5 Ways to Help Young Kids Build Vocabulary

Teaching your children to build on their vocabulary can sometimes be challenging, especially depending on the child’s personality, but it is essential to helping your child succeed in life. If you’re interested in supporting your child’s vocabulary skills, consider these 5 helpful ways to build young kids vocabulary.

1. Encourage your child to read

Reading is the most effective method for building young kids vocabulary. It allows them to discover new words and understand their context. Also, when we have a positive outlook on reading they will view it as a positive and healthy habit!

The key to encouraging your child to read is to give them the freedom to choose the material. They are more likely to want to read if it’s something they find interesting. Material that is also age appropriate is also necessary. As a parent, our job is to guide them in the right direction so a helpful reading list for the right age can be a game changer!

Check out this 4 year old books reading list here

1. Play word games

Young kids are exactly that–young kids–so don’t make learning a chore! Have fun with new words by playing games together. Thanks to the internet you have access to fun new games at your fingertips. My son loves playing learning games on his tablet. Stores have whole sections dedicated to educational games. If you’re on a budget there's free printables online or you can play classics like "I Spy" or make your own sight word matching games. Whatever type of resource you choose, remember to keep it fun!

1. Visualization

I am a visual learner so I will always encourage you to add some visualization techniques to teaching a learning skill. Visualization is also supportive to learning comprehension of new words, especially for young children. Some super fun ideas to incorporate images with words is to draw a picture and then have your child make up a story about it. I’ve also seen "story stones" that you use to describe a scene. You and your child can create a picture dictionary together. Visualization can be as simple as reading a "First Words" book where they individual pictures and their words underneath.

1. Read aloud to your child

There’s a reason we’ve been told to talk to your child in the womb and read them stories as infants because no matter the age, their brains are always working and learning. So reading aloud to your young child can be just as effective to building their own vocabulary. When they are listening to a story or situation it may be easier for them to understand the meaning of the words as they hear it in the right context. Also, listening to different types of material can increase their vocabulary without you even trying. For example, if you read out loud from a recipe book they are introduced to words that are used less frequently, like "ingredient", "combine" and "separate."

1. Connect

This can mean a few different things: 1. Connecting with your child by talking to them and having a conversation with them (without "dumbing down" your own vocabulary) can motivate them and introduce them to new words. 2. Connecting new vocabulary words to their synonyms and antonyms will help them understand words more completely and use them in the right context.

To help young children continue to learn and grow there will always be some trial and error. Some of these ideas might work better than others but the important thing to remember is to be positive, encouraging and playful when interacting with your little one as you guide them on their learning journey.

Jenn writes at her blog healthyhappyimpactful.com. She’s a mom of three looking to learn and grow. Check it out if you love helpful tips on health, family, and personal growth.