Enhancing Your Child’s Speech and Language Skills During Summer Outings
Are you concerned that your child may lose his/her skills over the summer break? Fear no more – Summer break offers children endless opportunities to build memories with their family, experience new things, and engage in hands-on learning activities. Some activities that promote learning opportunities for children to develop their speech and language skills include: going to the pool or beach, museums, and parks, creating a checklist for vacation, reading books about animals at the zoo, etc. Wherever you plan to bring your child this summer, make sure you are engaging in conversations with your child about their surroundings. Asking your child open-ended questions about what they are seeing and experiencing will encourage them to use descriptive language. As parents, it is essential to practice patience and allow children time to formulate their thoughts and responses. Overall, there are endless opportunities in the summer to foster language development through interactive and engaging experiences.
Amy Yacoub, MS, CCC-SLP