Hello, Hello, Who鈥檚 Calling?
Prep:聽3 Minutes | Activity Time: 5-7 Minutes
Talking promotes language development, and the ability to carry on a conversation is important for reading development. Here is an activity that will encourage your child to describe what he sees, express his thoughts and ideas and have fun talking on the phone with you.聽
- 2 toy phones or 2 real phones that are no longer working聽
- 2 chairs聽
- Variety of hats (cowboy, pirate, construction, etc.)聽
Step 1:鈥Place two chairs next to each other near a window so that you can see outside. Sit close enough to hear each other and to see out the window. Gather the two phones and show them to your child. Hand one phone to your child and hold the other up to your ear. Make a ringing sound and initiate the phone call.聽
You might say:
鈥淩ing. Ring. Hello, hello. Who鈥檚 calling? Hi Gavin, this is Daddy. How are you today? It鈥檚 so nice to talk to you!鈥澛
Step 2:鈥Look out the window and bring something to his attention to get a conversation started. You might say:
鈥淗ey, can you see out the window? Do you see that bird? What is the bird doing? Where do you think the bird is going? What else do you see outside?鈥澛
Step 3:鈥Ask open-ended questions to allow him to express his thoughts or feelings. Continue with the discussion observing other things outside or until your child loses interest.聽
Be a role model for your child as you model language.鈥Ask him to repeat. Expand upon his language. You might say:
鈥淟ook at the pretty bird. Can you say bird? Oh, the bird just flew away. Show me how you would fly if you were a bird.鈥澛
Gather a variety of hats to use as props鈥(cowboy, pirate, construction, etc.). Explain to your child that you are going to pretend to be that person calling him. Put on a hat and start the phone call as the person in character. Encourage your child to talk and ask questions.聽