There has been a lot of talk lately about the Ontario government’s move towards providing full-day kindergarten and incorporating a play-based curriculum. A play-based curriculum means that children learn through play. The idea behind this is that when children are given the opportunity to explore an exciting and stimulating environment, they will learn without even knowing they are learning.
You can create your own stimulating environment for your child at home. Try this activity to create a language-rich environment while doing a simple, inexpensive craft:
Play-dough
Play dough Ingredients:
- ½ cup salt
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup flour
- food colouring (optional)
Language ingredients:
- Action words (verbs): Talk about how you are pouring the ingredients, mixing them together, stirring with a spoon, squishing, rolling, patting, poking, and cutting the play-dough.
- Description words (adjectives): Discuss how the play-dough feels sticky or squishy. Roll a ball and make it smooth. Touch the water and talk about how it is wet, and contrast that to the dry flour.
- Location words (prepositions): Maybe the flour is beside the salt, on the table. The ingredients go in the bowl. Make a tree out of your play-dough and a person to go under the tree.
- People, places or things (nouns): This can be almost anything! Names of the ingredients, the tools you are using, the objects you are building, the names of those participating, names of shapes, numbers etc…..
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Choose a word or two to focus on from each type listed above.
- Use those words 5 or more times during the activity.
- Encourage your child to actively participate, by doing, asking, feeling, and commenting.
For more information on Ontario’s play-based curriculum visit:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/kindergarten/whatwillmychildlearnanddo.html
For more tips on creating language-rich environments go to:
http://www.parentlinkalberta.ca/publish/920.htm
Written by: Jana Zalmanowitz, S-LP, The Speech Therapy Centres of Canada.
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