Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to engage your child in a fun and meaningful craft while also working on language development. Crafting provides a natural way to introduce new vocabulary, practice pronouns, follow directions, and use action words. Here’s how you can make the most of a Valentine’s Day craft session to support your child’s language growth.
To ensure you're targeting the right skills for your child’s developmental stage, you can check our age-specific language goals and areas to support growth. This will help you focus on what your child is currently developing, as well as skills they may need extra practice with.
Love Monster Craft
Using the Love Monster Craft from Simple Everyday Mom, you can turn a simple holiday activity into a rich language-learning experience. This adorable craft allows children to create their own love monster while enhancing speech and language skills.
Building Vocabulary
Crafting introduces children to new words in a hands-on way. You can focus on thematic words, descriptive words, and basic concepts.
• Valentine's words: heart, love, card, friend, glue, cut, pink, red, envelope, sticker.
• Descriptive words: big/little, soft, shiny, sticky, smooth.
• Concepts: same/different, open/close, on/off, first/next/last.
• Location words: next to/beside, under/over, behind/in front.
• Colors and numbers: red, pink, white, one, two, three.
Encourage your child to repeat and use these words as they work on their craft. For example, ask, “What color is your monster?” or “Does this paper feel smooth or sticky?” If your child gives a one- or two-word answer, expand on what they said with a longer, full sentence.
Practicing Pronouns
Pronouns can be tricky for young children, but a craft activity provides a great way to model and practice them naturally.
• “I”: “I want glue.” “I made a heart.” “I am gluing.”
• “You”: “You have a red arm” “You put the arm on.”
• “My/Your”: “My monster is pink.” “Your monster eye is big.”
• “We”: “We are making monsters” “We need scissors.”
Use these pronouns while narrating what you and your child are doing to reinforce their use in conversation.
Following Directions
Crafts provide the perfect opportunity to work on receptive language by following directions. Start with simple instructions and gradually increase complexity.
• Basic directions: “Put the glue on the paper.” “Give me the pink sticker.”
• Multi-step directions: “First, cut the paper. Then, glue the eye.”
• Spatial concepts: “Put the arm under the neck.” “Glue the sticker beside his arm”
• Directions with descriptors: “Put the big eye on.” “Glue on the red eye.”
Encourage your child to listen carefully and follow through, providing gentle guidance if needed.
Using Action Words (Verbs)
Valentine’s Day crafts involve a variety of action words that can help expand your child’s expressive language.
• Action words: cut, glue, fold, write, draw, stick, open, close.
• Past tense: “We cut the eye” “I made a monster”
• Present progressive: “I am gluing the eyes” “You are gluing.”
Model these words during the activity and encourage your child to describe what they are doing.
Make It Fun and Engaging!
Remember, the key to building language skills through crafts is to keep the experience fun and engaging. Ask open-ended questions, model language, and encourage your child to talk about what they are doing. By incorporating language goals into an enjoyable Valentine’s Day activity, you can create a meaningful learning experience while making special memories together.
So, grab some paper, scissors, glue, and stickers—try out some of these Valentine’s Day crafts while boosting language skills!
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