Learn one new word a day in different situations with your child! You can incorporate learning new words and phrases into your everyday life without the need for any preparation or special equipment. To reinforce the learning, try to repeat the previous days’ words by using them in sentences the next day. Of course, always adapt the level of difficulty according to your child’s language skills and age.

1 – In the bathroom

Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, shower, bath tub … open bottles and describe the smells, what does the brush, sponge, towel feel like

2 – While getting dressed

Tops, trousers, socks, underwear … mention colours and details such as buttons, zips, hoods, strings, inside-out, tight, loose, warm, stripes, dots

3 – During breakfast

Bowl, cup, cereal, toast, porridge … is the food hot, cold, crunchy, soft – what material is the plate, fork, beaker made of?

4 – In the playground

Swing, slide, sandpit, surfaces … what can you do in the playground equipment, how do you feel when you sit in the swing, is the ground hard or made of softer material, what can you make out of sand?

5 – While out for a walk

Listen to the noises, other people, birds, trees, cyclists, airplanes … repeat the sounds and give the word for them: chatting, shouting, tweeting, whirring, wrooming

6 – In the car or on the bus

Notice other cars, buses, buildings, bridges, streets … what make and how big are they, where are the people going? Numbers of windows and colours of doors on houses

7 – While playing at home

Toys and their characteristics … how is the teddy feeling today, happy, excited, sad – and why? What would the building blocks like to make?

8 – During cooking and mealtime

Food items, vegetables, spices … what ingredients go into making today’s meal, what spices are you using, how do you cook them, what do they taste like?

9 – When doing chores

Doing dishes, laundry, taking the rubbish out, renovating, repairing the car … what implement or tool are you using? what happens to the things you work on? – they get clean, shiny, thrown away, colourful, fixed

10 – At bedtime

Books, rhymes, songs … add a new description of a feature in a book you have read before, start a rhyme that you can build on from time to time (check out that you begin with a word you can find a rhyming one for!), make up a silly song together

Engage your child’s imagination – it is endless!

What is your favourite way of expanding your child’s vocabulary with new words and phrases?