It was when my toddler recently started talking incessantly that I realized I had to make the most of this language explosion. I started looking for Montessori-friendly language activities that would easily fit into our everyday lives at home. It’s amazing what a difference they have made!
These activities will do double duty for your toddler. They will help you take advantage of their sensitive period for language by increasing their vocabulary but also lay the foundation for reading and writing in the future.
10 Activities to Improve your toddler’s vocabulary and language skills
#1 Read Books
This might seem very obvious to you, but it’s very easy to get into a habit of reading only at certain times of the day or in a specific way that tends to be more focused on telling the story as opposed to reading with the intention of increasing vocabulary. Here are some helpful factors to consider when it comes to reading together.
The way you read to your child
Most toddlers are very busy little bodies and find it hard to sit still long enough for what you and I would deem a proper story. They might lose interest if there is too much reading and not enough pictures or they might want to skip ahead to their favorite pages which leaves you rambling faster than an auctioneer.
Don’t allow any of this to put you off from reading to them. Also, don’t assume that they are not interested in the story. They are taking in everything we are saying but they need to move in order to learn so let them take the lead.
Make them active participants instead of passive listeners by inviting their cooperation and participation.
Allow them to page through the book. Instead of reading the story word for word you can let them tell you what they like on the page or what they see. Think of it more like having a conversation about the book.
You can even read books with no words and just describe in rich, descriptive language, what you see. Look at beautiful art books together or nature photography. No one says you can’t enjoy it as well. My son has taken a liking to a coffee table decor book I own – I couldn’t believe it at first but after a while it made sense. It is filled with everyday objects that he sees in his own home.
Instead of asking your toddler:
‘What is that?’
try asking:
‘Can you show me the..? ‘
It places less pressure on the child while removing the chance of you having to correct them when they get it wrong (which is not great for building a toddler’s confidence).
What type of books you read with your child
Look at the books you tend to read most often and perhaps expand on the topics or genres. You can also read non-fiction to your child. You can simplify the language a little if need be but the idea is that the language we encounter in books is usually a bit richer than what we tend to use in everyday dialogue. The aim is to expose our children to more words that broaden their vocabulary horizons.
These are my criteria for selecting Montessori-friendly books for my toddler:
- Books with themes that match/support my child’s current interests.
- Age-appropriate books based on a word to picture/page ratio. The younger the child the fewer the words.
- Realistic images, characters, and stories. Children want to learn about real-life first before they are introduced to other people’s creations.
- Board books that my child can easily handle on his own to make reading more accessible and to foster independence.
- Beautiful illustrations or photography.
- Topics that expand our horizons and show us places, people, and things that we might not be fortunate enough to see in our everyday lives.
You can read more about my book recommendations in Best Montessori-Friendly Books
#2 Have A Conversation
Again, sounds very obvious, right? But how many times a day do you have a conversation with your child with the sole purpose of building language skills? We talk to (at) our children constantly, but a conversation is a give and take. It’s a two-way dialogue.
Start by just waiting for a response. We often ask our children questions that we sort of answer for them. We don’t always leave enough room for their responses.
You can have a conversation at any time of the day, wherever you are. Even everyday events can be wonderful opportunities for a stimulating conversation. Ask your child questions or tell them what you think about the event. Use rich language and focus on describing your experiences through your senses.
These are just a couple of examples of everyday activities with talking points that we can use to start conversations to build language.
Bath time
- My body parts
- empty/full
- wet/dry
- What does this smell like?
- Soap, sponge, washcloth, etc
- clean/dirty
- Self-care items
- What do we do with this?
- Things we see in the bathroom
- hot/cold
Mealtime
- What is on your plate?
- What does it taste like?
- Sweet/Sour/Salty
- Colors on the plate
- Favorite foods?
- What do animals eat?
# 3 Play Listening Games
You can play listening/sound games with your child in any situation. You simply ask them to try and be very quiet and listen and describe what they hear. They can even close their eyes if they want.
These listening activities can also help us feel more present and calm which is a bonus as far as I’m concerned.
Sound effects
The BBC sound library and Sound Bible is completely free and contains a plethora of different sounds from every walk of life:
- Nature
- Machines
- Transport
- Daily life
Everyday situations
You can play this without a soundtrack – simply listen to the sounds outside or while sitting in the car or restaurant. Every place has its own special sounds.
You can also ask specific questions – Can you hear the dog barking? Listen to the cars driving past. Do you hear the wind through the trees?
Listening walk
Go for a stroll around your neighborhood or in the park and pay attention to what you hear. If you want to be really fancy you can ‘record’ the walk on your phone and listen to it at a later stage or when you are unable to leave the house.
Visual Sound Match
Create some cards with different images of things that you can listen to. Pictures of different transportation or nature events like rain and thunder. You can also do different animals.
Prepare the cards and lay them on the floor or table. Ask your child to identify the picture that matches the sound you heard.
#4 Tell Stories
Storytelling is an ancient art and has been used for centuries to convey important lessons or introduce new concepts. Humans are built to enjoy listening and telling stories so why not make the most of it.
There is a reason our brains react differently to a story than to a lecture. We make an emotional connection with the story told which means we’ll remember the information in a story far better than the facts in a lecture.
Children under the age of 5 enjoy stories based on reality. Stories they can relate to about the world that they live in.
This doesn’t mean you are not using imagination – only that you are not creating fantasy. Those can be enjoyed when they are older after they have a firm understanding of reality. It is also difficult for young children to differentiate between what is real and what is made up. Keep this in mind when you are telling stories.
Most toddlers love being read to but you can also make up your own stories together. You are only limited by your imagination. Here are a couple of activities to start you off and get your storytelling juices flowing.
A story in a bag
Take a bag (or container) and place a few select objects inside. Use these to create a story from scratch. If your child is a little older, they can be part of the process. You can involve younger children by asking them what the character should be called or where did the animal live etc.
Finger puppets
These are especially fun during bath time or car trips. You can buy them or make them yourself. There are some wonderful examples on Pinterest for the creatives out there. Start a small collection of basic characters and animals. Once your children are older they will enjoy creating their own stories.
Family photographs
Print out a couple of familiar family member’s faces and use them to tell a story. You should include a photo of your child, their siblings, parents, etc. This way you can also tell them stories about real events that took place in their family before or after their birth.
Routine/Sequence cards
You can use routine cards to help tell a story about your child’s everyday life. You can even take some pictures of your child while performing these activities so you can cast your child as the main character in the stories.
There are wonderful free routine cards available to download. My favorite cards are from The Montessori Notebook.
You can also use Montessori Nomenclature cards as visual aids to help you tell a story.
Sequence cards are a very helpful tools and will help you tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. Having this structure helps children learn how to tell a story and indirectly prepares them for reading.
You can create your own sequence cards by depicting different steps of a process like baking a cake or painting a picture.
Illustrate the life cycle of a caterpillar or show the changes in seasons. It doesn’t matter if it is slightly advanced – as long as you are telling a story that engages your child. Adapt your stories to suit your child and where they are developmentalLY.
#5 Read Poetry Together
Reading and enjoying poetry is a gift you can bestow on your child while introducing them to complex language and themes. There are some wonderful poetry books specifically written for young children beyond the usual nursery rhymes.
Here are three fantastic books to start with:
- Haiku Baby by Betsy E. Snyder
- Little Poems for Tiny Ears by Lin Oliver
- Here’s A Little Poem – A Very First Book Of Poetry by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters
#6 Sing Songs
Music is an excellent tool to improve language. We can easily remember lyrics from hundreds of songs even if we haven’t heard the song in years! It works similarly to storytelling in that your brain is activated in a different way that allows you to attach emotion and melody to the words you hear.
Songs are a great way to tell stories, convey information, and introduce new concepts.
My son at 18 months + is really enjoying the music by Nancy Kopman. All the songs are written around themes that children can relate to. I also enjoy listening to it which says a lot. It is much slower-paced than most typical children’s songs and she only uses acoustic accompaniment.
Young children take slightly longer to process our words so always make a point of slowing your pace when speaking.
#7 Use Montessori Language Objects & Nomenclature Cards
Montessori language objects can be any three-dimensional ‘mini’ replica of something based in reality. Try to find objects that closely resemble the real thing. The more detail the better!
Nomenclature cards or language cards are simply cards depicting a realistic image of an object which is usually isolated on a white background. You can definitely make your own by downloading some free language cards, printing them on plain white paper, and laminating them.
I found some free nomenclature cards for toddlers at Montessori For Everyone. They include basic themes that are great to start with:
- Animals of the rainforest
- Transportation
- Art Supplies
- Kitchen accessories
- Living room
- Bedroom
I also received some lovely cards from Monti kids that are specially made for toddlers. You need to subscribe to their monthly newsletter to receive the link and they will send you new cards to download every month. I can’t wait to see what they send me next!
When you have made your Montessori Nomenclature cards, you can start with these two activities.
1. Match objects to pictures
I first looked at what language objects I already had and then tried to find nomenclature cards to match them. The cards in these images were a gift from my sister.
You can introduce the objects first and after your child has learned the names of the objects, you can introduce the card and ask them to match the object to the card.
Lay the cards (3-5 max) on a work mat or a table and give your child one object at a time to match.
2. Pair identical pictures
Once you have moved on from matching objects to cards you can ask your child to match identical cards. You can also do this If you don’t have objects to match with cards. This might be slightly advanced for most toddlers but it’s a good activity to include in your arsenal. Only you will know whether your child is ready and it doesn’t hurt introducing it to see how they respond.
Give your child a short demonstation.
- Lay all the cards out in a grid formation.
- Select a card to match.
- Move the card from left to right while pausing next to each card in the grid to see if it’s a match.
The child may do this any way they like but keep showing them the left to right process before you start.
#8 Play Mystery bag games
The Montessori Stereognostic bag is also commonly referred to as a Mystery bag and consists of a drawstring bag with 3 or 4 items inside. Your child reaches in and describes what they feel before identifying the item. This activity is usually introduced as part of the Montessori Sensorial curriculum at age 3 and has many extension activities.
More on the Montessori Mystery Bag here – A Complete Guide For Beginners
Mystery bag activities are wonderful for keeping little hands busy during long journeys!
I wrote a detailed post on stereognosis bag activities for toddlers under 3 that I would suggest you read. It has lots of different ideas and I show you exactly how to present and conduct the activity as well as to adapt it to different ages.
#9 Make A Vocabulary Basket
This will be your first stop on the journey to Montessori Language work and can be introduced as soon as your child can sit unassisted. They are simple and easy learning aids and children love discovering what is inside.
This will be a basket with a couple of themed items inside. Your child will start by just exploring the items and you can give them a three-period lesson with each item when you’ve sensed that they are ready or interested.
The objects should be from the same classification or field. Basically, they are items that just go together and it helps if they are real objects not representations of real things. Here are some examples:
- Colors (objects are all the same color)
- Transport (cars, planes, and trains)
- Shapes (use the shapes from a shape sorter)
- Items of clothing
- Self-care items (hairbrush, toothbrush, small mirror)
#10 Listen To Podcasts
Listening to stories is great but we (parents) don’t always have the time or inclination to read 20 stories back to back. We are also not all Emmy-winning actors with the capacity to do accents and different voices. You can however find a podcast that will deliver on these fronts.
Here is a list of story podcasts to try out:
- Story Pirates
- Circle Round
- Little Stories for Tiny People
- Brains On!
- Story Time by Bedtime fm
- WOW in the World
Buy a sound-limiting attachment for your child’s headphones to protect their eardrums.
Most of these podcasts might be slightly advanced for your toddler but I think it’s a good idea to start listening so you can find your favorites. Podcasts are free and you can enjoy them anywhere.
Happy chatting!