THE POWER OF WORDS | When speaking to Titus about something, we incorporate pointing so that he has a visual of what we are describing. Singing and talking helps grow his vocabulary and makes the discussion engaging.
As Titus gets older, he likes to mimic what he sees. So we use his “cell phone” to talk to each other about our day, what we are currently doing, what we had for dinner, etc. Going back and forth with each other helps build his conversation skills.
We also talk about different places which helps Titus understand the concept of space. So we may say” Daddy is at work” or “it’s time to go to school.”
Talking to Titus daily, asking questions and encouraging him to use his own voice is amazing progress. We make sure to encourage him and let him know he is doing a great job, even if he has some challenges with certain words. Pointing also helps him show us words he is trying to say, but hasn’t mastered yet so we ask him to show us what he wants and we repeat the word back to help him learn.
We’ve also added affirmations to his room, so that when he wakes up, we recite them and we’ve started saying some affirmations on our way to school each morning. This repetition helps his vocabulary grow as he is building his pre-reading skills.
The Basic – Talk, Sing and Point helps Titus learn how language works. We find that being consistent with the Basics makes the journey of helping him discover the power of his words more fun!
By Candace Martin