Language and literacy activities for preschool children and toddlers do not need to be complicated to be effective!  As a pediatric speech pathologist and a mom, I believe building early communication skills should be fun for little ones AND low stress for adults. These 3 simple activities are perfect for encouraging speech and language skills.

Before we dive in, let’s talk about the key ingredient for making an activity good for building language.

What is the best way to promote early language and emerging literacy?

The best way to promote early language is to create fun and meaningful interactions. That means that the key ingredient is YOU!  Whether you are a clinician or caregiver, your active engagement makes a difference.

Language and Literacy Activities for Early Childhood!

Bubbles!

The classic choice is up first – blowing bubbles!  Bubbles are typically a big hit with the birth-5 crowd.  Blowing bubbles encourages joint attention as children often look your way to see where those shiny floating things are coming from.

• Model those early communication skills by pointing, making sounds (Oh! Pop! Uh-Oh) and imitating/labeling actions (pop the bubbles with a clap or a stomp!).
• Create turn-taking opportunities by sharing (hold onto the bottle of “bubble juice” for less mess and have the little one dip the wand and blow).
• For more advanced kiddos use phrases (my turn, more bubble), descriptions (bubbles go up, so big, landed on my nose!) and ask questions (Where did the bubble go? Can you reach the bubble up high?)

My favorite way to use bubbles with older preschoolers is to use different body parts or items to pop the bubbles (pop with your elbow, knee or toy car).  Whatever way you play with bubbles, you can’t go wrong!

Coloring Activities

Whether you are free drawing or using coloring pages, you can easily adjust your language for the child to work on expressive and receptive language skills.  Coloring activities offer so many opportunities!

• For early communicators you can work on pointing, requesting, protesting or even making silly sounds to imitate and take turns as you color (zoom!)
• Coloring pages and picture scenes are great for targeting basic concepts and early vocabulary as you label and describe what you see and draw (Tell me about your picture!)
• For older preschoolers, I love using picture scenes for asking/answering questions and following directions (Let’s color the shoe! Where is the puppy hiding?)

Stickers and small toys can always add to the coloring fun!  Get FREE printables with language prompts for young children – perfect to use during sessions or to send home >> Free Early Language Coloring Pages!

Interactive Book Sharing!

Books to promote early literacy may seem like a no-brainer, but this age group in particular can be tricky when it comes to storytime.  Realistic expectations for attention at this age would be 2-5 minutes at a time.  Expanding the length of attention is easier once the child learns that books can be fun.

• Encourage early communicators to engage with you as you model pointing to pictures, making fun sound effects (Wow! Boom! Meow!) and using actions (Pet the Puppy! Let’s wave bye-bye!)
• Label items, describe what you see and ask simple questions, but move on if you see interest is decreasing
• Books can be a great conversation starter with preschoolers as kids begin to relate pictures in the book to real-life (There’s a dog in this book and we have a dog at my house! The kids are sitting at a table like we are).

I love to add toys for more language opportunities (Let’s feed the puppy!).  For examples of how to make books fun and interactive for toddlers and preschoolers, check out the video below!

Language and literacy activities for preschool children and toddlers – The Takeaway

Whatever activity you use to promote early language, have fun!  Your active engagement is the essential piece for supporting early childhood development.  I hope these simple language and literacy activities for preschool and early intervention add some fun to your sessions!

Related: Check out this blog post on Early Literacy Development from The SLP Next Door!

Hey Clinician! Do you want to learn about inclusive and responsive practices?
I got you covered (and it’s free)   >> Grab the quick guide here!