10 activities
Tell Me About It
Ask open-ended questions to encourage longer sentences.
1. Instead of yes/no questions, ask open ones: "What did you do at the park?" "What's happening in this picture?"
2. Wait 5-10 seconds — longer than feels comfortable. Toddlers need processing time.
3. Accept whatever they say and expand: if they say "doggy park," you say "Yes! You saw a doggy at the park! The doggy was running!"
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Easy
Silly Rhymes
Make up silly rhyming words and songs together.
1. Start with a familiar word and find rhymes: "Cat! Hat! Bat! Sat!"
2. Make it silly: "Cat sat on a hat! A fat cat on a flat hat!" Exaggerate and laugh.
3. Sing nursery rhymes and pause before the rhyming word: "Humpty Dumpty sat on a ___" Wait for your child.
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Easy
Pronoun Practice
Model and practice using I, you, me, my, and mine in everyday talk.
1. Model pronouns naturally: "I'm eating MY banana. You're eating YOUR cracker."
2. When your child says "Me want," gently model: "I want. Say I want cracker."
3. Play a pointing game: "MY nose!" (point to yours) "YOUR nose!" (point to theirs)
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Moderate
Color and Number Talk
Weave color names and numbers into everyday conversation.
1. Name colors naturally throughout the day: "Your RED shirt! The BLUE car! A GREEN leaf!"
2. Count objects as you encounter them: "ONE shoe, TWO shoes! ONE, TWO, THREE stairs!"
3. Combine them: "How many RED blocks do you have? One... two! Two red blocks!"
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Moderate
Story Making
Create a simple story together about your toddler's day or imagination.
1. Start a story: "Once upon a time, your child went to the park..."
2. Ask: "What happened at the park?" Wait for your child's contribution.
3. Whatever they say, build on it: "You saw a dog! And the dog said... what did the dog say?"
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Advanced
What Do You Want
Offer choices to encourage verbal decision-making
1. During snack time, hold up two options: "Do you want apple or banana?"
2. Wait for your child to respond with a word or point-and-word combination.
3. If your child only points, model the word: "Apple! You want apple. Here you go."
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two snack or toy options
Easy
What Happened Today
Talk about events from earlier in the day using past tense
1. At the end of the day (bath time or bedtime works well), ask your child: "What did we do today?"
2. If your child needs help, start with a prompt: "We went to the park today! What did you do at the park?"
3. Expand on whatever your child says: if they say "slide," respond "Yes! You went down the slide!"
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Advanced
Pretend Kitchen Chat
Narrate together during pretend cooking play
1. Set up a pretend kitchen with pots, spoons, plastic food, or real ingredients.
2. Start cooking together: "Let's make soup! What should we put in?"
3. Narrate each action: "I am stirring the soup. Stir, stir, stir."
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potsspoonsplastic food or real ingredients
Advanced
Feelings Words
Learn to name emotions using pictures and real moments
1. Find pictures of faces showing different emotions — in books, magazines, or drawn on paper.
2. Point to a happy face: "This person is happy! They are smiling. When are you happy?"
3. Point to a sad face: "This person is sad. They are crying. What makes you sad?"
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pictures of faces showing emotions or a feelings book
Advanced
Three Word Builder
Expand two-word phrases into three-word sentences
1. Listen for your child's two-word combinations during play or daily routines.
2. When your child says something like "more milk," expand it: "Want more milk! I want more milk."
3. Emphasize the added word slightly: "I want more milk."
... See full activity in the app
Advanced