Looking for fun and educational activities that will keep your child entertained? Here are 3 holiday activities that promote language development & can be done in any language :)
Create a fun holiday-themed sensory bin by adding fun little holiday trinkets and any filler of your choosing. I used a rice filler to create a sensory bin for my son however, you can fill it sand, instasnow, tree tinsel or any age-appropriate filler of your choosing. For little ones, please ensure that you are providing adult supervision in case the filler is a choking hazard.
In our sensory bin, I used mini holiday ornaments which you can find at any craft store such as Hobby Lobby, Michaels or even the dollar store. Make sure to include some utensils so that your child can practice scooping and pouring.
While playing with the sensory bin, you can talk about all the items in the bin in your home language. This will help build vocabulary and your child’s knowledge of the items. Make sure to stay away from quizzing your child (i.e., what is that?) and instead model lots of action words by describing what your child is doing.
Work on the following in your home language: labeling the items, naming actions (i.e., pour, scoop, fill, etc.), describing (i.e., it feels wet/dry/smooth, etc) , answering questions (i.e., where is the toy that is red?), sentence formulation (i.e., I see a ___ / Veo un(a) ___).
Stickers are an easy and fun way to bring hours of entertainment. Not only does it work on your child’s fine motor skills, but you can adapt this activity in many ways. Have your child create a pattern, stick them on various surfaces, have them tell you 2 things about the sticker, or even ask questions. It’s also a great way to work on asking for help.
Work on the following in your home language: Asking questions (i.e., where is the sticker?), asking for help, talking about a pattern, asking for more, asking for help, following directions (i.e., put the sticker on the ___), identification of body parts (i.e., put the sticker on your nose), etc.
Lastly, try using a gingerbread house kit which can be bought at any grocery store. Making a gingerbread house is full of language modeling and learning opportunities. Your child can work on following directions, learning expectations of steps, problem solving, as well as description through the 5 senses. It’s also a fun way to create memorable bonding moments in your home language.
Work on the following in your home language: Following directions, problem solving (i.e., why won't the candy stick?), describing (i.e., it smells like ___), asking for more, requesting objects (i.e., can I have more frosting?), asking for help, etc.
Give it a try at home! For bilingual parents, it’s a great way for your child to learn holiday vocabulary in your home language, and also a fun way to create memorable bonding moments in your home language.
What other activities will you be doing this holiday season? Let me know in the comments!
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With the holiday season approaching, you are probably wondering what to buy for your little bilingual, or perhaps you are looking to gift an educational toy to a little one on a bilingual journey. Well lucky for you, you are in the right spot! As a bilingual speech language pathologist and new bilingual mom, I am constantly on the search for toys that can provide English and Spanish output.
Who are we?
Bilingual Speechie LLC. is a small business dedicated to providing inclusive and engaging speech therapy resources and activities for bilingual children, parents, SLPs and educators.
Bilingual Speechie LLC promotes bilingualism and multilingualism by dispelling common myths, providing education on bilingual language development, and promoting heritage language maintenance amongst bilingual families.
About the Owner:
Liliana Diaz-Vazquez is a certified licensed bilingual speech language pathologist (SLP), currently practicing in Chicago, Illinois. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders (2012) and her master’s degree in speech language pathology at Saint Xavier University (2014). She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) since 2014, a member of the Illinois Speech and Hearing Association (ISHA) since 2014 and maintains licensure in the state of Illinois.
Liliana is a first-generation Mexican-American Latina, a small business owner, a full-time school-based SLP, & a bilingual parent, who takes pride in her roots, culture, & heritage language. She loves being able to share her experience as a Latina SLP, and a bilingual mom, as well as her culture & heritage language with the educator, SLP, and parent community.
Liliana Diaz-Vazquez has extensive experience working with the bilingual English and Spanish speaking population & multilingual population. She specializes in augmentative/alternative communication (AAC), bilingual language development and language delays/disorders in bilingual/multilingual children. She has also worked in the early intervention setting for several years where she gained vast experience working with interpreters and bilingual/multilingual families.
Liliana began creating digital bilingual resources and activities in 2014 out of need while working full-time in the school setting as a SLP. Liliana worked with many Spanish-speaking families and quickly realized that there were limited Spanish and bilingual speech therapy resources available for her students and their families. In addition, Liliana quickly became aware that there was a need for education about bilingualism and typical bilingual language development as many of the families she worked with had encountered misinformation about bilingualism. Liliana began developing resources and eventually started Bilingual Speechie LLC with the mission to provide education to SLPs and families about bilingualism, as well as provide inclusive and diverse materials for speech therapy in order to help bilingual families and SLPs gain access to appropriate bilingual materials for children with communication disorders.
Today Liliana currently works full-time in the Chicago public school setting as a lead bilingual SLP where she consults and collaborates with SLPs daily to help them understand how to assess and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services for bilingual and/or multilingual students. She also runs her small business, Bilingual Speechie LLC, and is on a mission to expand and grow her business so that all SLPs, educators, and families can have access to inclusive, diverse, and bilingual resources in a variety of languages for speech therapy.
Professional Development:
Liliana has vast experience as a speaker/presenter and has presented at several conferences over the years. You can view all previous conferences and topics that Liliana has presented on here. Liliana is available to present on topics such as best practices when working with multilingual populations, bilingual speech/language assessment and treatment, goal writing with multilingual populations and much more. If you are interested in booking Liliana for a conference or event please don't hesitate to send an email at lilianadiaz@bilingualspeechie.com
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