Language Development Tips for Young Children
Learning to Listen Through Play
"Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world."
… Cuban Proverb
Families are leading busy lives. Throughout our days, there are multiple sources
of information presented, all competing for our attention. With so much overload
on ours senses, listening can be a challenge. For all of us, it really is true that
“Every head is a world” with personalized information, perceptions and thoughts.
No wonder that for children it can seem an overwhelming process to learn to
focus, to listen and to sort out what to pay attention to and what is less relevant.
And yet, learning to listen for sounds in the environment, instructions, and
specific information is a foundation skill for learning. Knowing when to listen,
what is the most important information in a message and how to ask for
clarification when you are confused, are critical life skills in both academic and
social contexts. By the time your child is ready to enter kindergarten they are
expected to: listen to and understand the main ideas and details in stories and
lessons, begin to distinguish sounds in words , listen to and follow 2-3 step
sequences of directions, and participate in conversations with adults and peers.
By playing listening games with your child, you can enhance their ability to “tune
in”, stay focused and value what other people are saying to them.
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
In the Home
Listen for Sequences of Information
Participate together in activities which have a sequence of step-by-step instructions.
Words such as first, next, and then, or after, are powerful building words for developing
sequencing in oral and written language. Children will also enjoy participating in
listening games when they are helping you around the house.
 Following a recipe
Work together on each step of the cooking process and then review the
steps you took in sequence. You may also want to check out the library
as are a number of picture recipe books available for non-readers.
 Setting the table
“Can you get me 2 forks and then put them on the table”
 Emptying the dishwasher
“Can you give me the pink cup and after that get all of the plates.”
 Getting ready for bed
“First have your bath, next put your pyjamas on. Last, brush your teeth.”
 Ask your child to put away their things (e.g. clothes, books, toys) in a sequence
“Put three books on your bookshelf, and last(ly), put all your dirty clothes
beside your bed”
 Play “Crazy Directions” Give your child directions while mixing up the order of a
familiar routine. Setting the table, getting ready for bed, or cleaning your room
are some examples of routines you could change around..
Listen for Specific Information
 Play an auditory pattern game
Clap your hands or bang a drum in a rhythm and immediately have your
child imitate the pattern. Try adding more parts to each pattern.
 Play “Simon Says”
Have your child listen to 1-2 step instructions and follow them only if they
hear you say “Simon Says” before giving the instruction.. For example,
“Simon says clap your hands and turn in a circle. Jump two times and sit
on the floor.”
 Play “Clapping or Jumping for Categories”.
Decide with your child on what the category or group they will focus on
listening for. Start to say words, some of which are in the category and
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
some which don’t belong. Your child can clap/jump each time they hear
an item that belongs in the group.
Listen in a Conversation
 Take turns having a conversation: ask and answer questions about events of the
day, last weekend, next summer etc. Once or twice during the conversation, ask
your child to remember and tell you in their own words some things you’ve said.
Listen to Stories
Share a well-loved, familiar book with your child
 Substitute illogical events and/or “silly” words in place of key events and words.
Have your child catch the mistakes that don’t fit the story.
For example, “Goldilocks tried the big bowl of chocolate pudding.”
 Pause occasionally and have your child fill in the blank
For example, “Goldilocks sat on the great big __”.
 Ask your child to listen for specific information as you read. Stop partway through
the story and ask your child the question. Try this once or twice as you read the
picture book.
For example “Why did the three bears go for a walk”
Out and About
Play Listening Games on the Go-in the car, at a park, in a store,
 Play “Simon Says” using action and sequence words
“Simon Says First, climb to the top of the slide, then slide down fast, and
run to me”.
 Listen for sounds in the environment and see who can identify the most
 Tell a short story, then have the child retell it or you can take turns telling the
different parts of a familiar story
 Ask your child to listen for specific information in a video or song while driving.
“Tell me when Goldilocks gets the porridge” or “What were some of the
animals they talked about in Old MacDonald?”
 Ask your child to remind you to get one or two items in the grocery store and
let you know when you are at the right location as you move through the store.
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
Free iPad Applications

Icoloring Book – get your child to follow your directions by giving them two or
three colours in a sequence to use.

Simon Says – your child can practice repeating sequences of sounds and
colours that increase in complexity.

My Scene –following directions incorporating where and how many concepts (ie.
“put the dog beside the hydrant, put three people on top of the mountain”).
Books for Listening Skills

Llama Llama Red Pajama – by Anna Dewdney

Mr. Gumpy’s Outing – by John Burningham

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus – by Mo Willems
For more information, please go to your public library for the complete list of 100 Books
to Read in Kindergarten.
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
Language Development Tips for Young Children
Developing Vocabulary and Early Thinking Skills
through Play
Complex human thought is impossible without words.
…Stuart Chase
“As vocabulary is reduced, so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you
can describe, the number of the things you can identify! Not only understanding is limited, but also
experience. Man grows by language. Whenever he limits language he retrogresses!”
…Sheri S. Tepper, A Plague of Angels
Identifying, describing, expressing your thoughts is part of the everyday human experience.
Vocabulary is much more than simply knowing the names of things. We all use our vocabulary
knowledge to name things, to describe and differentiate our perceptions, and to group and
compare things as a means of organizing our world. Developmentally children learn
relationships between different items through experience, and use their emerging vocabulary to
think about them. Linguists describe the core underpinnings of thinking with vocabulary in the
following way:
- labelling ( knowing the name of something such as apple),
-describing ( attributes or properties such as size, colour, shape, weight, composition,
location and function- such as apples are usually red, green yellow, have seeds inside,
grow on trees and we eat them),
-categorizing ( groupings base on common properties, such as an apple is a fruit- fruit is
plant based from above ground plants, have seeds inside a covering)
-comparing similarities and differences between items (apples are round and we can eat
the peel, oranges are round but we peel them before we eat them).
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
Here are some examples of vocabulary items that kindergarten children enjoy when playing
language to games and demonstrate their thinking.
Category examples:
Similarities and Differences:
-animals
-tv. Shows
-kinds of stores
-musical instruments
-things you wear on your feet
-animal noises
-things that are round
-things in a circus
-things you can sit on
-things you do with your hands
-kinds of buildings
-things that you wear when it is cold
-kinds of meat
-parts of a house
-kinds of tools
-things you shouldn’t touch
-things that make you laugh
-things that are sticky
-orange - grapefruit
-bunny – teddy bear
-butterfly – bird
-bus – train
-hamburger- hot dog
-worm – snake
-teacher – principal
-lion – tiger
-ice cream – popsicle
-helmet – crown
-Christmas – Easter
-airplane – rocket
-vacation – recess
-owl – bat
-painting – drawing
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
In the Home
Describing
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


Play “I Spy”. Take turns giving clues so the other person can guess what you are
thinking about. The clues should be important distinguishing attributes.. Give
clues about size, shape, colour, category , what it is made out of and what we do
with it. .. For example, “What is a big wild cat with stripes?” or “I’m thinking of a
vegetable that is long and orange.”
Play “Opposites”. Say a word and have your child say the opposite. “I say hot,
you say ___” (cold)
Get pictures or have a collection of small items. One person gives three clues
attribute clues about an object and the other person has to guess what it is.
Have book talks. Choose books where the pictures are sufficient to tell the story,
tell the story rather than reading it and talk in detail about the pictures. Describe
what you see and make reference to the attributes. .Ask your child to tell you the
story and help them to focus on the attributes.
Categorizing
 Play “house”. Ask your child to help you name and sort groceries into groups as
you put them away together (e.g. cold foods for the freezer, fruit in the fruit bowl)
 Play “three of a kind”. Take turns picking a category and trying to name three
things in that group (e.g. furniture, toys, vehicles, cold things, wet things)
 Play “clean up”. Ask your child to put away their things based on the category to
(e.g. clothes, books, toys) in which they belong.
“Put three books on your bookshelf. Now put away all your red vehicles”.
Comparing
 Find items to compare based on their similarities and also their differences. You can use
items in the room or categories of things your child knows about and enjoys such as
animals. Vary the game by mixing up items based on the degree of similarity between
them. On some occasions make the items closely related and other times, they can
seem very different. Thinking about two very dissimilar items can stretch a child’s
thinking and can create an element of fun.
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
. “I’m thinking about a fork and a knife. How are they they’re the same? Can you
think of something that is different about them? This time I’m thinking about a
chair and a pillow.”
Out and About
Play Vocabulary and Thinking Games on the Go-in the car, at a park, in a store,



Play Eagle Eyes
-As you are driving or walking along, try to spot as many items within a selected
category as possible. Examples: buildings, vehicles, traffic signs, plants, animals.
Play a simple scavenger hunt. Make a plan to look for three or four things in different
groups when you’re out on a walk.
Take turns Playing I Spy
-Think of an object you can see and give clues based on attributes. The other person
must guess what you are thinking about.
“I spy something that is round, red and a kind of a fruit….”
Free iPad Applications

ABA Problem Solving – identifying which object does not belong in the group

Things that Go Together – help your child find connections between things by
determining what goes together

Clean up Category Sorting –learn to categorize different items by choosing where they
belong
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012
Books for Vocabulary Development:

Not a Stick – by Antoinette Portis

Froggy Gets Dressed – by Jonathan London

Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is? – by Robert E. Wells
For more information, please go to your public library for the complete list of 100 Books
to Read in Kindergarten.
Prepared by Speech language Pathologists, West Vancouver Board of Education, 2012