{"id":570,"date":"2020-04-20T12:08:48","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T19:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/?p=570"},"modified":"2020-05-08T13:25:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T20:25:25","slug":"supporting-your-childs-language-skills-when-cooking-and-sharing-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/2020\/04\/20\/supporting-your-childs-language-skills-when-cooking-and-sharing-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporting your child’s language skills when cooking and sharing meals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"During this unprecented time of social distancing, many of us are eating at home with our families more than before.\u00a0 Cooking together is a wonderful way to work on language goals with your child!\u00a0 Narrate as you plan and cook together.\u00a0 This provides a language model for your child and is a great way to introduce new vocabulary and grammar.\u00a0 For example, \u201cFirst I am mixing in the eggs, then I will mix in the milk\u201d<\/em>.\u00a0 Remember to speak in the first person instead of referring to yourself as Mommy\/Daddy (e.g., use \u201cI am mixing in the eggs.\u201d<\/em> instead of \u201cMommy is mixing in the eggs.\u201d<\/em>).\u00a0 Meals are also a great time to sit and practice language in a relaxed way.\u00a0 You can download a handout on Supporting Your Child’s Language Skills when Cooking and Sharing Meals and handouts for other activities here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cooking Activities and Strategies<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Before you begin, brainstorm what you want to make, and create a list (written or drawn) of the ingredients you\u2019ll need.<\/li>\n
  2. Flip through a recipe book together or look online. If your child struggles with reading, you can draw a sketch of ingredients and steps. Some food bloggers show photos not just of the finished product, but of each step of the recipe. Many children with language difficulties will appreciate having this visual support.<\/li>\n
  3. Discuss the recipe together before starting. Talk about what you will do first, next, then, or last.<\/li>\n
  4. Talk about where to find the ingredients and utensils needed (e.g. \u201cThe mixing bowl is in<\/strong><\/span> the drawer.<\/em>\u201d or \u201cThe drawer is under<\/strong> <\/span>the microwave.\u201d<\/em>).<\/li>\n
  5. Practice and talk about taking turns when adding ingredients, mixing, etc. Use phrases such as: \u201cWhose turn is it?\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s your turn now.\u201d, \u201cIt\u2019s your brother\u2019s turn now\u201d.<\/em><\/li>\n
  6. Develop vocabulary by not only labeling objects (e.g., pasta, water, spoon<\/em>), but also demonstrating action words (e.g., slice, pour, stir<\/em>), and descriptive words (e.g., slowly, soft, sharp<\/em>).<\/li>\n
  7. \u00a0Practice asking and answering wh-questions (e.g. \u201cWhat<\/strong> <\/span>do we need next?\u201d, \u201cWhere<\/strong> <\/span>is the bread?<\/em>\u201d, or \u201cWhen<\/strong> <\/span>do we add the salt?<\/em>\u201d).<\/li>\n
  8. Talk about the quantities of the ingredients you\u2019re using (e.g., \u201cWe need more carrots.<\/em>\u201d) and how they relate to each other (e.g., \u201cThis tomato is big<\/strong><\/span>, and this one is bigger<\/strong><\/span>\u201d<\/em>).<\/li>\n
  9. Practice understanding and remembering directions. Some children will need short directions (e.g., \u201cPut the lettuce in the bowl.\u201d<\/em>), and others are ready to work on longer ones (e.g., \u201cPut the lettuce in the bowl, then go get a cucumber and wash it.\u201d<\/em>). Discuss strategies we use to help us remember and show we understand, such as repeating back what we hear, paraphrasing what we hear, or writing or drawing the information.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Mealtime Activities and Strategies<\/span><\/h4>\n
      \n
    1. Model and practice taking turns. Parents can facilitate turn-taking by looking at their child and directing questions or comments to them.<\/li>\n
    2. Practice asking and answering questions. Remember to use open-ended<\/strong> or wh-questions<\/strong>, not yes\/no questions (e.g., instead of asking \u201cDid you like your teacher\u2019s story?<\/em>\u201d, ask \u201cWhat happened in the story?<\/em>\u201d)<\/li>\n
    3. Develop vocabulary using descriptive words:\n
        \n
      1. Talk about size, color, texture, smell, temperature, and taste (e.g. hot, delicious, crunchy).<\/li>\n
      2. Talk about categories (e.g. ,\u201cThis salad has apples, bananas, and melon. They\u2019re all fruits<\/strong><\/span>\u201d<\/em>).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
      3. Practice narratives by talking about how you made the meal, or by telling about things that happened in your day.<\/li>\n
      4. Make use of opportunities to model and practice grammar. If your child produces a short sentence (e.g., \u201cMore<\/em>?\u201d), you can model a slightly longer one (e.g. \u201cMore, please?<\/em>\u201d or \u201cCan I have more, <\/em>please?<\/em>\u201d). If your child says something incorrectly (e.g., \u201cTomorrow I see my teacher.<\/em>\u201d), you can repeat back correctly what your child should have said (e.g., \u201cYes, tomorrow you will see your teacher. She will teach you using Zoom\u201d).<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Optional websites to explore<\/span><\/h4>\n

        How to use cooking to develop your child’s speech and language skills<\/a><\/p>\n

        How to improve communication skills by cooking with kids<\/a><\/p>\n

        Cooking and communication<\/a><\/p>\n

        Working speech and language skills into mealtime<\/a><\/p>\n

        Top ways to use mealtimes to build a child’s language<\/a><\/p>\n

        Use the above strategies while playing apps<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

        5 best cooking apps for kids<\/a><\/p>\n

        Recipes with visual aids<\/span><\/h4>\n

        SLP visual recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

        Visual recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

        Non-reader recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

        Recipes with pictorial directions<\/a><\/p>\n

        Picture Recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

        Free digital downloads for cooking<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

        Recipe for reading comprehension<\/a><\/p>\n

        Cooking with a purpose<\/a><\/p>\n

        Classifying and sorting fruits and vegetables<\/a><\/p>\n

        Setting the table<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        During this unprecented time of social distancing, many of us are eating at home with our families more than before.\u00a0 Cooking together is a wonderful way to work on language goals with your child!\u00a0 Narrate as you plan and cook together.\u00a0 This provides a language model for your child and is a great way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8620,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8620"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1016,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions\/1016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sd41.bc.ca\/slp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}