Alaska Speech Trooper: Beach Play!

Last week, I shared the thought on my Facebook page about finding tasks and activities that are engaging to kids to maximize their learning. The idea is basically that a child will not learn new information as easily when YOU lead the play as they will when THEY lead the play. So the big question is - what activity or setting engages your child(ren) the most? For mine, it is playing on the beach or really any type of water play. This post is going to "dive-in" (pun intended) to early language concepts that can be targeted through simple play on the beach with your little ones.

When I target early concepts, I like including two opposing ideas to really give kids a semantic (language meaning/definition) view of vocabulary. For example, it is hard to talk about being cold without contrasting it with being hot. It is always best to introduce two opposing concepts together. Let's think about concepts that kids can experience on the beach (if you can think of more, add them to the comments):

Hot (sun)/ Cold (water)

Wet/Dry

Smooth/Rough (rocks or shells)

Big/Small (rocks, shells, sticks, splashes)

In/Out (if you have buckets or other toys)

Once you have items on the beach that you identify as primarily interesting to your child, and otherwise appropriate to target whatever concept you choose to work on, be as silly and ridiculous as you can to make learning fun. I would hate to see videos of myself acting like a total clown with my kids or other kids in a therapy session, but when it comes to early intervention - the crazier and messier, the better.

That brings me to my next thought - let your kids get messy! Added sensory play! Some kids love being messy (my 18 month old) and some avoid it at all costs (my 3 year old), but giving them opportunity to experience different textures is very important. You can always direct the mess to another language concept: dirty (muddy)/clean. This may help them understand or cope with their internal freak-out dialogue of "okay, I my feet are sandy and messy right now and I do not like it but soon mom is going to wash my feet and they will be clean!" They can learn to anticipate a solution to their messiness while physically understanding and experiencing the concepts in the process. What a learning opportunity!

My final point I want to make on beach play is less language based, and more motor based. Especially here in the Pacific Northwest, the beaches can be challenging to walk across. You have to navigate on rocks, sand, moss, slippery seaweed, shells, logs... you name it. What an excellent way to incorporate gross motor development! I notice that my kids are regularly challenged by walking across the beaches and are always improving and becoming more confident with each beach outing.