A Language Explosion

In my experience, beyond finding a safe and caring environment, the vast majority of parents are looking for a preschool that prepares their child for kindergarten and beyond. But, what exactly does that mean and what does it look like to be prepared?

Here at OCMS, one major focus is on capitalizing on your toddler’s natural focus on language and language acquisition. I wrote briefly about this “sensitive period” for language HERE. And now, I’d like to dig a little deeper into what we, as your child’s guide,  do to support this “language explosion”. The most important thing is to talk. Talk about anything and everything! During the school day, we take walks about the classroom and talk about everything we see, hear, or even smell! Below is a list of a few of the ways that we encourage vocabulary development throughout each day:

Narrate

We use language to describe everything that happens in the classroom. For example, when outside we may talk about the weather, “it’s sunny outside today” or something that has occurred, “the ball rolled all the way to the chairs!”

Name

We also give names to everything in the classroom. This naming game gets refined over time. For example, for younger children we may name the “chair,” and as their vocabulary develops, we will name the legs, seat, and back of the chair. We also have vocabulary cards to name items we won’t come across in the classroom, such as “tiger and bear”.

Converse

In addition to the picture discussions on the shelves, we also converse with the children about their evenings and or weekends, we talk about the books we read in the classroom or even what they are wearing. We ask lots of questions such as, “Are you wearing a blue dress?” or “Did the butterfly fly away?” and “What did you do this weekend?”

Fill in the Blanks

As your child’s language develops, they will continue to search for the words to help describe what is going on around them. They are also seeking to understand context. So, one way we support this understanding is by filling in the blanks.” We provide a detailed response to their shortened descriptions. For example, when they point and say “airplane,” we respond with, “yes, there is an airplane in the sky”. Or if they ask for help, we say something like, “would you like me to help you put on your shoes?” By modeling complete sentences, your child receives more opportunities to understand how language is used.