As parents, we know establishing routines is important for our little ones. But did you know routines can also be an excellent opportunity to encourage language development and communication skills in toddlers and preschoolers? One way to do this is by using editable visual calendars. Calendars and visual schedules are great tools for teaching young children about time, routines, and expectations while also encouraging language development and comprehension skills.
Here are some ways you can use editable visual calendars with your toddler or preschooler:
Daily Routines
Using a visual calendar, you can plan out your child’s daily routine with pictures that show each activity. This can help your child understand what to expect throughout the day and can encourage them to communicate about what they want to do.
Visual Communication
Visual calendars are a great way to prompt communication from your child. You can use pictures to ask your child what they want to do or inform them of any upcoming events. This encourages them to use language to express their preferences and works on the concept of events in the future.
Adjust Your Routine
By using visual calendars, your child can see what activities are planned for the day and can visually complete the routine by helping to cross off completed activities. This not only helps them feel more involved and engaged in their day-to-day activities, but also helps with sequencing, planning, and time concepts! Using visuals also helps children adjust to changes in routine.
Language Development
Visual calendars can also be an effective tool for reinforcing other aspects of language development. Using pictures on the calendar, you can encourage language expansion and labeling vocabulary. Additionally, you can introduce new vocabulary by labeling the pictures and encouraging your child to repeat the words after you. This can help increase their vocabulary and strengthen their ability to express themselves.
Encourage your early communicators to develop their language skills while establishing a routine with this editable visual schedule. You can easily personalize the schedule by uploading pictures of your child’s favorite things or using the pictures/routines/activities provided. This resource includes printable daily activities to teach toddlers and preschoolers about time concepts and promote language development.
Added communication strips help increase utterances and teach your child how to make choices while continuing to develop their language skills. With this visual calendar, you can discuss the weather, the days of the week, the date, current mood/behavior, and daily activities.
