Successful second language learning depends on the development of your child’s first language. The following activities are suggestions for you to do with your child to develop their first language. Use as much language as possible during each activity. These activities are based on areas in the United States that experience the four seasons.
1. Discuss how the weather has changed and how people and animals adapt to the spring weather. We wear less clothes. We wear a raincoat and/or rain boots. We use an umbrella. Bears wake up from hibernation and search for food. Migratory birds return to where you live. Birds make a nest and lay eggs. Some animals shed their fur. Some animals change color to blend in to their surroundings (camouflage).
Weather Vocabulary: rain: sprinkle, drizzle, pour/downpour, flood wind: breeze, blustery, windy clouds: cloudy, clear, gloomy, foggy other: storm, thunder, lightening, rainbow
2. Read books about spring.
3. Look for signs of spring on a nature walk. Bring a magnifying glass. Look for grass, butterflies, insects, flowers, leaves, buds, birds, nests, eggs, wildlife (look for animal tracks!), etc.. Use your senses to experience spring! Reading: Incorporate reading skills into your walk. What letter and sound does each item begin with?
4. Plant a plant together. Explain that the the word “plant” can be used as a noun or a verb (to plant). Vocabulary words: seeds, soil, dig, pat, flowerpot, watering can, grow, sprout, blossom, stem, roots, bud, petal, leaf. Discuss what plants need in order to grow.
5. Pick a tree. Draw the changes the tree undergoes in spring. Write about these changes.
6. Make a birdhouse. Observe birds using your birdhouse.
7. Plant a low-maintenance vegetable in a garden. Teach your child how to take care of the plant. What do plants need to grow?
8. Plant a tree.
9. Play in the rain! Splash in the puddles!
10. Fly a kite. Learn about the wind. What does the wind feel and sound like?
11. Make a spring craft.