"Experience + Conversation = A Better Vocabulary"

My nine-year-old Max and I recently enjoyed a snorkeling trip together.  As we swam around the clear blue waters of the coral reefs, we spotted an incredible array of marine life in all the dazzling shades of the rainbow.  I recognized many of the species and knew their names so when we’d come up to clear our masks I’d say, “Can you believe how huge that sea anemone is?” or, “Did you spot that octopus camouflaged against that rock?”  Max sometimes asked me questions like, “Why are those thousands of little fish all swimming together?” And I’d explain how it was a strategy to protect themselves against larger prey and we refer to them as a “school” of fish.  We found it fascinating to dive into the school to watch the group react as if they were one large organism of a single mind.   Max reflected, “It’s like they’re a soccer team.”  We spotted sting rays, starfish, squid, sea turtles, eels, crabs, and Dori (“Yes Max, on the Disney screen that’s Dori, but it’s actually called a clown fish.”).  I recognized the more common species, but I admit I was clueless for the names of many.

That same afternoon we were in a tourist-trap shop and Max asked if we could buy a large laminated reference card that had labeled pictures of all the marine life that inhabited the area waters.  That evening he studied the card enthusiastically and the next day, you guessed it, the roles were reversed.  Max was now “in-the-know” and he reveled teaching me the names of species I had not known the day before such as cuttlefish, sea cucumbers, blood coral, etc.  I delighted in my son’s love of learning and played along trying to be a good student for him.   Max beamed with pride as I later recounted to the rest of our group on the beach all the different names of species Max had taught me.

Although children certainly pick up many new vocabulary words from reading or watching movies, “experience is the best teacher” as the saying goes.  It is the concrete real-world experiences in life that prove the most vivid and it is how we pick up the majority of the words we end up not only recalling but actually using on a regular basis.  Parents are children’s first and most influential teachers.  As parents we can capitalize on the time we spend with our children every day to boost their vocabularies by engaging them in rich conversations as we do so.  It doesn’t have to be anything as exotic as a snorkeling trip…it can be a trip to the grocery store, planting a small garden in the back yard, or a simple walk through the woods.

As we go through our daily lives we should strive to constantly engage our children in two-way conversations about what we’re seeing and experiencing together.  When you do this, make sure to give the proper labels for things and model how “smart people” extend learning experiences by seeking out more information from books, the internet, documentaries, etc.   So the next time you’re doing something seemingly ordinary like baking, invite your child in to the kitchen to help.  Your ordinary is extraordinary to a child who has only been walking on this planet a few short years.  Talk about what you’re doing so your child can take new words away from the first-hand experience.  Measure with teaspoons and tablespoons and show how each is represented by a “t” or a “T” on the recipe card.  Explain how yeast causes dough to rise.  Let your child actually do things like sifting and kneading and describe their actions using those terms.  Do this, and the next time your child is asked on a science test about the meaning of Fahrenheit, I guarantee he will recall the term from his experience of cooking with you in the kitchen and not from his homework assignment of copying the definition found in the back of his textbook three times.