Online classes can make it difficult for your child to learn as it is different than what they are used to. Boys Town National Research Hospital has put together some tips to help you navigate this time.
Tips for Promoting Speech and Language Development at Home
As a parent, you can encourage development through simple actions throughout the day. The following tips are recommended:
Engage
Get on your child’s physical level.
Pay attention to your child and his/her facial and body expressions.
Listen to what your child is saying.
Encourage Conversation
Extend Language and Learning
Practice
Practice skills your child has already been working on in everyday routines to continue their learning at home.
Hands-on activities such as helping make meals are great for incorporating early math (i.e., measuring), language (i.e., sequencing, what is next?), reading (i.e., reading the recipe or ingredients) and motor (i.e., stirring, dumping) skills.
Other hands-on routine activities might include:
How to Make Up for the Lack of Meaningful Peer Interaction
In order to make up for the lack of peer interaction, parents should interact with their child more. Having conversations, telling stories, reading, playing games, listening to music and enjoying time together will help your child develop important social interaction skills. Taking time to listen to your child without scolding or interrupting will help your child feel as though what he/she has to say is valued.
It may also be beneficial to set up virtual playdates with your child’s friends. Being able to see and talk to friends, even through a screen, will help your child stay connected.
Activities for Children and their Family
Enjoy this extra time you now have with your child(ren). Below are some suggested activities to do with your child(ren) to stay engaged:
Read books
Make a scrapbook of important people or items and go through it together
Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes
Go on discovery walks (Look for colors in nature or in the neighborhood; Look for numbers on houses or buildings; Look for letters on signs; Look for shapes in nature and on houses; Listen for different sounds…a lawnmower, a bird chirping, a car driving, a neighbor talking)
Dance to music
Play hopscotch (Practice drawing squares, writing numbers, and jumping/hopping skills)
Make obstacle courses inside the home or outside
Have fun looking for cloud shapes or animals in the sky
Provide your child with a ruler or measuring tape; Let your child have fun recording the length of items outside (ie, a rock, a stick); Talk about which is the longest vs the shortest
Play “I Spy”
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