As a speech-language pathologist, parents often ask me how they can help their toddlers and preschoolers improve their language skills. For little ones who haven't yet developed strong vocabulary skills, working on basic concepts is my first answer. Basic concepts are essentially words that kids need to understand in order to participate in daily routines, follow directions, and participate successfully in conversations. Studies have shown a link between the ability of young children to understand and name these concepts and their future academic success. By this I mean naming body parts, clothing, colors, shapes, animals, early prepositions, etc. One of my favorite ways to target these skills with kids is through book reading, and Chronicle Books has an amazing selection. Two books that I'm going to recommend today are Touch Words: Clothes by Rilla Alexander and Matching Game Book: Colors by Stephanie Babin.
About the Books
Reading together with your child regularly creates important bonding time and instills a love for literacy that is so valuable as they grow.
Touch Words: Clothes book puts a creative spin on the typical board book by incorporating visual and tactile opportunities that appeal to eyes and hands. I love the large puffed letters and mix of inlaid and raised clothing parts that kids can feel and trace with their fingers. Even more thoughtful is the set of vocabulary words provided on each page to help parents label and talk about each piece of clothing. The sturdy pages and thick binding of the book are built to last. It's definitely a top pick in my book library for teaching basic clothing concepts.
This close-up shows the raised letters and zipper that children can run their fingers across during reading.
I haven't come across a book quite like The Matching Game Book: Colors. It turns the basic sturdy board book into a portable game that is easy to level up or down based on your child's needs. Each page uses a different theme such as cars, the market, the park, and more. The left side of the page shows a variety of vocabulary words and illustrations. The right side provides eight sliders that kids can open and close to find matching pictures.
- For little ones, we practice using words such as 'open' and 'close', 'me', 'you', color words, vocabulary, and environmental sounds ('vroom', 'beep', etc.).
- For more advanced toddlers, I talk about same/different, 'match'/ 'no match', and using 2+ word combinations (e.g., 'my turn', 'your turn', 'blue car'; 'orange flower', etc.).
- My preschoolers enjoy playing the matching game together while we form complete sentences (e.g., 'It's a ___.', 'I found ___.', 'Where is the ___?', etc.). We also have fun talking about the scenes on the left side and making sentences and stories about them. The possibilities are endless with this book! Chronicle Books recommends taking it on road trips as a low maintenance travel game. I love the idea because it requires no clean up or lost pieces.
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| The doors on the right side of the page slide open and closed easily for little hands. |
Where to Purchase
Head over to Chronicle Books to check these picks out for yourself and browse the rest of their collection as well. Order for delivery right to your door!