While we all know language is all around us, it can still sometimes feel like a struggle to think of ways to explicitly elicit language from our children, especially when they need a boost in the language department. Luckily, the holiday season is great at giving ample opportunities during activities you were already going to be doing (no adding to the to-do list here!)

1. WRAPPING PRESENTS

While your child might not be present when putting the presents into the boxes, they can help with choosing the wrapping paper, curling ribbon, or bows. Think questions along the lines of: “Which wrapping paper should we use for your brother’s package?” “Why did you chose this paper?” “Can you find the reindeer/Santa/candy cane on this paper?” “Should we use a big bow or a little bow?” “Which color bow should we use?” “Should we put the bow in the middle /top/left/right of the present ?”

2. GETTING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Choosing the tree is a big decision and one that also can include a lot of adjectives! When you come across a tree (good or bad), have your child describe it…it is tall or short, fat or skinny, full or holey? Are the needles soft or prickly? Is the tree a deep green or a light green? Are the branches stiff or flexible?

3. DECORATING THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Everyone is guilty of forgetting to decorate the backside of the tree, but by targeting language while decorating the tree, hopefully the backside (even if it faces the wall) can get some love too! Decorating the tree can be great for following directions (“Put the green ball on the bottom of the tree”) or great for a child to describe where they put an ornament (“I put the ornament up high.” “I put the ornament in back.”) Using carrier phrases such as “I put the ornament…” or “The ornament is…” can help children who are developing language make longer utterances as the repetition reduces the need to come up with a new sentence every time.

4. MAKING HOT CHOCOLATE

While I am guilty of throwing a K-cup in the Keurig and pressing a button, there are plenty of recipes out there that involve a few more steps (and produce a much better cup of hot chocolate!) And those extra steps are great for language development! Cooking with children is a great way to elicit language. Following directions to gather all the ingredients and how much to measure out targets receptive language. Once your hot chocolate is ready for the final touches, expressive language can be targeted…Do you want a candy cane stir stick? Marshmallows? How many? Let’s count them out! Do you want whipped cream? A lot or a little (or a lot or A LOT!)? Once you are enjoying your cup, see how many words you can come up with to describe your cup. Is it hot, too hot, just right? Is it light brown or dark brown? Is it sweet or sour?

5. CAROLING

Going door to door and caroling is probably out of the question this year. But in case you are stopping by the grandparent’s house, caroling can be great for language development. There are numerous studies that show the powerful connection between singing and language development. And if you aren’t one to carol, finding the Christmas station on the radio and singing along is great too!

6. COUNTDOWN TO SANTA’S ARRIVAL/ELF ON THE SHELF

This is an exciting time for children and the build-up to the big day is definitely something worth talking about! Whether you are using an advent-style calendar or an Elf of the Shelf, these tools can be great for language. Growing up my brother and I had a count-down calendar where we chose a holiday character and then placed them on the corresponding day. In this case, there can be much discussion on who is getting chosen, why, adjective to describe what they look like, etc. This can work with a more traditional style of advent calendar by having the child describe what they see on that day’s door before opening it up. For the Elf on the Shelf, talking about where they are hiding, how do you think they got there, and where do you think they will go next, are all great language activities!

7. BUILDING A SNOWMAN

If we get enough snow (sorry but fingers crossed we don’t!), building a snowman is a great language activity. From following directions either given by you or having the child give you directions (there is a fun activity! Haha!), to commenting on what the snowman needs to be wearing, to describing what the completed snowman looks like, there is language galore in this activity! If we don’t get enough snow for a life-size snowman, making baby snowman out of dustings of snow also works!

Happy Holidays from our speech family to yours!

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