I know that all of you parents make time for reading aloud to your kids. That’s the number one way to build strong readers in the future. But there’s more to literacy than just reading books. There is language and how it’s used in your home. That’s right, your words matter, and the more of them used daily with your children, the bigger and more complete will be their vocabulary. That’s important, because vocabulary is one of the greatest predictors of success in learning.

Here are three ways to build vocabulary and love of language in your everyday lives with your kids:

  • Intentional conversations:  Make a point of engaging your kids in conversations that go beyond correction (“Stop biting your sister”) or direction(“It’s time to take your nap.”) These are necessary uses of words, but the payoff in literacy building will come when you ask open-ended questions and then take the time to go back and forth several times, responding to the answer. For example: “Who is your favorite super-hero today?”  “I still like Spider Man.” “Why do you like Spider Man so much?” “Because he can fly and save people.” “You mean he protects people?” Yes, he protects them from bad guys. See how that works? The word ‘protects’ and its meaning is now attached to his favorite super hero with no actual lesson necessary.
  • Singing Songs and Rhymes: One of the best investments you can make in terms of fun with words is several top-notch CD’s for kids. Whether you choose Dan Zanes, Laurie Berkner, Jim Gill, or Jessica Harper, your kids will jump at the chance to sing along with great music. Go to www.CDBaby.com to find the right music for you and your family and then join in the fun and sing together. The combination of music and lyrics is a natural way to build language skills.
  • Jokes Kids love jokes. They love knock knock jokes, silly jokes like 101 pickle jokes and they love making up their own jokes. While parents may quickly tire of the kid joke genre, there is much to be learned about language via jokes. Word play found in jokes will help kids think about meaning and they’ll build vocabulary skills while they laugh.

What other ways can you think of that build language skills while enjoying family fun?