Teach your child the concept of simple opposites like big/small, up/down, and in/out. Then progress to more advanced opposites such as ascend/descend, thirsty/quenched, and hungry/sated. You'll be amazed at the words a three year old (or younger) can learn.
Play this game by saying a word and asking your child to tell you the opposite of that word.
A few pointers for this game include:
* Don't forget to switch back and forth between which word in the pair you say, and which word your son or daughter replies with.
* Listen carefully for to your child's response. If they get it wrong, gently tell them the correct word and avoid saying "No," or "Wrong." Gentle ways of correcting your son or daughter include saying "Not quite, it's actually..." and "How about...?" If they get it right, let them know with varying levels of excitement based on how hard they worked to figure it out, and to keep it exciting and fun.
* Be very careful not to turn this game into a drill. After a few weeks of playing this game, assuming your child enjoys it as much as my daughter does, you may find it is easy to slip into drill mode, where you provide a steady barrage of words, to which your child quickly responds with the opposite of each. Remember to slow down, keep it fun, and always provide your son or daughter with an indication that they got it right (yes! or yea!) rather than simply shotgunning the next word at him or her.
* Use unfamiliar and sometimes even familiar words in a sentence to give them context.
* Where possible, use visuals or gestures. When we taught our daughter the words ascend and descend (we happened to be on an airplane in the process of taking off) we showed her the sign for airplane (thumb, index and pinkey fingers extended, middle and index fingers folded) while moving our hand in an upwards or downwards direction. Whenever we play the opposite game and the words ascend/descend come up I make the airplane sign and lift my hand into the air.
This is a great game to play in the car while driving, while waiting in a waiting room, in bed at night, or just about anywhere.
Initially your child will simply repeat back to you opposites that you have taught him or her. The real fun begins when you think of a pair of opposites that you've never before taught him or her, and you get to watch his or her gears turning, while they try to figure out the opposite of a word they have never thought much about.
When my daughter reached this stage, one day she suddenly realized that you can place the word 'not' in front of many words to in effect create an opposite. For example, I said, "Starving." She replied, "Not starving." Then I asked her what a word for "Not starving" was, and after thinking about it some more she replied, "Stuffed! I'm so stuffed I can hardly get up from the table!"
Watch carefully for the excitement your son or daughter will feel when they make a connection between two words they already know, but that they hadn't realized were related in this way.
Here is a list of some of the opposites I've taught my daughter. (Please add your suggestions for additional opposites to teach in the comments. I've been in search of creative and fun new opposites to teach her ever since we started playing this game.)
in/out
above/below
short/tall
big/small
boy/girl
left/right
run/walk
fast/slow
happy/sad
stop/start
win/lose
drop/pick up
hard/soft
rough/smooth
ascend/descend
thirsty/quenched
hungry/sated
tiny/enormous
accelerate/descelerate
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Counting Syllables
I'm driving in the car with my daughter when she asks me how I make the car go faster. I explain that I push the pedal, called the accelerator, and the car speeds up. She replies, "Ack-sell-er-ay-tor. Daddy, accelerator has five syllables! That's the longest word I ever learned!"
We had only started counting syllables together a few days earlier. And I honestly didn't think when I taught my daughter to count syllables, at three years old, that she could do it correctly for almost any word she hears. Sometimes we try a new game and works out great, and other times it doesn't quite click and we have to try it again a few months later. It took my daughter no time at all to catch on to finding the rhythm of word.
We count syllables using our fingers of course, counting them out as we say each syllable slowly. I say, "Telephone." Then (initially together) we say, while counting on our fingers, "Tel-uh-fon. Telephone has THREE syllables!"
My daughter loves this game and has a lot of fun with it. Often she has fun pretending words are longer than they are, and I love playing along. She'll say, "In-sul-lay-shuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-un. Daddy, insulation has TEN syllables!" And I'll say, "Oh my goodness, that's the longest word I've ever heard of!"
After playing this game for a few days I started to realize how closely my daughter listens when we teach her new words. In fact, I've found that counting syllables is an outstanding tool that actually helps her learn new words, and so now we do it together right away, after virtually every new word we teach her. Doing it, she repeats the new word back to me slowly, and I know right away if she heard me right. Of course even getting the new word's pronunciation or syllable count wrong is helpful since trying a few times just helps to solidify the new word in her memory. And she enjoys herself along the way, bursting with pride when she learns new words - especially long ones.
A brief word of caution: don't over focus on your child (especially younger children) getting the pronunciation of new words just right. There's nothing wrong with being supportive ("Good job, that was a hard one!) even when they've merely approximated the correct pronunciation of a word. The point is for you both to have fun and for your child to feel good and proud. This happens when you appreciate progress, not necessarily success.
We had only started counting syllables together a few days earlier. And I honestly didn't think when I taught my daughter to count syllables, at three years old, that she could do it correctly for almost any word she hears. Sometimes we try a new game and works out great, and other times it doesn't quite click and we have to try it again a few months later. It took my daughter no time at all to catch on to finding the rhythm of word.
We count syllables using our fingers of course, counting them out as we say each syllable slowly. I say, "Telephone." Then (initially together) we say, while counting on our fingers, "Tel-uh-fon. Telephone has THREE syllables!"
My daughter loves this game and has a lot of fun with it. Often she has fun pretending words are longer than they are, and I love playing along. She'll say, "In-sul-lay-shuh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-un. Daddy, insulation has TEN syllables!" And I'll say, "Oh my goodness, that's the longest word I've ever heard of!"
After playing this game for a few days I started to realize how closely my daughter listens when we teach her new words. In fact, I've found that counting syllables is an outstanding tool that actually helps her learn new words, and so now we do it together right away, after virtually every new word we teach her. Doing it, she repeats the new word back to me slowly, and I know right away if she heard me right. Of course even getting the new word's pronunciation or syllable count wrong is helpful since trying a few times just helps to solidify the new word in her memory. And she enjoys herself along the way, bursting with pride when she learns new words - especially long ones.
A brief word of caution: don't over focus on your child (especially younger children) getting the pronunciation of new words just right. There's nothing wrong with being supportive ("Good job, that was a hard one!) even when they've merely approximated the correct pronunciation of a word. The point is for you both to have fun and for your child to feel good and proud. This happens when you appreciate progress, not necessarily success.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Bone Game
This game is as simple as it gets. We've been teaching our three year old daughter the scientific name for each bone in the body. Why wait until 5th grade? Last summer she was swinging on the swing and said, "Daddy, I'm swinging as high as your cranium!"
For those who want a refresher, here is a link to Wikipedia's page on the human skeleton.
Favorite bones seem to be: cranium, mandible, sternum, xiphoid process, vertebrae, phalanges, clavicles, femurs, tibias, patellas, and pelvis.
It really helps to print out a picture of the skeleton and put it up on a wall, or to look at one on the computer. It also really helps (and makes it fun for a three year old) to grab the part of the body as you go through the bones and either shake or squeeze or play with it. I love latching onto my daughter's clavicles and tickling her.
We've also instituted bone day in our house. Lying in bed at night or in the morning my daughter decides what bone day it is today (patella day, cranium day, clavicle day, etc.) and what bone day it will be tomorrow. We don't do anything special each day besides simply talk about it being cranium day day today or talk about the fact that it was patella day yesterday, as we grab and tickle the appropriate bone. The bone day mainly serves as a conversation piece, to give us reason to repeat a given bone several times throughout the day, whenever we think of it, to help solidify the names of each bone.
After your daughter or son has mastered the bones, move on to the muscles of the human body.
For those who want a refresher, here is a link to Wikipedia's page on the human skeleton.
Favorite bones seem to be: cranium, mandible, sternum, xiphoid process, vertebrae, phalanges, clavicles, femurs, tibias, patellas, and pelvis.
It really helps to print out a picture of the skeleton and put it up on a wall, or to look at one on the computer. It also really helps (and makes it fun for a three year old) to grab the part of the body as you go through the bones and either shake or squeeze or play with it. I love latching onto my daughter's clavicles and tickling her.
We've also instituted bone day in our house. Lying in bed at night or in the morning my daughter decides what bone day it is today (patella day, cranium day, clavicle day, etc.) and what bone day it will be tomorrow. We don't do anything special each day besides simply talk about it being cranium day day today or talk about the fact that it was patella day yesterday, as we grab and tickle the appropriate bone. The bone day mainly serves as a conversation piece, to give us reason to repeat a given bone several times throughout the day, whenever we think of it, to help solidify the names of each bone.
After your daughter or son has mastered the bones, move on to the muscles of the human body.
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