Building Language Ages 12-12 Months

“If my parents had done these things with me, I probably wouldn’t be in this place.  This stuff is fun and easy. I’m going to read to my grandkids and show my daughter.” Person at the Marquette County Detention Center GTT training sessions. 2014

 

  Between ages 12-18 months your child will probably say a few words and understand sometimes what you say if you speak in a normal voice and short sentences. There are many ways to interact with your 12 -18 month old in a way that will help develop language. It is a stage of giving them words for what they are doing and carrying on the strangest conversations. You can often pretend to understand, repeat what you think they are talking about, and question.

  By this time most babies have good balance while sitting. They will enjoy hitting various sizes of pots and pans or cardboard boxes.  You can turn on music and sing with the beat. Pound fast, slowly, loudly and softly. Experiment. Will they copy you? Talk and listen to them talk back to you with partial words or their own words.

At the Sink

  Children 12-18 months may stand on a chair by the sink with a guard chairs on each side. Make the water warm and add a few drops of gentle dish soap. Supply some plastic dishes for them to wash and show how to clean with a new little sponge. Remind them not to put bubbles in their mouth. If they do, they will learn a lesson, too. Provide towels on the floor and a plastic bib. Explain what they are doing with words, phrases and complete sentences. Use the correct words without baby talk. Otherwise, they will need to unlearn baby talk later. Avoid saying, ”Let ME help you.“  Instead say, “I will help you.” “I” begins sentences.

Messy

 The 12-18 month old loves to squish and splat while you chat, question together and provide words for actions. Place different textures on their high chair tray like gelatin, spaghetti, jelly colored water, or mashed potatoes.  They will joyfully do their own brand of talking with you before bath time. 

 Peek, Seek, Sleep

   Fill a pillowcase with items from around the house and discuss what they find. Hide items under, on top, beside and behind pillows to help them solve problems with you. Ask “Where is Teddy?” Then model searching and thinking out loud together. Teddy is also a useful model to put to sleep, groom and feed, chatting all the while.

  Read Often

Even looking through a book, talking about characters, and telling the story in your own words is reading. You are developing language and getting ready for the next stage. 

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Reminder:  The last article for Grandparents Teach, Too will be Nov. 20,2020.  Thank you for helping  families learn how to be meaningfully engaged in their children's early learning and development.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

Reading Aloud to Children from Birth

The American Academy of Pediatrics believes reading aloud is so important they now recommend families read to infants as a daily fun activity. That’s right. Read from birth.

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The group recognizes that an important part of brain development occurs during the first three years of life and that reading aloud to children enhances vocabulary and other important communication skills. 
Along with talking and singing, reading increases the number of words that young children hear during their growing years.  Research has shown that children who are read to have heard significantly more words than children who do not have this experience.

Gap Begins at 18 Months 
   New research suggests this gap begins as early as 18 months of age! It is critical to develop these pre-literacy skills for success in school. The benefits of a real person reading aloud cannot be duplicated with modern digital media.

 How do we go about establishing a read-aloud program at home?  Hold babies in your lap or snuggle up under the covers.  Read aloud from a variety of children’s books.  As they grow, allow children to help turn the pages.  Read the words together.  Tell the story from pictures.  Ask questions such as: What do you see?  What does it remind you of?  What do you wonder about? For a few years you might be asking and answering your own questions. That’s OK.

   Go to the library and allow very young children to select books that they want to hear from the boxes of durable books with thick pages and bright colorful illustrations. Choose some that you would like to share with them. Plan to read aloud for at least ten minutes twice a day.  Just before a nap or bedtime works well. Also take advantage of bath time and riding in the car to sing songs and repeat nursery rhymes together.

What Else Can We Do?

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   What have other families done?  Alice Ozma described her childhood experience of being read to by her father in the book, “The Reading Promise.” They had always enjoyed reading time from early on. When she was in 4^th grade, they made a promise to read aloud together for 100 consecutive nights.  When they reached this goal, they decided to go on as long as they could.  The streak continued until the day that she left for college.  In addition to her academic success, Ozma says many life lessons were shared and many adolescent pitfalls avoided by the bonding they shared through reading.  

 A list of books they read is included. Ask your children’s librarian for additional book suggestions. Check out “The Read Aloud Handbook” by Jim Trelease or go to http://trealease-on-reading.com/  for more  titles and book reviews.

Photos: Fran Darling, fdarling fotos

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest

Ladder of Early Learning

  As some of the most influential teachers of young children, families have the opportunity to “steady the ladder” of early learning as children gain new knowledge, one step up at a time.   This intentional teaching and learning process is called scaffolding and is like a ladder that supports children as they climb up each successive rung in a quest to build new skills and reach new heights in personal achievement and understanding.

  The ladder is an excellent way to imagine how to assist children in learning anything new from using a spoon to bike riding. Your role as teacher is to prop them up and encourage them to pursue a task while monitoring, coaching, and adjusting their steps along the way.  Although this may sound daunting, you probably do it all the time without even realizing it.

Tying Shoes

  Take, for instance, the task of tying shoelaces.  Obviously, you can’t teach your children to tie their shoes for the first time by simply telling them to do it or showing them only once.  Although they have seen you do it many times, it is unlikely that they will learn to do it on their own without some careful assistance from you.  That’s when you bring out the ladder, so to speak. 

  Many families wait until children are about five when fingers and hands are more able. Before that Velcro closures help avoid frustration for children and helpers.

"Kinderschuhe Romika 1884" by NobbiP

  First, prepare to break the skill down into very small steps.  Sit side-by-side rather than face-to-face so each step can be imitated more easily.  Use a marker to color one lace or use different colored laces so children can see how each lace moves.

"Kinderschoenen" by User:DimiTalen

   Some families like to use an adult shoe with longer laces. If it helps, tell a little story, song or rhyme to guide the process and help the children remember. Talk out loud together.  Most important, be patient, consistent, and encouraging. Although there are many creative ways to tie a shoelace like crossing “bunny ears” or “loop and swoop” you will probably be most comfortable teaching as you have been taught.  The key is repetition, little steps and stopping before to much frustration. Every child is different and learns skills at different ages even within families.

  Through this special shared experience, you are allowing children to gain confidence and build important new skills.  Soon you’ll soon glance up to see a confident child, displaying two floppy shoe bows and one very large grin.  You have steadied the ladder of learning to an early success a child will never forget.

Guest writer is educator Gail Juntunen. 

Photo: Mark Nowicki

"Kinderschuhe Romika 1884" by NobbiP - Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kinderschuhe_Romika_1884.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Kinderschuhe_Romika_1884.jpg

"Kinderschoenen" by User:DimiTalen - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kinderschoenen.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Kinderschoenen.jpg

More Ideas and Activities....See the authors’ book “Learning Through the Seasons” at area bookstores and grandparentsteachtoo.org. For more help to prepare young children for success in school see the authors’ web site: www.grandparentsteachtoo.org. Also check our audio Podcasts WNMU Radio 90; Youtube video activities; and join us on Pinterest