Play games - Practice language skills

We are busy!  Things get hectic!  Here are a few games that you can play with your preschooler-kindergartner child while driving, waiting for an appointment, or at home on a rainy day. Play games, have fun, practice language skills.

1. Categories. Select a category (farm animals, white foods, furniture, funny things, etc.). Take turns naming an item in a category.
2. Rhyme Time: Practice creating rhymes for things children see from the car window or in the environment around them. (hat-cat, knee-me, house-mouse).   
3. Match the sound. Decide on a sound (not a letter, as some sounds are made by two letters: ch, sh, th). Take turns naming words beginning or (to make it more challenging for older kids) ending with that sound.
4. Guess that word. Say simple words sound-by-sound. Have your child guess the word (d-o-g = dog, m-a-p=map, s-a-n-d=sand).  
5. Mind Reader. One player chooses a familiar object and gives three clues about it (it’s sweet, it’s cold, it comes in a cone).  Other players try to guess what it is.  Variation can be other players ask yes/no questions in order to guess the item (do you eat it with the spoon? Is it soft?)
6. Cities and Syllables:   As you pass through different towns, cities, or states, children can practice counting the number of syllables in that city or state’s name. For example, when passing through Idaho, the child counts or claps out three syllables. When passing through Tallahassee, the child counts/claps out four syllables. 
7. Can You Find Them?. Ask your child to look around and name all round things in the room, then all red, square, soft, smooth, etc. For the younger kids use simple characteristics (color, simple shapes). For older kids use more advanced features (smooth, rough, wooden, plastic, soft, etc)
8. Opposites. Say a word, ask your child to say a word with the opposite meaning (big-little, white-black, good-bad). 
   
   

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Adapted partially from:  “Practicing Language Skills in the Car?” by Erica Zollman, M.Ed., CCC-SLP,  Handy Handouts® # 402 www.handyhandouts.com • © 2016 Super Duper® Publications • www.superduperinc.com