READ A PICTURE

Nov 202009
 

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

We can get lots of information from the pictures we see in ads, signs, books, billboards, and television. Often children don’t know the names for things they see. Naming things in pictures is a great way to build vocabulary.

Children enjoy being asked what they think about what they see. Just listen to their ideas, whether they are reasonable or not. It helps them develop thinking and observation skills. Here are some ways to do it:

1) When you open a book with pictures, have your children look first at the pictures before you read. Ask them to tell you what they see. Sometimes you can explore a whole book through pictures. Here are some ways you could ask questions:

  • What do you see here?
  • What might this story be about?
  • What is happening here?
  • What can you tell about characters from looking at their face or posture? 
  • Are they happy or sad? Angry or calm?
  • Would you like to be in this picture? 

2) Take a food wrapper that has a picture or illustration  like a bag from a fast-food restaurant, or a macaroni box, a canned good, or a cereal box. Ask the children what they see in the picture or on the box. Ask them to name the things in the picture on the box.

  • Does the picture make you want to eat what’s inside?
  • What colors are used in the picture?
  • Does this look like our house or our family?

Then compare several different labels or boxes.

  • Which boxes are most attractive?
  • Which do you like best?
  • See if there are people or animals in the pictures. Are those people smiling?
  • See if there are plants in the pictures. 
  • How are the pictures the same? How are they different?
  • What color is the lettering?
  • Can you tell what’s inside without reading the words?
  • What would you put on a box? 

3) Look out a window, any window, with a child. Pretend that what you see is a picture in a frame. Ask them to name 15 things they see out that window. This simple activity develops attention to detail and can help them in their own drawing or writing.

Send us your read a picture ideas!

 

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

USE ANOTHER WORD

Nov 062009
 

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

 This game can be played anywhere, anytime, for as long as it feels fun! It’s good when you are driving in the car, walking to school, eating supper, reading together, or just relaxing. It’s a synonym game. A synonym is another word for something. For instance, “lad” is a synonym for “boy.” Learning new synonyms can really build a child’s vocabulary rapidly!

Here are some ways to play this synonym game:

1) When you are reading a book to a child and come across a word for a feeling like “happy” or “sad,” see if you or the child can think of another word that means the same thing like “joyful” or “tearful.” 

2) When you are driving or walking, see how many words you and the children can think of to describe actions that some animal might do. For example, if you see a dog running on a sidewalk, ask, “What is another word for “run”? Some possibilities might be “sprint,” “dash,” “lope, “jog,” or “scamper.”

3) Say to your child, “I’m thinking of another word for ___. Can you guess what it is?” For example  “I’m thinking of another word for “fast.” Can you guess what it is?” The answer might be “speedy, “quick”, “swift,” or “rapid.” It’s fine to give hints like, “The word I’m thinking of rhymes with _____ “or “It starts with…” 

4) When you’re watching television or listening to the radio, pick some word you hear and see if you can find a few different ways to say it (during a commercial, of course).

 

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

WONDERWALK

Oct 162009
 

by Esther Jantzen, guest poster

This activity is easy and energizing! It helps children learn to look closely at the ordinary and amazing things in the world around them. The thing to do is to keep asking “I wonder” questions. It’s fun to hear what children say while you do this. Their answers may be surprising and unusual, and it’s okay if they don’t make total sense.

Here is one way to do it:

1) With a paper bag in hand, take a walk outside your house with your child. Together collect as many different kinds of leaves as you can, picking up only one of each kind. Ask, “What do you notice?” or “What do you see?” 

2) When you get home, sort the leaves (or stones) into groups. For instance, you could put all the pointy leaves into one group and all the leaves with round edges in another group. Ask, “I wonder why some leaves have points and some are round?” and see what your child answers.

3) Then sort those leaves by some other category like by color, size, texture, or some other characteristic. Let the child choose another way to sort the leaves and say, “Tell me about how you sorted those.”

Ask “I wonder” questions often, such as, “I wonder how plants take water and brown earth and make colorful flowers?”  We may not know all the answers to these questions, but it encourages thinking and creativity in children. 

Esther Jantzen, Ed.D, is a mother, an educator and the author of Plus It! How to Easily Turn Everyday Activities into Learning Adventures for Kids available at www.plusitbook.com and the Way to Go! Family Learning Journal available through www.jantzenbooks.com

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