“Ahh, not another speech and language activity where I have to cut out loads of words and pictures!”

No, contrary to popular belief, speech and language therapists don’t have an obsession with paper!* We suggest (and enjoy) many other fun and practical mediums to support language development.

Baking for example! This can be an enjoyable, engaging activity for many children and opens up endless possibilities for developing language. Not only that, side-by-side activities can really take the pressure off children and make it much easier for them to use their language and make conversation.

However, we won’t be doing away with paper altogether! Visual support is always beneficial to aid the understanding of language. The child might benefit from a recipe which has simple line drawings or a symbol by each step; or they could move a picture of each ingredient used to a finished box; or perhaps they would prefer a more formal task management board. Is this something they could help create themselves first?

Here are some ideas of how you can support different aspects of children’s language development while baking. Remember most importantly: communication is about connection and fun!

Vocabulary

  • Whenever you introduce new items, name and describe them, so the child knows what to look for: “We need the scales. The scales are flat and square. Scales are used to weigh our ingredients”
  • Label actions as they are taking place: ‘mixing’, ‘squeezing’, ‘pouring’, or ‘rolling’
  • See if the child can categorise ingredients: “Can you find all the dairy items? I will find all the fruit”
  • Ask your child to guess what you’re describing & then swap! “It’s round, it’s small and it’s green”

Concepts

  • Use words that tell you quantity and the difference between them: “We need a few apples, not a lot”; “Oh dear, there’s no more flour!”
  • Use describing words: “We put all the wet ingredients in this bowl”; “The biscuits are square”. Let the child touch the food and feel the temperature: “This cheese is soft, hold it gently”
  • Talk about where things are: “The spoon is in front of the jam”; “The tray goes on the top shelf”

Active Listening

  • Sabotage: ask for made-up ingredients or speak too quietly to encourage the child to ask for help. Support them in identifying why they are stuck by giving a model response: “Oh, silly me, that’s not a word” or “I was too quiet, you couldn’t hear me. I need to say it louder”
  • Be honest: if you don’t understand what your child has said ask them to say it again or rephrase, this will teach them that it’s alright to ask for help when it’s needed

Narrative/Sequence

  • When getting the ingredients ready, talk about the order they go in, i.e. first the flour, next sugar and then baking powder. See if the child can talk about (or draw) the steps of the activity after you’ve finished
  • Break tasks down into steps; think about how much information your child can process at once. Perhaps the child would prefer following a video or only being shown one step at a time
  • Giving instructions is a different skill to telling a story: try children in different roles to see if they would find it easier to give instructions than to follow them

Questions

  • If your child doesn’t ask questions or just makes statements, model questions and their answers: “Who wants to lick the spoon? Taylor does”; “Can you crack the eggs? Yes, of course”
  • Use different questions with your child depending on their understanding: “Which one cuts?”; “Why is that one the best bowl to use?”. ‘Why’ and ‘how’ questions can be particularly hard for some. Give them an answer if they’re finding it tricky

Verbal Reasoning

  • Explain why you are doing something: “We add baking powder to help the cake rise”
  • Problem solve when things go wrong: “I think the cake went flat because we opened the oven too early. Maybe we could add extra icing to hide the holes!”
  • Encourage predictions: “What would happen if we turned the oven up hotter?”
  • Lay out your ingredients and ask the child to make a choice: “Shall we put stars, sparkles, or butterflies on top?” Hold out two things to choose from if your child finds it difficult to choose from lots of options

Interaction

  • Encourage turn taking: “Well done for waiting, now it’s your turn to stir”
  • If you see your child struggling, offer a solution as a statement: “I can help”. Statements put less pressure on the child to respond than a question
  • Encourage face watching by waiting while the child talks: wait until they are looking towards you before you reply. Get down to their level if they need it
  • Talk about the food—how it makes you feel: “Mmm, oranges make me happy because they remind me of summer!”; “I don’t like the feeling of the batter when it sticks to my hands”. Positive and negative emotions are all valid

So, the next time you go to cut out some words and pictures, have a think about alternative ways of developing language and incorporating some of the tips above. So many routine activities can be used this way: shopping, building a model, painting or even a household chore. Choose a couple of suggestions and give it a go!

 

*Except for visual timetables. And communication boards. And mind maps. And…we also love laminators!

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