Vocabulary Development

As a teacher, I have seen what happens when kids aren't exposed to a lot of different language experiences when they are young.  A lot of times when that happens, the kids don't like to read.  And it makes me sad.

So, obviously, I have tried really hard to instill a love of words and reading in Callie.  The girl loves books.

And lately we have been playing a lot of word games.  Her favorites are listed below.

1) The Categories Game- I list 3 or 4 things that go together, and she tells me the category.  For example:
Me: Okay...car, truck, boat.
Callie: Things you ride in!
I like this game because I can teach her big words like transportation or accessories. Every girl should know a fancy word for necklaces, bracelets and rings, right? :)

2) The Doesn't Belong Game- I list 3 or 4 things, with one that doesn't belong.  She has to guess which one doesn't belong.  It is fascinating to watch her think about it- you can literally see connections being made in her brain.  For example:
Me: Are you ready?  Fork, spoon, cherry, knife.
Callie: (thinking for a few seconds) CHERRY!
We take turns on this one, which is pretty hilarious.  She doesn't quite get the concept of making sure something doesn't belong.  For example:
Callie: Okay Mommy.  Fridge, spoon, grapes, table!
Me: (thinking of possible connections to make between the random objects) Um...
Callie: (thinking for a few seconds) None of them belong!
But even though she still doesn't quite get it when it is her turn, she totally nails it every time I give her the words.  It is a great way to help her understand how things relate to each other.

3) The I'm Thinking Game- This is by far our favorite.  We take turns giving each other clues so the other person can guess what we are thinking of.  I took a video of how this game usually goes.  It is pretty funny.  And we can go for a long time without getting bored. 


I'm Thinking Game from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

I love how it teaches basic problem solving skills.  Again, I love how I can see her wheels turning as she is putting all the clues together in her mind.  I also love her voice inflection.  She says her clues like that every time.  SO adorable.

So there you have it.  If you know of any other fun word games, feel free to send them my way.  She's getting so smart we're going to need to up the rigor soon. :)