5 Easy Ways to Help Your Child Learn New Words

Our vocabulary of words is something that we can always enrich by learning new and unusual ones. As adults, it is pretty easy to find ways to do it — reading books, opening the dictionary, looking up words in a thesaurus, and searching the internet for example.

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But how do children learn about the meaning of words and how do they learn new words?  For them, it happens naturally every day when they come across a term they don’t know.

However, you can speed up the process and teach them new ones yourself.   Here are some easy ways to do so.

Easy ways to help your child learn new words

When you turn a learning experience into a game it helps engage kids.  Listen to them when they try to express their feelings and thoughts, and actively communicate with them. This can help facilitate the process of learning new words.

Play word games


Word games are the perfect way to learn words through play. There are many different word games you can explore. Try word games written on cards, and your child can guess what the word means and extend the learning process by using it in a sentence.

Or you can play Scrabble-type games where your child can try to come up with words containing any letters they get. Depending on your child's age, there are many games you can buy, or you can create your own at home to adapt to any difficulty level. When you turn this activity into a game, your little ones will enjoy it and learning will be easy.
 
Reading

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Reading a variety of books is a great way to learn new words with your child. You can choose the stories and the level of complexity depending on the age of your little one and what they will enjoy.

As a parent, try to make this an activity where the child is listening and engaging in a conversation. In this way, your child can practice the usage of the new words, and they can ask you questions that might lead to learning even newer ones.

Play word scavenger hunt

Children love finding treasures, so you can make them enjoy finding new words or using words to find the treasure. You can make the clues as small word puzzles where the child can put the letters together to find where the next clue is hidden.

You will give your kid the motivation to continue till the end of the game and really try to solve the word puzzles. This activity can also be made as a group one, so enticing your little one’s friends to participate and help is a great idea. The children can interact together, and solve the clues and this can help the bonding process. 

Movies


There are many movies and animations aimed at children that will expose your child to a variety of new words. Watch a film together and enjoy the engaging stories, cool characters and message behind the film. 

You can afterwards engage even more by having a conversation about the film,  playing games, and imagining how the story could develop further. In this way, you will encourage your child to converse more, express themselves, and use a varied vocabulary. Are there any words or things in the story they don't understand? Discuss with them and explain what they mean.

Visit new places

Sometimes children get fed up being at home.  Why not visit a nearby landmark, zoo, park, or museum?  A different stimulating setting can be a way to learn new words. You can focus on different vocabulary groups when choosing the place to go.  For example, you can start with something easy like the animals in the zoo and learn what they are called, where they usually live, what they eat, and all other interesting facts that will expose your child to many new words. 

Travel has many benefits for a child's development too, as it's a great way to learn about new countries, and new cultures, experience new things and learn new vocabulary. Learning words through going on trips is an amazing activity because it is first a bonding time for you and your family, and also you and your child can learn a lot about the world around us. 

Wrapping up


Making learning interactive and fun is helpful when it comes to learning new words. This in turn will help your child communicate and express themselves easier. 

Finding ways to help them learn more and more words in a fun and engaging way is an essential task for every parent. Try out the ideas I've shared with you, and I can guarantee you that you will have a lot of fun and also a great learning experience for your kid.

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