home activities pack: water play - amazon web...

Home activities pack:Water play

Supporting Language and

Communication through Water Play

Copyright of The Talking House Limited 2020

Introduction to supporting language andcommunication through ‘water play’:

At the Talking House, we love water play and all the children we meet love it too! This pack includes quick and easy water-based games with a list of equipment needed and importantly, tips on how this can support your child’s vocabulary and language development.

This pack has been developed by Leanne T (Clinical Lead –Schools) and Laura T (Senior speech and language therapist) who have a combined experience of over 20 years working with children to develop their speech, language and communication.

We hope that you enjoy it.


Introduction to supporting language andcommunication through ‘water play’:

“Water play is a really fun and simple, motivating way for children to explore. There is opportunity for splashing, singing, pouring, squirting, washing and drying! Not to mention the bubbles, the sponges and the boats. Oh, and the ducks! What would water play be without a duck or two?!

This “water-based” play pack is an easy, ‘pick up- put down’ guide to introducing water play at home without too much extra thought or the addition of special resources. We aim for activities to be built into your everyday routines as we know how busy life can get!”

Leanne T (Clinical Lead – Schools)

Activities included in this pack:

• Bath time (or water in the bath) activities

• Toys in the Mud Activity

• Washing up activities

• ‘Doing the laundry’ activities


Bath Time activities(or filling the bath just to play!)

Bath time activities: How can these develop language and communication?Learning new words:• Talk about objects your child uses when they're playing in the bath. • Hold up an object and say the word, repeat the word as you hand it to your

child. • Use the word again in a short phrase as they explore the item e.g. ‘jug’, ‘fill

the jug’, ‘tip the jug’.

Learning verbs (action words):• Talk about what your child is doing using action words, e.g. ‘splash!’, ‘pour’,

‘blow’. • Show your child different actions and use the verbs alongside.


Bath time activities: How can these develop language and communication?Social interaction:

• Enjoy playing with your child - encourage your child to look at things you are doing and exaggerate your facial expression and tone of voice to make this fun for them.

• For younger children, encourage copying noises and words that sound fun like 'splosh' and 'glug-glug'.

• Create turn-taking games and encourage your child to copy you, e.g. scoop up some bubbles and put them onto your nose or hand, build anticipation with ‘ready, steady….go!’ and blow them into the air.


Bath time activities:What can I use and how?Activity 1: Filling and Pouring

• Use jugs, bowls, bottles (raid your recycling!), straws, kitchen utensils such as spoons, ladles etc.

• Encourage your child to fill different containers and pour water over their hands, into another container or onto toys in the bath to wash the soap off.

• Use straws to blow bubbles in bottles/ bowls/ jugs and see how long it takes for the bubbles to overflow.


Bath time activities:What can I use and how?Activity 2: Washing and Drying

• Use toys, bubbles (or crazy soap), sponges, cloths, old toothbrushes, bath toys, doll, towel

• Encourage your child to cover the toys or doll with bubbles or ‘crazy soap’ before washing off in different ways such as with cloths, pouring jugs of water over them, brushing them with an old toothbrush.

• You can name the doll's different body parts as your child washes them e.g. "washing doll's face". Once you have given the doll a bath, you can dry their different body parts.


Bath time activities:What can I use and how?Activity 3: Lego bath! (or Duplo/ other bigger bricks)

Empty your child's bricks into the water then:

• Join bricks and build towers together.

• Talk about what you are doing using phrases such as "build tower, push/pull the brick".

• Knock over the tower in the water by encouraging your child to wait for "Ready, Steady, Go!"


Bath time activities:What can I use and how?Activity 4: Singing together

• Singing is a great way to gain your child's attention and to model language linked to what you are doing.

• You could sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" whilst pointing out body parts on your child or the doll.

• Other bath time favourites are "5 Little Ducks" or "5 Little Speckled Frogs"- made even better if you have five little rubber ducks or frogs as you can make the ducks swim away or the frogs jump into the water to go along with the song.


‘Toys in the Mud’ Activities

‘Toys in the Mud’: How can this develop language and communication?

Learning new words (nouns): • Talk about the objects you are using and experiencing

through play. • Hold up an object in turn and say the word, repeat the word

as you hand it to your child. • Use the word in a short phrase as they explore the

item e.g. ‘pig’, ‘wash the pig.'

Learning verbs (action words): • Label verbs as they are carried out by your child. • Show your child new actions and talk about what you are

doing using verbs e.g. ‘splash!’, ‘wash’, ‘dry’.



Social interaction:

• Enjoy playing with your child - encourage your child to look at things you are doing and exaggerate your facial expression and tone of voice to make this fun for them.

• For younger children, encourage copying noises and words that sound fun like 'squelch' and 'plop'.

• Create turn-taking games and encourage your child to copy you e.g. hold a toy in the air, say ‘ready, steady….go!’ before dropping it into the water and saying ‘splash!’



Activity 1: Toys in the mud!

• Items for Step 1: non-toxic paint, cornflour mixed with water, Angel Delight, jelly, chocolate milk etc. and some toys (animals, cars, dinosaurs)

• Items for Step 2: bowl of clean water without bubbles, sponge or cloth, jug, towel



Activity 1: Toys in the mud!• Encourage your child to explore the ‘messy play’ mixture and

create games to drop/ drive/ jump the toys into it. Allow your child time to play with the toys in the mixture. When your child is ready to move on, it’s time to clean the toys!

• Encourage your child to move the toys into the water. Show them how to clean the toys in different ways such as with cloths, pouring jugs of water over them, brushing them with an old toothbrush.

• Next take out each toy and dry them before putting them away or making a new game with the toys such as playing on the farm or driving the cars to the garage.



Activity 2: Singing Together

• Singing is a great way to gain your child's attention and to model language linked to what you are doing.

• If you are using farm animals, you can sing "Old MacDonald" or sing "This is the way we wash/dry the cow, wash the cow, wash the cow..." to the tune of 'Here We Go Around the Mulberry Bush'.


Washing Up

Washing up: How can this develop language and communication?

Learning new words: • Talk about the objects you are using. • Hold up an object in turn and say the word, repeat the word

as you hand it to your child, repeat the word in a short phrase as they explore the item e.g. ‘spoon’, ‘wash the spoon’, 'squeeze the washing up liquid'.

Learning verbs (action words): • Label your child's actions using the appropriate verb e.g. 'dry

the plate' as they are carried out by your child. • Show them new actions and label the verbs for them e.g.

‘splash!’, ‘wash’, ‘dry’.


Washing up: How can this develop language and communication?

Social interaction: • Enjoy playing with your child - encourage your child

to look at things you are doing and exaggerate your facial expression and tone of voice to make this fun.

• Create turn-taking games and encourage your child to copy you e.g. show your child how to wash each item and help them to copy you.

• The aim of the activity isn’t for them to clean the dishes – try to make this a fun interaction for you to enjoy blowing bubbles, splashing, tipping and pouring, using different materials to clean the dishes with.


Washing up: What can I use and how?

Activity: Washing the Dishes

• Items Needed: Your household washing up or pretend plates and cutlery or toys.


Washing up: What can I use and how?

Activity: Washing the Dishes• Create a safe area for your child to reach the sink or use a

washing up bowl on the floor. Encourage your child to take an item - you might want to give a specific instruction like ‘find the fork’ or allow them to make a choice from two items.

• Allow your child to play and explore - cover the item in bubbles, splash water over the item, dunk it under the water before holding it up to watch the water drip off, fill up items such as cups and bottles to pour out from different heights. Show them how they can use a sponge/cloth/brush to scrub the items and make them clean.

• You can help your child to learn early concepts like ‘wet/ dry’, ‘clean/ dirty’, ‘go/stop’ as you play by explaining what you are doing and what you can see, e.g. "look, the plate is dirty" or "put the dry plates in the cupboard".


Doing the Laundry

Doing the Laundry: How can this develop language and communication?

Learning new words:

• Talk about the items of clothing and the household objects used when doing your laundry, such as ‘washing machine, wash basket’.

• Hold up each item of clothing in turn and tell your child what it is, repeat the word as you hand it to your child e.g. "here are the socks". It is important for your child to hear key words repeatedly.

• Use the key word in a short phrase as they explore the item e.g. ‘t-shirt’, ‘that's Mummy’s t-shirt’.


Doing the Laundry: How can this develop language and communication?

Using phrases and sentences to talk about the sequence of activities:

• For example, ‘let's find the socks’ as you search in the wash basket, ‘the washing is spinning’ as the washing machine spins, ‘hang the shorts up’ as you peg the washing to the line.

Social interaction:

• Enjoy playing with your child – create social games like peek-a-boo by hiding behind an item of clothing, exaggerate your facial expressions and build anticipation of what is going to happen with things like ‘where’s mummy?!’, ‘ready…steady…boo!’

• Take turns with your child to take items from the washing machine to put in the wash basket or take it in turns to choose an item of clothing to peg on the line.


Doing the Laundry: What can I use and how?

Activity 1: Washing Clothes

• Encourage your child to help with the laundry. They might only be interested in looking at and sorting through the clothes or they may like to hand you the pegs or take the clothes out of the washing machine. The best thing to do is to go along with whatever your child is interested in and to use language associated with this.



Activity 1: Washing Clothes (continued…)

• Support your child to help you put the clothes into the washing machine. You might give instructions like ‘find a sock’ and tell them what they or you are putting in the washing machine e.g. ‘the jumper is next’. You can model early position words like ‘in/on/under’, for example: ‘socks in’, ‘where’s the sock?...under the jumper’.

• Model language linked to the actions as you encourage your child to do them, for example ‘close the door’, ‘push the button’, ‘go!' You can also use words and phrases to say what you can see e.g. ‘the washing is spinning’.



Activity 2: Hanging Up Clothes

• Once the washing machine has stopped, encourage your child to pull the clothes out into the basket, using action words like ‘pull’. Label the clothing items as they come out and show your child that the washing machine is 'empty'.

• Encourage your child to hand you items of clothing or pegs. If your child enjoys pegging things to the line, you could tie string between furniture and give them a pile of socks or doll's clothes to peg up.



Activity 3: Pegs

• If your child enjoys exploring the pegs, you could lay out a range of things that they could pick up using the pegs, such as craft pom poms, dry pasta etc.

• Name the items explored by your child and model size concepts such as "too big/ too small" and give instructions such as "find the pasta".


We hope that you find this resource usefulAny questions:

[email protected]

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