Prep:聽None/Activity Time: 5鈥10 Minutes
A fun way to see that your toddler really is learning a lot of language is to play games where he can show off all of the words he understands but cannot yet say.鈥
Teddy Says
A鈥痶eddy bear or other stuffed animal with arms and legs
Step 1: Tell your toddler that you want to play a game with him and his favorite teddy bear. Sit down on the floor with the teddy bear in your lap and invite your child to sit down with you.聽
Step 2: Tell your child to listen to Teddy and do what he says. You can use your regular voice or change it to 鈥淭eddy鈥檚鈥 voice.聽
Step 3:聽 Here are some instructions you might try with your toddler:聽
Teddy says, "Touch your tummy."聽
Teddy says, "Turn around."聽
Teddy says, "Wiggle your fingers."聽
Step 4: After you say the instructions, you can do the motions with your child as a model. You can provide more language by saying something like 鈥淲e did it! We touched our tummies with our hands!鈥 or 鈥淲ow, you turned around really fast. I went slower so I wouldn鈥檛 get dizzy.鈥 This game can show you which words and instructions your child can understand even though he may not yet say them.聽