21/03/2024
This may just look like a duplo tower but there was a lot of imaginative play happening. Santa was on his way with presents for Elsa and of course he needed a very tall chimney to slide down.
If I was trying to add language to a duplo activity, it would be easy to comment on the colours, shapes and sizes of the blocks. I could talk about basic concepts like tall and short, on top, under and next to, together and apart.
This is all wonderful language to model, but if my child is focused on the story they are building, then it's more helpful for me to follow their lead and help them grow their story.
I can do this by
- Asking open ended questions like 'and then what happened?'
- Joining in the story by becoming a character in their world, kids love silly voices!
- Prompting them to think about the WHere and WHen of their story. 'Oh, it must be Christmas time (when) if Santa is coming'. 'Looks like Elsa is in her ice castle (where)'.
- Model feeling words 'I wonder if Elsa is feeling excited that Santa is coming'
