It can be challenging to figure out the best way to introduce early language and literacy activities to your toddler. There’s A TON of information out there – and not all of it’s helpful.
Well, don’t worry.
Whether you’re a SAHM looking for early language activities to try with your little one at home, or a working parent trying to squeeze in a few early learning activities when you can, these Montessori activity ideas can help you support your toddler’s language development at home.
Ready to get started? Let’s go!
6 Tips to Help You Support Your Toddler’s Early Language Development
1. Work on your child’s foundational language skills – like speaking and listening – first. Reading stories, singing songs, and having conversations throughout the day will all help your child develop these important basic skills!
2. Start by focusing on letter sounds, not letter recognition. Before children can learn to read or write, they need to spend time learning about letter sounds. This skill is called phonemic awareness, and it’s a critical part of your child’s early language development.
3. Keep learning concrete and hands-on. Little ones learn best when they can see, hear, touch, and manipulate learning materials. So, don’t feel bad about skipping the worksheets! As per usual, practical life experiences and real world learning are best.
4. Skip the electronic “learning” toys and apps – your child doesn’t need them. Children learn language best through frequent face-to-face interactions with caregivers – talking, listening, singing, and reading stories. Screen-based toys and apps aren’t necessary and can even interfere with your toddler’s learning.
5. Speak clearly when introducing new vocabulary to your child. Face your child so they can see you and then clearly say the new word. Pause. Then let your child repeat the word!
6. Read, sing, and talk together every day. Are you sensing a theme here? Doing these simple things every day is the best – and easiest – way to support your toddler’s language development at home.
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8 Fun Montessori Language & Literacy Activities for Toddlers
1 | Reading!
I can’t say this enough. Spending time reading with your little one every day is one of the best things you can do for their development. Plus, it’s a great way to bond!
So, set aside time to read a story while you’re cuddling in bed in the morning, share a book before naptime, or let your toddler choose a bedtime story (or two) at the end of the day. Visiting the library for story time once a week can also be something special for your little one to look forward to – and a good way to get out of the house!
When you’re choosing stories to share with your little one, look for books that have:
- Beautiful illustrations
- Few words per page
- Relatable and realistic stories about everyday life
- Rhyme, onomatopoeia, or other interesting types of language
2 | Language Cards (with Real Photos)
Essentially, language cards are printed photographs. By working with language cards (also called classification cards), children learn new vocabulary words and begin to sort like items together, such as farm animals, types of fruit, or community helpers.
You can purchase pre-made language cards, or create your own. These cards can be used to introduce all kinds of people, places, and things to your child – from colors and ocean animals, to parts of the body and types of vehicles!
- First, you’ll want to start by introducing each card to your toddler.
- Once your child is familiar with the cards, you can begin introducing matching activities, such as picture-to-picture matching and picture-to-object matching to expand your little one’s learning.
3 | Letter Sound “I Spy”
This game is a simple way to build your child’s phonemic (letter sound) awareness, and pretty soon, you’ll be able to play it anywhere!
- Start with a tray with 2-3 everyday objects, like a banana, spoon, and toy cow. These objects should be very familiar to your child and have different starting sounds to avoid confusing your little one.
- When you have your toddler’s attention, say, “I spy something that starts with sss…” Give them time to guess, helping them as needed. “I spy a sss… Spoon!” Make sure to clearly articulate – and exaggerate! – the letter sounds in each word.
- As your child gets more comfortable with this game, you can slowly add more items, try playing in different environments – like the grocery store or your backyard, and begin taking turns. You can learn more about teaching your toddler letter sounds with “I Spy” here!
4 | Toy Phone
Toddlers LOVE to copy the adults in their lives. When your little one picks up their play phone to make a call and starts babbling away to “Grandma,” they’re actually engaging in a simple but powerful language-building activity.
Hint: Skip the fancy toy phones that talk back to your child. They don’t help – and can actually get in the way of your toddler’s learning. A simple wooden toy phone is a great alternative!
5 | Vocabulary Walk
One of the best ways to enrich your child’s vocabulary is simply to name objects in the environment and allow your child to practice repeating each new word.
- So, take your little one on a walk through your living room, neighborhood, the grocery store, or anywhere else you want to go.
- As you walk, choose a category of objects you want to focus on – think types of furniture in your living room, animals found in your neighborhood, or types of veggies you see at the grocery store.
- Then, point to a few objects and name them out loud, giving your child time to listen to each word and repeat after you. “Couch… Ottoman… Coffee table…”
- Remember to speak clearly – and keep this activity short and sweet so your toddler doesn’t get bored. 5 minutes is a good place to start, but follow your little one’s lead!
6 | Letter Discovery Baskets
Discovery baskets (also called treasure baskets) are an awesome way to help your toddler explore letter sounds at home!
- Simply gather a few items that start with the same letter sound and place them in a basket for your little one to explore. For example, a bell, banana, baby doll, and book could live in a Letter B discovery basket.
- You don’t have to introduce letter sounds in any particular order, but your child might enjoy exploring the letters in their name first!
- The first few times your child explores the basket, sit with them and help them name each item. Speak clearly and say each word once, pause, and then give your little one an opportunity to repeat the word after you.
- Let your child touch and explore each object to their heart’s content. Hands-on play is how little ones learn, after all!
7 | Everyday Object Labels
You may have heard of families who physically label their fridge, dining room table, or even the cat’s food bowl to help their children develop early literacy skills. Maybe you’ve found yourself wondering, What is that all about, anyway? Well, even before your little one knows what reading is, it can be beneficial for them to see print used in their home environment.
- Using a label maker or creating simple, handmade signs to identify everyday objects in your home is one way to expose your child to environmental print from an early age.
- If you decide to label some of the things in your home, stick to just a few key household objects that your child interacts with frequently. If everything is labeled, then your toddler is more likely to tune out all that extra environmental print – and that’s no good.
- For a less permanent option, you can also try using sticky note labels for a fun early literacy activity! Simply write down the name of something in your home – like the couch – and encourage your child to attach the sticky note to the correct object. “This says couch. Can you stick this paper to the couch?”
8 | Pre-Writing Practice
In Montessori, children actually learn to write before they learn how to read. So, while your toddler may not be ready to write a paragraph (or their name) just yet, pre-writing practice is a criticial part of early literacy learning.
Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to force your toddler to sit down with a worksheet or anything like that! Pre-writing practice can be as simple as squishing playdough, scribbling with a crayon, or playing with stickers. There are tons of options out there!
(If you want to learn more, check out some of my favorite fine motor and pre-writing activity ideas for toddlers here.)
Keep it simple & have fun!
If you want to help your toddler develop early language and literacy skills at home, there are plenty of simple and fun activities you can try.
Everything in this post – from reading stories together and exploring discovery baskets, to playing “I Spy” and calling Grandma on the play phone – can help your little one improve their early language skills while having tons of fun. So, remember to follow your little one’s lead, speak clearly, and do a little bit every day to support your child’s language development.
♥ Meg
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