Less is More: Ideas for Supporting Language Development without Toys
I’m a firm believer that less is more when it comes to planning therapy sessions. While there is a time and a place for customized therapeutic materials, often times toddlers are more interested in a box or a pillow than what we pull out of our therapy bag. One of my former colleagues joked that speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can plan an entire therapy session with just a paper clip, which is so true.
In the spirit of “less is more,” I’m sharing therapy ideas that don’t involve toys. These shared social routines are great for parents and therapists alike to use when interacting with toddlers and preschoolers. In addition to supporting receptive and expressive language development, the below suggestions are also excellent ways to target shared enjoyment. Save those Clorox wipes for a different day because none of these ideas involve toys!
Sing songs: Sing nursery rhymes and songs (e.g., If You’re Happy & You Know It, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) with your child. Don’t feel as though you need to sing these songs exactly as they are written. Modify them to keep your child engaged and focus on concepts they may be learning:
Model basic concepts: I often model early modifiers (e.g., “Fast,” “Slow,” “Quiet,” “Loud”) when singing. For example, I might say, “Let’s make the horn on the bus LOUD!” whens singing Wheels on the Bus. When I sing this specific verse, I sing louder and exaggerate my hand gesture within the song to emphasize the concept of “Loud.”
Provide your child with choices: Allow your child to make choices, whether that be picking the song, choosing the specific verse of the song (e.g., animals in Old McDonald), or directing the way you sing the song (e.g., fast, slow, etc.).
Get creative: Make up verses, such as “Jump up and down” when singing If You’re Happy & You Know It. For emerging Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) users, you can model core vocabulary words used to direct actions, such as “Go,” “Stop,” “Turn,” “On,” “Up,” and “Down.”
Create motivating social routines: Social routines (e.g., tickles, peek-a-boo) are motivating for kiddos. They encourage shared enjoyment and elicit so much language. What’s even better is that kids are more likely to attend to the language you are modeling given there are no distractions from toys or other objects. These routines also provide opportunities for children to imitate your actions and subsequently maintain the routine using body movements, gestures, vocalizations, words, signs, and/or AAC use. When you engage in a shared social routine with your child, occasionally pause before continuing to observe how your child requests for it to continue. You can also model communication temptation phrases (e.g., “Ready, set…”) within the moments of pause to see if your child fills in the phrase with a word, vocalization, sign, etc.. I’ve listed examples of shared social routines below:
Blast off: Countdown from three before yelling “Blast-off,” “Go,” or “Up” as you lift your child in the air. When you gently place them back on the ground, pause before starting the routine again. This is a great opportunity to model verbs (e.g., “Go,” “Land,” “Launch”), prepositions (e.g., “Up,” “Down”), and modifiers (e.g., “Fast,” “Slow,” “High”).
Tickles: Tickles might be one of the most popular shared social routines because kids typically love them! Tickles are a great time to model personal pronouns (e.g., “I’m going to get you,” “I wonder if you’re going to get me”), basic verbs (e.g., “Go,” “Stop”), and body parts (e.g., “Toes,” “Belly,” etc.).
Got your nose: Pretend to grab your child’s nose using your fingers. Say, “I’ve got your nose,'“ and subsequently hide your thumb in between your index and middle fingers as if you are actually holding their nose. Observe how your child continues the routine, such as by pretending to grab your nose. If your child is working on understanding body parts, you can also pretend to grab their ear, fingers, or toes.
Smelly feet: Pretend to smell your child’s foot and subsequently wave your fingers in front of your mouth and say, “Pee-you!” Pause and observe if your child continues the routine by moving their foot towards your face, saying a word, activating a button on their AAC system, or producing a sign. This routine is great for modeling playful exclamation (e.g., “Yuck,” “Ick,” “Eek”).
Hide and seek: Hide and seek is an effective game to model questions (e.g., “Where is mommy?”), negation (e.g., “She’s not behind the chair”), prepositions (e.g., “Under,” “Next to,” “Behind”), and basic vocabulary related to your household (e.g.,. “Fridge,” “Closet,” “Table”).
Freeze dance: Get silly and play a game of freeze dance! Model actions (e.g., “Spin,” “Dance,” “Go,” “Stop,” “Play,” “Turn”) and work on following directions (e.g., “Stop dancing,” “Dance!”).
What are your favorite ways to support language development without toys?