Sorting game. Talk about categories of things (e.g. things we eat, things we wear) and practise categorising objects. Supermarkets and shops provide lots of opportunities for talking about categories.
Make it easier: Just ask your child to decide between two categories you provide, e.g. “It is something you eat or wear?”
Make it harder: Ask your child to think of what else would go in that category and encourage lots of different examples. Ask them other questions about that category e.g. “Where do vegetables come from?” “Why is a jumper clothing?”
Word bingo. Describe a word for your child to guess (e.g. “It is a thing you wear. It keeps you warm. You wear it over a shirt. It is thick. It is a… [jumper/jacket]) and ask your child to recall the things about that object.
Make it easier: Use pictures of the items along with your description.
Make it harder: Use different ways of calling out the items, e.g. describe what the item looks like “It’s got wings and wheels and a pilot” (aeroplane), describe what it’s used for “It’s something you sleep in when you’re a baby” (cot), or describe where it’s found “It’s yellow and you find it in the fridge” (cheese).
Word knowledge. Take turns with your child saying all the things that you know about a word and recalling all the things they know after.
Make it easier: Use pictures or objects and prompts or questions to support your child. Complete with only a few words.
Make it harder: Complete with many words. Ask your child to think of many new things to say about the word, e.g. “An elephant. A huge elephant. Elephants live in Africa. They squirt water from their trunks”.
