Talking

Throughout your child’s school day, there will be times when they need to communicate with their teachers and friends.

It will help them to express their needs and wants so that they can ask for help if they need it.

In Reception class, children are encouraged to:

  • Have conversations with friends and the adults in the classroom.
  • Talk in longer sentences.
  • Be able to link sentences together. E.g., ‘I was playing tig and then I fell over’.

Speaking will help your child express themselves and communicate more easily.

Top Tip

Talk to your child using a range of words. The more times they hear them, the easier it will be for them to use them.

Activities to Help Your Child

There are lots of fun activities you can do to help your child build their confidence with talking.

Try the activities below!

What's on the tray?

Talk about items that are on a tray. Cover them up and remove one and say what’s missing, or cover them up and child talks about what they can remember.

Show your child you are interested and respond positively to what they say or do.

Encourage them to talk about the actions they are doing. E.g., Where do you think the eggs go?

Singing

Singing nursery rhymes together is a great way to practise speaking.

Repetition and the rhyming words really help children to remember and help them sound out words correctly.

Why not try? Making a microphone! This is great fun and can be as simple as a toilet roll tube.

Retelling a story

Read a book or tell your child a story you make up. The story can be about anything!

Then ask them to retell the story in their own words. It doesn’t matter if they change the story or miss details – simply speaking about the story will help them build their confidence.

Sensory bag

Fill a pillowcase with a few different items. Try to pick ones with different textures, materials, and weights.

Then ask your child to feel inside the bag and describe the items in their own words.

Are they smooth? Rough? Heavy? This activity will help them build connections between words and their meanings.

Playing I Spy

I Spy is a great game for building your child’s vocabulary and naming items.

Try to play games like I Spy regularly. Why not try it when you’re driving in the car, or travelling on the bus?

Sorting the washing

Everyday activities like washing clothes can be a great chance to boost your child’s speaking.

Ask them to describe each item of clothing as it goes into the wash.

What colour is it? How does it feel to the touch? When did you last wear it?

Top Tip

Talking about day-to-day activities at home is a great way to help children understand their environment and learn new words.

Helpful Videos

These videos explain why speech and language is important for your child’s development.

They also feature helpful activity ideas you can try to help your child grow.

This page is part of our Ready Steady School series, designed to help your little one make the most of their start to school life.

You might also find these other topics useful:

  • Recognising your name
  • Personal hygiene
  • Listening and attention
  • Getting dressed
  • Making decisions
  • Hand and finger strength
  • Mealtime independence
  • Talking about your feelings