The renowned American Author, Wilfred Funk quoted, “The more words you know, the more clearly and powerfully you will think … and the more ideas you will invite into your mind.” So, let’s help your kids to expand their vocabulary, which is essential to succeed in life.
Young children are continuously attempting to catch on the words spoken by adults. That’s why every parent is extra conscious of what they say in front of their kids. But this quality of learning kids helps teachers in Excelsior American School to include fun language activities.
Do you know when a child starts to develop knowledge of words? Super-Duper Publications released their study on Vocabulary which states that by the age of 2, a child is aware of 200-300 words. This grows to 900-1000 words within a year. And by the age of 12, they have a word knowledge bank of over 50,000 words. Wondering if your child is performing up to these statistics? Before that, why is a strong vocabulary so important for a child’s education? Read further for all answers.
What is Vocabulary?
Dictionary.com defines ‘Vocabulary’ as “words of the language”. These words can further be classified into-
- Receptive Vocabulary: Words a person can understand, comprehend but may not produce themselves
- Expressive Vocabulary: Words a person uses (in writing or speaking) to express their thoughts, ideas, and feelings
To build your child’s strong vocab, you need to emphasize both the types. While your child might collect receptive words from listening to people, music, movies and other secondary sources but expressive words need some work.
Why is Vocab Important?
It’s a proven fact by Ohio State University that toddlers whose parents have read them at least 5 books every day, will enter Kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million words more than the kids whose parents didn’t read them stories. Apart from knowledge, these are some reasons why your child’s vocab is important:
- Ability to express exactly what they feel
- A better understanding of what other people are saying
- Improved persuasion skills, logical thinking, reading and writing skills
- Exchanging ideas becomes easier
If you’re ready to work with your child then here are 7 perfect ways to expand their word knowledge:
1. 5 Words a Week Appetite
Young kids don’t have to become English Laureate in just a day. Pick five age-appropriate words every week. Use them in conversations. Encourage and help them to do the same. Involve activities around these words like drawing, storytelling, show & tell, sentence framing and more.
2. Visually Represent Unfamiliar Words
When your kid is learning new words, they need to use them day in and day out. Make this activity fun and relatable by including visual representation. For example, “Orange”, “Lime” and “Lemon” might be confusing for a 5-year-old but once they see them in your kitchen, they’ll understand the difference.
3. Draw, Sing or Act New Words
The best IB Schools in Gurgaon use interesting techniques to memorize new words. In the classroom, we ask kids to enact a word while the others have to guess it.
Let’s say, the words are Romp, Quiet, Listen, Travel and Disco. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how your kid will Dance, Sing or Act to these words for others to guess?
This activity enhances their sense of comprehending and expressing. It also makes the learning process fun.
4. Read Thoroughly and Daily
Reading stories has always been a part of the learning process. Our teachers encourage children to break-and-make difficult words while reading. They need not necessarily read out the text in one go but after several attempts, they’ll be able to pronounce words at ease.
Tip for parents: Buy them books out of school syllabus too so they look forward to different stories. This will help them to find their likes and dislikes of genres.
5. Discovering Words Everywhere They Go
Education out of the classroom can teach kids what syllabus can’t. That’s why being the best boarding school in Gurgaon, we cheer for kids to come up with words they learnt during a vacation or while going to the market. Even our school trips conclude with students writing about the experience in their words. Our belief is to provide holistic education.
6. Word Games
The infamous word games like Scrabble, Crosswords, Catch-the-Phrase, Hangman and more are a great addition to your kids’ playtime. Also, if your little one is obsessed with mobile games, then do add some of the online word games for kids to your smartphone or tablet.
7. Write Words on a Whiteboard
If your kid tends to forget words s/he learnt a few days ago, a whiteboard can come to their rescue. Write the terms on the board for them to see it daily. This activity will imprint these unfamiliar terms in their mind. Remove the words which have found a permanent place in their memory.
Share with us…
Aren’t these ideas impressive? We are sure that your child will enjoy learning about the new terms through these activities. Let us know what are your favourite ways to add words in your little one’s mind.
