Post Holiday Chatter

Holiday preparation lasts weeks, even months, for some--but the holidays are always over so quickly. After family and friend festivities are over, you will probably soon hear the kids saying that they are bored or may hear them asking, "What are we doing today, Mom?" This season, I challenge you to keep the holiday fun and chatter going. Here are some ideas to keep kids occupied, build on language skills, and perhaps best of all, encourage multifaceted communication opportunities with family and friends!

1. Tell your child you're going to call Santa so that he can thank him for a gift. Then tell your child that Santa is not available because he's resting from his exciting trip delivering gifts to all of the children, but that he can leave a message! Leave a message for Santa?! Your child will be thrilled! Hand the phone over to your child when you hear Santa's voicemail "beep". Have your child leave a message telling him which gift was his favorite, what he loved about the gift, and how he has used it. This opportunity allows the child to become excited about sharing information. Your child will have the chance to use visual imagery as he discusses the North Pole with you either before or after calling, expand on expressive language, and use reasoning skills as he gives thought to what gift he liked best and why. You can also ask your child to talk about what gift he gave to someone else and why he chose that gift for that person. The possibilities are endless. If your child is young, you can model leaving Santa a message before you give your child the phone to leave his own message. 

2. Have your child make a choice between and aunt, uncle, grandma or grandpa. Have your child call the family member and ask about their favorite holiday treat. Your child can then ask how the treat is made, what ingredients are needed, and the specific baking instructions for making the treat. This allows your child an opportunity to be social by asking about his grandma's favorite treat, share what his own holiday favorite is, learn the names of different ingredients, work on sequencing skills as he either writes down the baking instructions or dictates them to you, and also allows opportunity for conversation. I guarantee your child will be excited to rattle off the holiday treat recipes from Grandma and he will be eager to tell you which ingredients you now need to go out and buy!

3. Have your child write a letter thanking Santa or a relative for one of the gifts she received. If your child cannot write yet, you can write it for her as she tells you what she wants the note to say. Work with your child to complete this task and help expand her language to tell Santa or the relative what she liked, how the toy works, how the clothing fits/feels, how she felt when she opened it, where she plans to take her new toy, and why it is a special gift. 

I hope these ideas help to keep the holiday fun going as well as facilitate language development (social language, oral language, and written language). Thanks for reading and happy holidays!

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