Hello readers! Today I want to write about something that I am currently in the middle of working on! I am really working with JJ (my 2 year old son) on expanding his vocabulary! He started saying small words a little before his first birthday, but I noticed that he caught on super fast! I have tried so many different things to help him learn new words. I am going to share with you the activities that I feel like helped JJ learn the most, and I hope that you can use this blog post to give you ideas on how to help your child as well!
Read With Your Child
Reading is an amazing way to help your child learn new words. If my 2 year old is patient enough, sometimes I will read what is on the page, and then we will even talk about the pictures on the pages. I try to find books that have tons of pictures and colors! That keeps his attention for a longer period of time! Also, do not be discouraged if your little one does not make it through a whole book. Unless my child is winding down for bed, he thinks he has better things to do. Trying is what counts!
Let Them Ask Questions
In the past few weeks, my son has started to put his words into sentences. In saying that, most of his sentences are questions! “Go outside mama?” and “What’s that?” are his favorite questions to ask. As he learns and grows, I know that he will have more questions to ask, but for now, I ask him questions too. I ask him about what he sees when we are riding in the car, what he sees on the pages of his book, and most importantly, when he is upset, I try to calm him by asking him what’s bothering him and how I can help. It helps him learn how to communicate with me.
Explore New Things With Them
This one is my favorite things to do with my son. JJ and I love to go outside and play. He has learned so much just going on little walks, and I try to point out little things and ask him what they are. He can say airplane, rock, tree, stick, worm, swings, bug, trucks, etc. I have so much fun watching him learn. I love how he just soaks everything up like a little sponge!
Let Them Watch Educational Videos
Sometimes I cannot always be the teacher. If housework is piled up, I will turn to YouTube for learning help for a small amount of time. I try to find educational shows about animals or science usually. I usually play YouTube because there is such a variety of videos to watch. Yes, things like Cocomelon and Nemo still end up on my TV too!
Teach Them Their ABC’s
This is something I started with JJ about 6 months ago. I started teaching him his ABC’s with flash cards. I also founds a variety of videos on YouTube that kept my son’s attention with the ABC song. I also want to look into getting ABC magnets for the refrigerator now that my son is getting older.
Point out Road Signs or Signs in the Grocery Store
This goes right along with learning ABC’s! While my son and I walk around in the grocery store, I ask him what things are or to tell me the letters on different signs. This is also how we learned colors as well! Now I am starting to do this with road signs as well. For now, he just knows the stop sign. He will tell me when one is coming up sometimes too! Haha.
I really hope that you enjoyed this blog post as much as I enjoyed writing it! I love to watch my son learn and grow, and I hope that this post inspired you with fun ideas to help your little ones learn as well! I cannot wait to share with you more toddler tips, updates on my current pregnancy, recipes, and more! I will also be finding out the gender of our new addition next month. I am so excited to share that with you too! So stay tuned for more, and thanks for reading. ❤️
