child's Storytelling will improve as they continue to learn and practice the language. Practice these techniques in your second or target language. You can even use the same book but narrate in a second language. What to do if the child starts answering in a first language? Model/translate his answer in the second language. Ask him to repeat after you. Kids love to repeat at this age, so the child most likely won't refuse to follow your request.
• Ask to predict new words and their meanings. Try to use contexts, everyday objects, routines, and the kids' current experiences to connect the meaning of the words in different languages. Your child may know math in one language but may lack similar vocabulary in a second language. So next time you are doing homework, introduce math terms in your minority language.

• Interactive and Dialogic Reading

  • Dialogic reading is a fun technique to discuss books with young children. This strategy's purpose is to keep a child engaged in a discussion so they can acquire new concepts and vocabulary, practice using words, and build longer phrases and sentences. It can assist children in learning vocabulary and language, especially those learning multiple languages. It is critical to read to your child's native language and English.
  • Show the book and encourage kids to make guesses about the story, and highlight key phrases or concepts to assist the kids in getting ready for the story.
  • Then read the book from start to finish, using as much expression and gesture as possible.
  • Encourage kids to participate by making predictions, answering questions, and pointing out or commenting on pictures, letters, and words.
  • Let the kids make an alternative plot or ending of the story incorporating new words, concepts, and silly actions.
  • Make a habit of asking recap questions every time you read, starting as early as possible.

• Reading books and asking questions is a fantastic opportunity to strengthen two minority languages simultaneously. Read in minority language A first, then evaluate the child's comprehension in minority language B.

  After you have finished reading, you can ask your child the following types of questions:

  • Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details
  • Summarizing
  • Sequencing
  • Inferencing
  • Comparing and contrasting
  • Drawing conclusions
  • Self-questioning
  • Problem-solving
  • Relating background knowledge
  • Understanding the difference between fact and opinion

• Asking questions is important.

  To improve communication, ask stimulating and developmentally appropriate questions. Here are four ways to ask questions to extend talks.

  • Ask kids what they're doing: "What are you working on today?" "You've been busy, tell me about your project." "What do you want to do with them?"
  • Ask kids for explanations: "How do you explain it?" "How may I help you?" "How did you do it?"
  • Ask kids to predict. "What do you expect next?" "What else could we do with this?" "What would you do?"
  • Ask them to relate what they're learning to their life. "What do you think this reminds you of?" "These bricks are blue. What blue items do we have at home?" "The girl in the story adored her goldfish. Do we own a pet? Please tell me about them."
  • Giving choices to kids with little language can make it easier for them to answer questions like, “Did you draw that with crayons or markers?” Also, maintain high expectations for all kids and gradually increase the difficulty of your questions as they mature.
• Ask Questions that help kids explore their ideas and start conversations. Kids at this age like the game "Which do you prefer?" Aks, "Do you like swings or slides?" "Why?" helps them clarify their thinking.

• Ask "thinking questions" CROWD is a reliable approach to remember how to ask thinking questions. That is:

  • Questions of Completion (ask children to fill in the blank)
  • Questions of Recall (ask children if they remember something about the story)
  • Open-ended questions (encourage more than one-word answers)
  • WH- QUESTION (ask children who, what, where, when, how, and why)
  • Distinguishing questions (Make connections between the story and own experiences).

• Clearly expresses himself
• Use full sentences to tell a simple story.
• Use the future tense, such as "Grandma will be here."
• Recognize time sequences (for example, what happened first, second, or third)
• Follow 3-directional tasks.
• Understand how to rhyme
• Participate in conversation
• Sentences can be 8 words or longer.
• Use compound and complex sentences.
• Describe things
• Use their imagination to make up stories.
• When they pretend to read, they make it sound like they're reading.
• Like to be read to.
• Retell short stories.
• When describing something or asking a question, use descriptive language.
• Recognize letters and letter-sound matches.
• Demonstrate understanding of rhyming and beginning sounds.
• Recognize the direction of print (left to right or right to left, and from top to bottom).
• Begin to match spoken words with written ones.
• Begin writing alphabet letters and words they hear frequently.
• Start writing stories with readable parts.
• Ask for the meanings of words.

Vocabulary and Grammar development

• Active vocabulary could be around 1000-2500 words.
• Passive vocabulary - all the way to 10K
• Pronouns all + herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
• Irregular past tense – e.g., fell, broke, ate.
• Auxiliaries and copulas in all tenses (helping verbs like "is," "will," "does")
• Irregular Third Person Regular Singular (She has it)
• Past Tense "be" verb (He was dancing)
• Uses How and Where questions
• Time: yesterday, tomorrow, morning, afternoon, later
• Sentences:
• Uses more complex sentences
• Uses imaginative language in play – likes to pretend and act out stories.
• Tells several attributes
• about an object
• By the time they are five, most kids can use the correct verbs to talk about past and future events. To talk about the past, your child can say, "Maxime and I played." To talk about the future, your child can say, "Maxime and I will play." Children also start to understand some things about time, like night, day, and yesterday.
• Your child will begin to understand that grammatical rules have exceptions. For example, instead of 'breaked,' 'threw,' and 'eated,' we say 'broke,' 'threw,' and 'ate.' To learn how the English language works will take a while. Even at the age of eight, some children struggle with the past tense of some verbs.
• Your youngster understands and can put words together to construct active sentences, such as 'The cat chased the dog.' They also start to understand passive sentences, like "The dog chased the cat."
• It might be hard for kids to remember who is doing what to whom when they describe a picture. In the next few years, your child will be able to make more and more correct sentences.
• Pragmatic Skills: Makes promises (82%)

LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Reading Skills

• Children continue to develop as independent readers in kindergarten, and they get more comfortable with reading, which is now a part of their daily lives. Students read books, the daily schedule, class letters, songs, and poems throughout the day.
• Learns all of the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet and their sounds.
• Begin to "read" books on his own, primarily by memorizing.
• Reads and listens to stories before discussing plots, characters, and events.
• Follows text from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page.
• Recognizes and creates rhyming words.
• I, my, you, is, and are just a few of the basic sight words he knows.
• Understands the concept of family words. Can replace the "C" in "Cat" with an "R" to get the word "Rat."

Activities for Kindergarten Readers

• Make a habit of sketching the main points of the story into a copybook and then ask to "retell" the story
• Ask your kid to “read” his favorite book using memory, associations, and pictorial cues.
• Create an alphabet book with a letter and an object that begins with that letter on each page.
• When reading a favorite picture book to your child, pause reading and let them repeat a short word that rhymes or is recognizable to them because they know the tale. Point to the word and spell it.

Writing in Kindergarten

• Make a habit of sketching the main points of the story into a copybook and then ask to "retell" the story
• Ask your kid to “read” his favorite book using memory, associations, and pictorial cues.
• Create an alphabet book with a letter and an object that begins with that letter on each page.
• When reading a favorite picture book to your child, pause reading and let them repeat a short word that rhymes or is recognizable to them because they know the tale. Point to the word and spell it.

Writing skills

• In kindergarten, your child's writing skills mature. Kindergartners start writing words (sometimes using their own developed spellings) and may even write mini-books and stories about their life or what they've learned.
• Don't worry if they misspell most words: Writing skills at this age require creative or created spelling. Spelling words based on sounds helps your child think about our language's basic blocks. Like “cat,” “big,” and “rug,” most words your kindergartener will learn to spell are one-syllable words that follow the CVC pattern (CONSONANT, VOWEL, CONSONANT).
• Writes capital and small letters
• Names them.
• When letters and words are dictated, he writes them down.
• Writes words with an invented or unique spelling.
• Uses standard spelling for some words (CVC and basic sight words).
• Writes, sketches, and dictates about a variety of themes, including their opinions and descriptions of items or life events.
• Writes capital and small letters
• Names them.
• When letters and words are dictated, he writes them down.
• Writes words with an invented or unique spelling.
• Uses standard spelling for some words (CVC and basic sight words).
• Writes, sketches, and dictates about various themes, including their opinions and descriptions of items or life events.

Activities for Kindergarten writing

• Create labels with your child for various items in your home, such as books, toy bins, foods, kitchen equipment, and clothing. You or your child can write the object names and draw a picture to go with it.
• Play Guessing Games: Draw a picture and ask your kid to spell it using only a few letters from the word. Show your kid the letters to form words with two letters (like “_at”).
• Make a Photo Album: Ask your child to label images of events or people. Then have them write down what happened, who was there, etc., on a sheet of paper.

Boosting 5-yo language

• When your child is speaking to you, pay attention.
• Before you speak, make sure your child is paying attention. Maintain an eye contact with you kid while speaking.
• Talk to your child clearly. Use complete sentences and use good speech.
• Ask questions with options. "Apple or orange?" "Do you want to read the red or blue book?"
• Restate your child's words to show you've heard them. Add to what he says.
• Teach new words to your child. Describe body parts and their functions. "These are my ear. I can hear with them. I hear birds, a car passing by and. What do you hear?"

• Show pictures of recognizable faces and places.

  Talk about who they are and what has happened in the past. Try imagining new scenarios of the actual events.

• Put familiar things in a box. Have your child pick one out and explain how to use it. "It's my toy truck. It can drive around. " 

Practice Wh- and inverted questions

Help your child with inverted and wh-questions. Practice asking and answering those questions with him. Ask Wh-questions frequently, demonstrating the correct grammatical order - WH-subject pronoun + main verb by asking questions. ("Who can help me?") and Inverted Question where the predicate (verb) comes before the subject (noun) - Does she go outside today? Did you eat?

• Expand your child's language in meaningful ways

  whether nonverbally, in English or minority language, is an effective technique to support minority language and teach new vocabulary. Here are some key strategies to build on what kids say or communicate.

  • Complete phrases by expanding them.
  • Make phrases more complicated.
  • Use words that are new and interesting.
  • Recap their ideas.
  • Relate to their lives, knowledge, or experiences.
  • Describe your thinking.
  • Link new and old ideas.
• Use words like "first," "middle," and "last," as well as "right" and "left," to describe where things are. Consider the terms "up" and "down," as well as "on" and "off." Do not forget to teach those words in your target language(s)
• Memorize and recite simple melodies and rhymes. It teaches your child verbal rhythm.

Set Your Language Routines.

• I hope you have already developed verbal routines in each of your languages by this age. It is also a good moment to establish a few ground rules if you are just getting started.
• Decide which types of home language policies are most appropriate for your family at this time. You can pick between OPOL (one parent, one language) and Time & Place (time of day/week, or places where you use your minority languages). More complicated policies such as One Parent Two Languages or Translanguaging, which allow you to use multiple languages concurrently in the same scenario, are a better fit for situations with three and more languages.
• Incorporate Languages into daily routines (e.g., diaper change, feeding, changing, playing, going out). Because routines are systematic actions repeated every day, they are the most successful technique of application languages at home. Routines offer numerous opportunities for language development and practice.
• Be a language role model for your child. Speak clearly to your child and show your best speech. Maintain eye contact while speaking.
• Pay attention when your child is speaking to you.
• Make sure your child is paying attention before you speak.
• Pause after you speak. It creates an opportunity for your child to respond.
• Restate what your kid says to show you understand what she said.
• Keep teaching your child new words so that they can speak them. Say a new word and explain what it means or use it in a way that makes sense to him. For example, instead of "car," you may say "vehicle." You can tell, "I think I will drive the vehicle to the store. I'm too exhausted to walk." Name body parts and talk about what you do with them. "This is my nose. I can smell roses, apples, and shampoo."
• Praise your child when they tell you something.

Rhyming games

Rhyming stories, such as Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, are fun to listen to and participate in.

• Sing an action rhyme or play rhyming games.
• Make silly jokes that rhyme. It could be like this: What do you call a stench-y elephant? A stinkyphant! An elephant that is watching TV is called an elephant that is watching TV. One of these is a tellyphant!

CONTINUE STORYTELLING

• Developing early narrative skills is one of the most critical skills to work on at this age, and it starts with reading books.
• When you read, make pauses to make sure that the child understands the story's plot.
• To elicit understanding, you can ask your child to point to pictures as you read.
• Work on two step-directions - ask your child first to point to one picture and then to a second one. For example, "Point to the car and the truck" or "Where is the dog and the cat?"
• After finishing the story, try to retell the story again, asking the child to point at the pictures chronologically. For example, 'The boat sank. Point to the boat, please. Then everyone had to swim to the beach. Can you point to people? Where is the beach?"
• Use different linking words correctly, such as 'because,' 'then,' 'now,' 'when,' before,' while,' and 'although.'
• Present the same information using a variety of sentence types.
• Your child understands the difference between fact and theory – that is, the difference between 'What happened?' and 'Why do you think...?'
• Your child's Storytelling will improve as they continue to learn and practice the language.
• Practice this technique in your second or target language. You can even use the same book but narrate in a second language.
• What if the child starts answering in a first language? Model/translate his answer in the second language. Ask him to repeat after you. Kids love to repeat at this age, so the child will not object to following your lead.

Actively involve kids in conversations.

• Pay attention to the child's words. If the child is not yet speaking, pay attention to what they are doing or pointing. Use these opportunities to converse. Take communicational turns and wait for their response. Your child may be communicating nonverbally through gestures, looks, smiles, babbles, and word approximations (children's attempts at words).
• Talk about what he is doing, seeing, or is interested in and ask questions about the child's experiences or interests. Try to model new language by adding words or questions to what the kid says or does.

ASKING QUESTIONS IS IMPORTANT

• To improve communication, ask stimulating and developmentally appropriate questions. Here are four ways to ask questions to extend talks.
• Ask kids what they're doing: What are you working on today? You've been busy, tell me about your project. What do you want to do with them?
• Ask kids for explanations: How do you explain it? How may I help you? How did you do it?
• Ask kids to predict. What do you expect next? What else could we do with this? What would you do?
• Ask them to relate what they're learning to life. What do you think this reminds you of? These bricks are blue — what blue items do we have at home? The girl in the story adored her goldfish. Do you own a pet? Please tell me about them.
• Giving kids with little language, a choice can make it easier for them to answer to questions. “Did you draw that with crayons or markers?”
• Maintain high expectations for all kids and gradually increase the difficulty of your questions as they mature.

Promoting “big” talks

• “Big” talks benefit children. Give children numerous opportunities to speak and communicate, ask open-ended questions, encourage them to think and imagine, and have many back-and-forth exchanges. Here are four basic methods to get kids talking in English or their native language.
• Encourage back-and-forth interaction. Talk about children's interests and experiences. Take turns talking. Show that you care about what they do and what they say. Give a child plenty of time to respond.
• Expand the child's language. Extend children's words or attempts towards speaking. If a toddler says "ball," you can say, "the purple ball rolls!" Add new vocabulary words to what children already use. Rephrase child's language using correct grammar.
• Invite your kid to describe their actions. Comment on the child's actions. Ask them about their current activities, previous activities, and further plans. Encourage kids to compare and examine alternatives and possibilities.
• Boost higher-order thinking. Encourage children to establish links between school, family, and community life. Demonstrate and explain your thought process. Bring new ideas or concepts.

INTERACTIVE AND DIALOGIC READING

Dialogic reading is a fun technique to discuss books with young children. This strategy aims to keep a child engaged in a discussion so they can acquire new concepts and vocabulary, practice using words, and build longer phrases and sentences. It can assist children in learning vocabulary and language, especially those learning multiple languages. It is critical to read to your child's native language and English.

• Show the book and encourage kids to make guesses about the story.
• Highlight key phrases or concepts to assist the kids get ready for the story.
• Talk about the pictures in books. Ask, “What do you see? Where is the balloon?”
• Read the book from start to finish, using as much expression and gesture as possible.
• Encourage kids to participate by making predictions, answering questions, and pointing out or commenting on pictures, letters, and words.
• Let the kids tell more of the story each time you read the book.
• Talk about new words, concepts, and silly actions.

ASK "THINKING" QUESTIONS

When reading a book ask your child "thinking questions." CROWD is a reliable approach to remembering how to ask thinking questions. That is:

• Questions of completion (ask children to fill in the blank)
• Questions of recall (ask children if they remember something about the story)
• open-ended questions (encourage more than one-word answers)
• WH- QUESTION (ask children who, what, where, when, how, and why)
• Make connections between the story and your own experiences (distinguishing questions).

TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR CHILD’S VOCABULARY

• When your child points to an object, name the object before responding to the gesture.
• Rather than ask yes-or-no questions, offer a choice between two options. Instead of asking, “Do you want the toy car?”, you might say, “Do you want the car or the ball?”
• If your child does more pointing than speaking, ask him or her to “use your words.” Ask the child to say “help” if he or she needs help.
• Ask your child to follow directions for simple, well-known tasks: “Go get your coat and bring it to mom” or “Pick up your toys and put them on the shelf.”

Phonics games

• Use the letters and sounds of the alphabet to play snap or bingo games. Make your own flashcards by writing letters on paper or cards. For each letter, make two.
• Play snap with them. You can also make a bingo card with eight boxes, each with a letter.
• Play bingo: Put the cards in a pile with their backs down. Take turns calling the game.
• Play fishing with phonics! Add a paperclip to each letter flashcard, tie a magnet to some string, and ask your child to "fish" for a specific sound with a piece of string and a stick.
• Makeup games like "I spy something that starts with a...," using the letter's sound. When you're out and about, play these games. For help with letter sounds, sound chart..
• Activity: Vowel sounds. Match the pictures to the vowel sounds to practice phonics and learn how to read and write words.
• Activity: Phonics guidance. Learn how to pronounce all of the phonics sounds (phonemes) and letters.

Memory games

• Make fun of "Kim's game." Put some things on a tray (for example, a crayon, an apple, a building brick, a toy car). Then take a look, cover it up, memorize it, and double-check it!
• Talk about, take pictures of, or write down some "events" that you and your child did together. Can your child remember the correct order?
• Make a list before you go shopping, and try to keep it together.

Teach new words

Keep teaching your child new words so that they can speak them. Say a new word and explain what it means or use it in a way that makes sense to him. For example, instead of "car," you may say "vehicle." You can tell, "I think I will drive the vehicle to the store. I'm too exhausted to walk." Name body parts and describe their functions in your home or target language. "These are my hands. I can clap with them."

Use pretend play in challenging situations

Use pretend to play to help your child handle challenging situations. You might act out a story together about meeting a new babysitter.

Ideas for improving early bilingual or multilingual children's linguistic environments

• Use multimedia and real-world things to connect both languages. If you are discussing a seahorse, show a toy or a photo of one.
• When speaking in a new language, use gestures, and body language. Face expressions teach children.
• VOICE: SLOW AND CLEAR Children require time to hear and comprehend what is stated.
• Repeat, repeat and repeat new words in different contexts, so your child understands how to use them and can generalize patterns.
• Predict new words and their meanings. Use lots of contexts based on everyday objects, routines, and the kids' current experiences.
• Encourage peer-to-peer play. Children learn a lot of language from their classmates.
• Encourage children to keep learning their new language by praising their responses.

Listening games

• Play games like "Simon says." Party games are a great way to work on speaking, listening, and memory skills without your friends knowing.
• Listen to some music and talk about the instruments that are being played. Find pictures of them on the internet together.

Action games

• With cardboard boxes or a towel over a chair, your child can make up or tell a story and show it to you or other family members.
• Dress up with clothes and props at home so your child can dress up as a character and act out their favorite stories. Charity shops have a lot of cheap things you can use to dress up.
• You can play games like "What is the time, Mr. Wolf?" but instead of saying the times, write them down so they can read them.

Tactile games

• It is good to use magnetic letters to spell names and simple words on a fridge or heater.
• To make your child's name or simple words like "mum," you can use modeling clay to make them.
• We can play jigsaws together and talk about how to find the right pieces.

Car games for the road

• It's fun to play "The doctor's dog is a beautiful dog, a clever dog, and so etc make up your own versions, like "The cook's cat is a beautiful dog, a clever dog, etc."
• Play a noisy version of the game "Who can spot what?" played in cars. Make sure you talk to the driver before you start this one. It is much fun! Decide on noise, or a word, to make when you see the things you want to find. A yellow car would be called "Bang!" and a bus called "Buzzz." A bird would be called "Wow!"
• Listen to an audiobook.

Reading all kinds of books together

• Keep reading books together even if your child can read by himself. You both have different goals in reading. Your goal is to extend his vocabulary and introduce new genres. Their goal is to develop mechanics and fluency in reading skills.
• Read in your native/target language, do not stop when school starts. It's definitely more challenging to find time for reading but stay adamant and consistent
• Make sure your child reads all kinds of books to and with you. They can read them on their own or with you, and they can read leveled books that they brought home from school. Video or record your child reading them to have fun with!
• Some books may seem boring like science at the beginning, but if you keep on reading your child will follow it anyways. Just imagine that you just read aloud for yourself and if the child wants to join you welcome otherwise he is going to listen it passively

Out-and-about activities

• Ask your child to find the things you need to buy when shopping by reading the labels on products together.
• If you live near a library or community center, look there to see what special events or clubs are going on.
• If you can, try to go on a few trips or find some information together that will help you with your schoolwork.

An infant communicates with the world through crying and non-verbally. You can expect your infant;

• Cries and smiles: A baby can cry or smile depending on the present condition; either being quiet down when soothed or picked up by someone (most of the time)
• Coos and gurgles: The child coos maybe when he listens to voices, in a pleasant and unpleasant sound varying in vocalization (laughs, giggles, or fusses),
• Non-Verbal Language: the child can communicate through body movement, e.g., Turns head toward sounds

Six Stages of the Language Acquisition

• Pre-talking stage / Cooing (0-6 months)
• Babbling stage (6-8 months)
• Holophrastic stage (9-18 months)
• The two-word stage (18-24 months)
• Telegraphic stage (24-30 months)
• Later multiword stage (30+months)

There are six stages in children's first language acquisition. Multilingual kids who acquire several languages have the same order of acquisition. If they cooing, they do it in all languages they hear around them, similar to babbling and first words. When they start producing words, they do it in every language.

Your kid is at the pre-talking stage, which involves crying and cooing. Even though we call this stage "pre-talking," babies usually don't stay quiet during this time. There is no such thing as a "silent period" when acquiring a language for the first time. Babies produce a range of sounds while working on developing their vocal systems. Silence from the infant is a red flag.

Your baby begins to:

Smile - Once the baby starts smiling - acknowledge a new achievement and tag the action in your target language(s), " I love your smile! It makes mommy happy!"

Focuses on faces - I see you are looking at my face. This is mommy’s face (touch your face) and this is Andrea’s face (say her name and touch her face). Do it in all of your target languages.

This is mommy’s face, and this is Andrea’s face!

Это лицо мамы, а это лицо Андреа! (Russian)

¡Esta es la cara de mamá y esta es la cara de Andrea! (Spanish)

Coo - "I hear you are talking to me! I am so happy you’re talking. Let me reply to you!" (coo back to baby and pause, wait until baby talks back) It may take many more attempts until the baby starts to play back-and-forth games, so keep on trying.

Turn toward sounds, noises, and voices - Hey! I see you hear me speaking! I am so excited that you are listening and very soon start speaking with me! 

Follow things with eyes - Wow! Who is tracking a teddy bear with the eyes? Look at yourself, almost like a grown-up! 

Hold their head up - I am so impressed that you can hold your head up! I am so happy you are growing so fast! 

May begin to push up when lying on their tummy - Those strong legs can push hard!

By 4 months, lift his head and shoulders off the floor when laying on his tummy - This is a superman position! Unbelievable how strong you are getting!

• During the first several weeks of life, many newborns feed and sleep. You can play and talk with your child during diaper changes, bath time, and dressing time.
• Start practicing parallel talk (you narrate what the child is doing) and self-talk ( narrate what YOU are doing around the house in child-friendly language. Describe what you're feeling, seeing, and smelling).
• It's common for babies to cry, some more than others. This is their first mean of communication. As a rule, crying informs you about something - wet, hungry, cold, discomfort, pain. Always, attend to your child when they are crying. It is the first back-and-forth interaction between your child and you.
• Routine, moderate movement can soothe upset babies.
• Because a baby's head is heavy and her neck muscles are weak, she needs support and protection until she gains control.
• Dress baby comfortably. If it's warm, let baby play barely dressed for a while so he can feel objects against his skin and move freely.

• Every day from day one, the baby must play on her tummy. This position helps the infant develop head control, bifocal vision, and strengthens her back. Tummy time is a fantastic opportunity for you to settle your first verbal routines.

• Every infant is unique and develops at his own pace. Babies react differently to things. Some babies are quiet, while others are agitated.

• Observe and learn from your own child. Your baby will tell you her tastes. Make sure you listen to your child and trust your own feelings, too. If your baby is displeased with activity, she may be weary or not ready. Another time, give it a go.

• Babies gain physical skills by moving (including grasping, sitting up, and crawling).

• 'Rough' games can harm babies. Babies have delicate bones and joints and are easily scared. Be gentle with your infant.

• If you can, take your baby outside every day. Keep the baby in the shade and look out for birds and insects.

• Carrying your baby in your hands or in a sling gives him a greater sense of his body.

What is the difference between Simultaneous and Sequential language acquisition?

Simultaneous Bilinguals/Multilinguals

• Reach language milestones at the same ages as their monolingual peers
• Does not know any language
• Usually say their first words around 12 months of age
• First words may be in one or both languages
• Vocabulary and grammar development show the same pattern as monolingual development.
• Combine words around 18 months
• Just like monolinguals, bilinguals show variability in the ages at which they reach each milestone

Sequential Bilinguals/Multilinguals

• Show different language learning patterns
• know one language but must learn a new language
• some children may only observe, quietly collecting information about the new language
• Other children may continue to communicate in their native language
• Children may use the language rules from their native language in the new language -language transfer ("the car red" instead of "red car"
• Transfer goes away as proficiency increases

Credit to the University of Washington

Type 1: One person-One Language.

In this strategy, each parent speaks their native language to a child and the community language is one of these languages.

Type 2: One Language - One Environment (ML@H)

When this strategy is used, both parents speak to the child in a language that is not dominant in the community. This strategy is based on assumption that child will acquire community language anyway through schooling, for instance.

Type 1 & Type 2 are best documented in the research literature

Type 3: Non-dominant Home Language without Community Support.

In this case, the parents have the same language, which is not a community language, however. A famous early study of this pattern was documented by Pavlovitch (1920), who presents one of the first longitudinal case studies of bilingual acquisition, of a child of Serbian-Speaking parents in France.

Type 4: Double Non-Dominant Home Language Without Community Support.

In this situation, each parent has a different native language, neither of which is a community language, each parent speaks their own language to the child. In this situation, trilingual, rather than bilingual, acquisition occurs. One of the most extensive documentation of this type can be found in Hoffmann (1985), who reports on the acquisition of English (from the community), German (from the mother), and Spanish (from the father)

Type 5: Non-Native Parents.

Here, parents have the same native language, which is also the language of wider communication in the community. However, one parent or both always talk to the child in a non-native language. Such situations have been documented by Saunders (1982, 1988) and Dopke (1992). George Saunders, a native speaker of Australian English, was successful in teaching his three children German, in addition to English, in Australia. Dopke studied a similar situation. the English and german-speaking families she observed in Australia included some for which German was not a native language of their parents.

Type 6: Mixed Languages

In this situation, the parents are bilingual and one or both parents switch and mix languages with the child. The community may also be bilingual, as is for instance the case in one of the earliest studies of this type of bilingual acquisition, namely Tabouret-Keller (1962) who studied the simultaneous acquisition of French and German by a child who was born to bilingual parents in the Alsace, a bilingual region of France, Bordering Germany.

Type 7: One person- Two Languages.

Each parent is bilingual or trilingual in this strategy and wants to transfer all their languages to the child. Sometimes it becomes a strategy when one parent is not available most of the time around the child (like in the case when the father works and the mom stays home).

This approach can be used by multilingual parents when both parents use their native languages to communicate with a child. However, one of the parents may choose to speak (or, in this case, teach) two languages. Usually, bilingual parents opt to break the day into two parts. In the morning, the mom speaks one language, and in the afternoon, she speaks a second language with a child.

Type 8: Two Languages at the Same Time or Translanguage Pedagogy.

Translanguaging is nothing new – it can be a natural way for multilingual people to communicate. Still, as a research focus, it emerged in the 1980s in Bangor, North Wales. Cen Williams and colleagues investigated strategies for learners to use two languages (Welsh and English) in a single lesson. They came up with 'trawsieithu' to describe reading or hearing input in one language (e.g., English) and writing or speaking about it in another (e.g., Welsh, or vice versa). The term was translated into English (and popularised) as 'translanguaging' by their colleague Colin Baker (see Lewis, Jones, and Baker 2012). Then translanguage migrated into sociolinguistics, where it acquired more political connotation for use in school settings.

Importantly, translanguaging pedagogy demands that multilingual speakers engaging in translanguaging do not vacillate between language systems arbitrarily but rather that they do it with intention and a metacognitive understanding of how their language practices work ( Canagarajah, 2006)

I have used this approach since the birth of my first child. When we have some activities with the daughter, we can use one language to receive input and a second language to discuss the input information. I also use parallel translation of individual terms, word combinations, sentences, and paragraphs whenever I feel it will enhance my daughter's comprehension.

This policy reflects better the multilingual brain behavior. Besides, it is less stressful for multilingual parents because you don't have to inhibit your own production.

I'll give you an example. I cannot stay consistent in speaking one language even for a half-day. We are bombarded by inputs in different languages multiple times per day.

Many parents are afraid to use translanguage because the child may start mixing or confusing languages. That returns us to the idea of language confusion! So we multilingual parents believe that two languages do not cause delay or confusion in general. Why would it suddenly confuse the child when using them in parallel?

Face-to-face communication with babies is vital for an infant facilitator. Face-to-face is essential because babies' vision is not developed yet. However, the face is the first object baby focuses on, which helps with vision. Also, the physical proximity of face-to-face interaction allows the baby to engage in all available feelings like hearing and smell. Therefore, it creates enhanced communicational stimuli.

In the first three months, you as parents should master child development psychology at this stage. Many babies spend the first few weeks of their lives nursing and sleeping. It's common for babies to cry, some more than others. It is their first mean of communication. As a rule, crying informs you about something - wet, hungry, cold, discomfort, pain. Always attend to your child when they are crying. It is the first back-and-forth interaction between you and your child. For instance, you can play and talk with your child during diaper changes, bath time, and dressing time.

Start practicing parallel talk by narrating what the child is doing. Moreover, self-talk is as essential as parallel talk; narrate what YOU are doing around the house in child-friendly language to the child. Describe what you're feeling, seeing, and smelling.

Carrying your baby in hands or in a sling gives him a greater sense of his body. It is important because a baby's head is heavy and her neck muscles are weak, and he needs support and protection until she gains control. Routine, moderate movement can soothe upset babies.

Every day from day one, the baby must play on her tummy. This position helps the infant develop head control, bifocal vision and strengthens her back. Tummy time is a fantastic opportunity for you to settle your first verbal routines. Every infant is unique and develops at its own pace. Babies react differently to things. Some babies are quiet, while others are agitated. Observe and learn from your child. Your baby will tell you her tastes. Make sure you listen to your child and trust your feelings, too. If your baby is displeased with activity, she may be weary or not ready. Another time, give it a go.

• The baby primarily communicates through crying and the occasional cooing at this age. However, the baby listens! So, talk a lot in each target language to figure out which language routine works best for you.
• Parentese is a great way to help non-verbal babies learn how to speak and communicate. It's not baby-talk, and we don't makeup words. Parentese is an exaggerated speaking style characterized by total participation with a child that can improve language abilities and facilitate parent-child conversational "turn-taking." It works because it reaches the baby's social brain with its high pitch at a slower speed.
• When the child Coos, you can engage in the first back-and-forth communication by saying, "I hear you are talking to me! I am so happy you're talking. Let me reply to you!" Coo back to baby and pause, wait until baby talks back.
• More so, adopt Self-talk and Parallel Talk, talking about touching, seeing, feeling, smelling, and hearing. Think of yourself as a sportscaster. It is excellent to do when you are down on the floor playing with your little one.

Language routines are crucial because they help children develop their social-emotional health and language skills. Whenever you engage a child in daily activities such as eating, dressing, bathing, playtime, diapering, rest time, taking a walk, talking, reading, and bedtime, you create multiple language development opportunities.

Dressing

• Describe your actions. "Alex, mama will now dress you."
• Be patient. "Adrian, this shirt is hard for me to get over your head. I am going to try a different way."
• Plan an extra time. "Let's get ready, Alex. It's almost time to go for a walk."
• Praise little things. "I saw you wiggled your foot into the sock. Bravo!"
• Enjoy. "We got your shirt on, Sasha! let's clap your hands!"

Play Time

• Follow baby's interests. "I see you are moving, Rose. Let's dance together!"
• Describe what you are seeing (parallel talk). "Look at those red and blue balls, Pedro!" Would you like one?"
• Read and sing. "Are you ready, Max, to Cuddle up and read this story?"
• Encourage your child. "Elizabeth almost rolled over. Let's try again!"
• Enjoy a good chuckle together. "I love your guffaws!"

Meal Time

• Because infants are shortsighted, hold your baby while bottle-feeding to make eye contact, which is a crucial element of communication with infants. "Right now, Brayden, I'm going to feed you." "I'll find us a nice place to sit."
• Connect with the infant by looking into their eyes. "I see you are gazing at me, Gabe, and I enjoy gazing at you too"
• Talk and sing to a baby while feeding them. "I see that smile, Anna. You like this food!"
• Describe your baby's hunger signals and describe what you are doing while preparing food and the feeding procedure. "I hear you cry," for example. That sounds like a cry of hunger. Let's get ready to eat."
• Use names for all people who interact with and feed your infant. "Today, Daddy is feeding you," for example.
• Make "music" while making eye contact with your infant at feeding time if they are awake. Make kissing noises, whistle, hum a tune, or sing a favorite song with your tongue.
• Look for cues from babies that suggest, "I'm done" or "I need more." "Kara, you're turning your head away; I think you are all done eating."

Rest Time

• Establish a predictable routine. "First, we'll read books, then get ready for naptime," says Aden.
• Stay consistent with your routines, even if you spend time in a different home/ or travel.
• Give yourself plenty of time for transition. "Mommy is on her way to get you." Let's talk about some of the things you did today, Hanna."
• Take care of the basics first. "Before you rest, Justin, let's change your diaper."
• Allow yourself to unwind and decompress. "Nina, I'm going to rock in this chair and finish my notes so we can play later."

Diapering

• Make a routine. "Hello, Derry, I hope you had a pleasant snooze!" Let's have a look at your diaper."
• Recognize the signs. "I notice you yanking on your diaper, Eli. Do you need to be changed?"
• Spend time connecting. "Look at Henry's enormous grin!" You bring a grin to my face as well!"
• Give choices. "Do you want me to hold the red ball or the teddy when I change you, Kia?"
• Be patient. "I know you don't like to be changed, Jordan, but we need to take good care of you." "I'm almost finished."

Bathtime

• Play gentle tickles with your baby's toes and feet when changing a diaper or getting ready for a bath. Touch a different toe on each line of "This Little Piggy Went to Market" (see song list).
• After bathing, play with textures on your baby's tummy. Gather a variety of soft, touchable household items. Brush each item softly across your baby's skin one at a time, describing the sensation as you go. "Can you feel the silky scarf?" for example. It's quite slick."
• Use infant massage oil or basic vegetable oil to massage your child's skin after a bath. Then rub it into your baby's skin carefully. Name it as you gently touch each portion of your baby's body.

Going for a walk

• Take a walk in the fresh air. Describe what you're seeing and experiencing. Stop for a picnic.
• Tie or tie some ribbons, fabric, or other fascinating streamers to a wooden spoon. Pull out the wooden spoon and gently dangle it over and in front of your baby's face while strolling or driving.
• Place your infant on their back and, while holding their ankles, gently spin your baby's legs while saying, "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat."

Talking and Reading

• Place your infant on a comfortable, flat surface. While singing "Pat A Cake," gently tap or rub your baby's hands and fingers. (List of songs)
• Place your child on their stomach (younger babies may only be able to handle a minute or two on their tummy, but it is important to provide some tummy time to infants every day). In front of your baby, place cardboard books or black-and-white photographs. Give a description of the images.
• Read to your infant in a soothing voice. It doesn't matter what you're reading at this age as long as you read with expression, use parentese (see above), and maintain constant eye contact with your infant.

Soft skills and Communication

• Play "Now you see it, now you don't." Show a toy to your infant. Ask, "Where is it?" as you cover the toy with a cloth. "Here it is," you say as you remove the fabric.
• Copy Cat. Hold your infant close to you or place them on a soft, flat surface. Make sure you're close enough to your infant (8-12 inches) that they can see you. Begin with tiny gestures such as pushing your tongue out or opening your mouth wide with a big grin. Your baby may try to emulate you if you are patient.
• Establish predictable routines for diapering, bathing, and bedtime. Routines and rituals develop a sense of security that serves as the platform for further investigation.

Bedtime

• As part of your nighttime routine, play "Goodnight Moon." Carry your infant around the room or the home, saying "goodnight" to their favorite toys, people, and things.
• Play a lullaby or other soothing music while soothing your infant, and leave it on low after you leave.

Fun and useful Activities

All baby activities help develop certain senses, like body awareness, social skills, language skills, coordination, body parts, hearing, vision, and feel on the skin. Every single activity always incorporates language development (new words, new sounds)

Other Daily Communicational Routines:

• Stock up on board books. While reading, make comments and remarks about what you read, "He looks surprised to see that new toy," you say while holding the toddler on your lap.
• Imitate the child's emotions. Bring your baby close to a mirror to see their face. "Look, I see your smile—you're so pleased!"
• Talk when feeding, snacking, diapering, dressing, and so on.
• Always comfort an anxious, scared, or overwhelmed child with soft hugs and a soothing voice.
• Praise any child's efforts to interact. Look at what the child is pointing at and comment or label it.
• Recognize and respond to coos. Meaningful engagement contributes to the development of brain architecture in this way.
• Consistency fosters the baby's trust and language skills.

Reading

What Are the Benefits of Reading to My Baby? An infant will not understand all you do or why you do it. However, reading aloud to your infant is a great shared activity that you may do for years — and it is beneficial to your kid's brain.

Reading aloud:

• teaches a newborn how to communicate
• Introduces topics such as numbers, alphabet, colors, and shapes in a fun way; develops listening, memory, and vocabulary abilities;
• Informs newborns about their surroundings.
• Newborns will have learned all of the sounds required to communicate in their native language by the end of 1st year.
• The more stories you read aloud to your infant, the more words they will hear and communicate better.
• Hearing words contributes to developing a rich network of words in a baby's brain.
• Children whose parents often converse and read to them know more vocabulary by two than children who have not been read to.
• Children who are read to from an early age are more likely to learn reading at the appropriate age.

• Read lots of books with your child. Reading with your child helps them fall in love with reading. It also helps her learn how to read books (such as turning the pages, reading the words, talking about the pictures). The act of reading aloud also helps your child improve his or her language and listening skills.
• Recognize that not all books are winners. Toddlers have a lot of things they like and do not like. You should follow your child's lead and let her choose which books to read. Forcing a child to read does not foster a love of reading.
• “Read” the world around you. Point out stop signs, open/closed signs, your street sign. Let your child play with and “read” all kinds of written material—magazines, newspapers, catalogs, take-out menus.
• Let them move. Keep reading. Children are often still listening even as they move around. In fact, some kids, who have a strong need to be on the move, listen better when they are in motion!
• Tell your child a story. Instead of reading a book, tell your child a story. Children still gain important literacy skills by listening. They learn new words. They also learn how a story unfolds in a sequence (beginning, middle, and end).
• Encourage your child to act out the story you are reading. For example, you can ask him to jump like the frog in the book.
• Follow your child’s lead and do some active play for a while.Come back to the book later. Forcing children to read can lead to negative feelings about books.
• Let your child help “read” the book. Let your child hold the book and turn the pages. This helps her learn how a book works. See if she would like to read to you in whatever way she likes. She may want to point to the pictures and have you say what they are. Or she may babble as she “reads” the words on each page.
• Talk about pictures in the book. That bunny is getting tired. He is in his bed. He is going night-night. Night, night, Bunny. Talking about the pictures helps children develop a better understanding of what is happening in the story. Sometimes, instead of reading the actual words in the book, you can simply talk about the pictures on each page.
• Put the book down when your child shows she is totally uninterested.

Tips to boost toddler's language skills

• Talk to them all the time. You could believe you are talking to your child enough now, but if he or she is not speaking, it is possible you are not. Even if they do not answer, use every chance to expose them to language. During diaper changes, dinner preparation, mealtimes, and so on. You can teach them a lot of new words and phrases when you do things every day. Do not be afraid to have normal conversations with them even if you think the vocabulary is too hard for them.
• Describe what you are doing. When you are alone in the house with a baby, it may get fairly silent. We are less likely to chat to them because they do not respond to us. However, as I previously stated, turn daily activities into learning opportunities for your child.

• Expand language. It will be easier for your youngster to learn new words if you expand their language. Try this: whenever your child says a word or phrase, build on it for them.

  For example:

  • Child: “Ball”
  • Parent: “You want to get your ball!”
  • Child: “Down”
  • Parent: “You want me to get your down?”
• Have them repeat. Once you have gotten into the habit of naming everything for them, ask them to repeat it for you. Begin with a single word or merely the initial letter of the word. It's a great start if they say 'muh' for milk or 'buh' for ball. This demonstrates that they are still grasping the concept that all of these objects have names, but they cannot pronounce all of the sounds accurately
• Use what interests them. Identify what your kid enjoys and make the most of it. If they are obsessed with a particular figurine, song, food, or toy, give them plenty of chances to see, hear, taste, and play with it while also talking about it. If your child enjoys vehicles and trucks, do not try to persuade him or her to sit and learn animal sounds. Use what has proven to be effective. If kids exhibit interest in that activity, it will be a lot easier.
• Get started small. Do not expect your child to say big words if you are still battling to get them to produce sounds and one-syllable words. Even attempting to pronounce a word's first sound is a good start!
• Use music. Because babies and toddlers enjoy music and rhythm, they are more likely to pick up words and gestures from songs. "Baa Baa Black Sheep" is one of my daughter's favorite songs, and one of her first phrases was "Baa Baa."
• Use open-ended toys. For small children, the ideal toys encourage them to utilize their imagination. Stacking cups, Mega Blocks, Shape Sorters, and pretend play toys are just a few examples of fantastic toys that promote creativity and exploration.
• Pause. Allowing some time for your child to respond is known as an expectant pause. Children's processing speeds will be far slower than ours when they learn to speak. Expect them to need more time if you ask them to repeat a sound, word, or object or if you ask them a question. As a result, wait a few seconds for them to respond before deciding whether to give them the answer or move on to the next word.
• Do not respond to gestures as a form of language. Expressive language still includes grunts, pointing, signs, and signaling. The toddler is still attempting to communicate with you for you to comprehend their needs. As a result, it is OK to allow your toddler to use gestures to communicate early on. You need to stop giving them what they want based on signals to get them to talk. To get what they want, they need to say a word or make a sound that sounds like a word.
• Guided play. As previously stated, play is an excellent way for toddlers to learn new language and skills; nevertheless, they should not be left to play alone all of the time. Guided play simply means that you sit with them as they play, guiding their actions and naming everything they do. Talk to them about the items and what they are doing while they are playing with a shape sorter: "This is a square." "This is a circle. The circle goes in." The square goes down." Use words like "that is a crayon" if they are coloring. Blue is the color of the crayon. You are doing some coloring. Make a circle with your crayon." Use this time to ask questions ("What animal is this?"), give instructions ("Place the grapes in the shopping cart"), or have them repeat ("This is a block. Say block.”)
• Socialization. Kids love seeing peers their age doing similar things. A great strategy to get your child talking is to put them in a group to learn from their peers.
• Speak with excitement. Toddlers adore it when their parents are excited. When you exhibit a lot of excitement in your expressions and speech, they will have an easier time responding and mimicking. As a result, make sure to use exaggerated gestures, facial expressions, and sounds.
• Get silly. Allow your child to express craziness and silliness. They will have a blast playing games with you! What about a wild dance party, an alligator that could bite you, or a wild chase to find a goose? When children are truly interested and entertained, language emerges.
• Speak slowly, but not in a baby-talk manner. Your child will be able to learn this language more quickly if you speak in normal adult language instead of baby talk. To encourage your toddler to speak, avoid using dadada and bababa.
• Read Together. Books are a great way to teach your child language, concepts, and a love of reading. Among the many advantages of reading to your child at a young age is the development of new vocabulary.
• Encourage Your Toddler's Imagination. Don't forget to stock up on pretend play items like puppets, dolls, plush animals and old clothes and shoes for costumes and props. Make hand puppets from paper bags or socks decorated with markers, paper, and glue. Show her how the puppets can talk to each other, you, or her. Play with puppets.
• Treat your child like she's a smart person. (Yes, she is!) Make an effort to converse with her. Ask about her tastes, likes, and dislikes. When she speaks to you, pay attention and answer in a way that indicates you understand her. Model what she says using proper pronunciation back to her.
• Reduce pacifier use. Using a pacifier all day can hinder a child's learning to talk. Pacifiers or thumb sucking will prevent kids from speaking or using their mouths. Use a pacifier only before bedtime.
• Encourage Details. Add details to what your child says. "Yes, that's a bus. It's a blue and white city bus. It's huge!"
• Model Proper Grammar. Model proper grammar for your child. You are the one who teaches her how to speak (and write).
• Use Complete Sentences. Encourage your toddler's vocabulary learning by speaking in complete phrases. If she says "More banana?" say "You want more banana." Show proper word order and pronunciation.
• Motivation and praise. Celebrating small wins makes your toddler happy. This will encourage him to keep doing the things that delight you. So be ecstatic with every tiny sound or word. You will see a growth in their language each time.
• Limit screen time. Contrary to popular belief, instructional TV shows and iPad apps do not assist your toddler in learning to speak. While Sesame Street and Bubble Guppies teach some cognitive ideas, they do not teach language. TV and iPad use are passive activities. It implies your child has to do nothing but sit.
• Use movement. Getting your child to communicate might be easy with movement. The delight of jumping, sprinting, or bouncing may cause children to scream. This activity is great for sensory seekers. Allowing kids to bounce on a trampoline or go through an obstacle course can help their vocabulary.
• Get started small. Do not expect your child to say big words if you are still battling to get them to produce sounds and one-syllable words. Even attempting to pronounce a word's first sound is a good start!