10 Household Items to Boost Language at Home

I see so many blog posts and instagram posts about top toys that are perfect for my child’s development and honestly I get really overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of STUFF. I found myself researching ways to use things I already had in the house to cut back on the spending and the clutter. Turns out, you can do A LOT with a little! I found myself discovering all the ways I could use an empty paper towel roll to entertain my daughter and turns out she was much more interested in playing with this rather than the fifty light up toys she got for Christmas. I was shocked! So I set myself a challenge to find 10 items already in my house and figure out all of the ways I could use these items to play with my daughter and incorporate language development. Here’s what I came up with!

1. Boxes

If you are like me, you have one to many old Amazon boxes lying around. Before you throw them out, grab a few for these activities. You and

your child can fill up the boxes with balls and dump them out. Try stacking a few small boxes and have fun knocking them over. You can hide toys or stuffed animals under boxes and have your child find them. You can also make a mystery box. Pull out different items and have your child name the item or describe the item. You can make a sensory box and fill the box up with beans or rice and have your child hunt for different things hidden in the beans.

A few of my favorite words to model for my daughter when playing with boxes include open/close, in/out, up/down, on/off, full/empty, oh no, wow, uh oh, all done, etc. Practice modeling these words for your child and give them wait time and opportunities to repeat you. You can add on to what they say. Gestures are a great way to help them learn and use new words. I like to point and use simple signs with my daughter during play activities.

2. Kitchen Items

The kitchen is a great place to share with your child. Grab a few safe to play with items including bowls, cups, Tupperware, silicone

utensils, spoons, etc. and engage in pretend play. You and your child can practice mixing up some new recipes. Model words like scoop, mix, stir, open/close, in/out, yummy/yucky, I like it, want more, eat, drink, all done, etc.

3. Empty Paper Rolls

Have some empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls? Grab a few and build a tower. You can model words and gestures for up/down, uh oh, fall down, do it again, more, big/small, etc.

You and your child can grab some markers and build vehicles/buildings or make some people by drawing faces on the rolls. Set up a pyramid of rolls and go bowling or knock down the rolls by throwing a ball.

4. Muffin Tin

Muffin tins are super versatile! You can make snack time fun by putting an assortment of different foods into each of the circles.

Talk about the different foods and their tastes, colors, and textures. You can talk about what groups each of the foods belong to (fruits, veggies, etc.). Muffin tins are also fun for sorting and matching. To incorporate fine motor, use some painters tape to make the items trickier to pull out.

5. Pillows & Blankets

I loved building a fort when I was a kid and I love this activity with my daughter now. We also love to take blankets and play the

parachute game, peek a boo, and hide and seek. Another fun activity for older kids is the floor is lava. You can model a lot of the words I’ve talked about in this blog post. Add songs and rhymes to make these activities even more fun!

6. Painters Tape

Painters tape is another very versatile and no prep activity! A few ideas include saving the toys (tape items to the wall and have your child

rescue the toy), build a road and drive cards along the tape, or make an obstacle course. Narrate what your child is doing, add to what they say, and use gestures to support their learning

7. Laundry Basket

If your laundry basket is empty, your child can push/pull, go for a ride, fill it up and dump it out, or even pretend play! They can put a baby to

sleep, pretend the basket is a pond or a pool and jump in and out. If you are like me though, your laundry basket is probably full most of the time. Multitask while putting the laundry away and have your child sort by groups (pants, shirts, socks, warm clothes, summer clothes, sleep clothes, mom’s clothes, baby’s clothes).

8. Mirror

A mirror is so fun for little ones! They can learn about facial expressions by watching themselves and you. You can make silly faces, play

peek a boo, or practice identifying different body parts.

9. Tissue Box

During cold season, you probably have some empty tissue boxes lying around. Similarly to above, you can hide items, pull our mystery

items, or fill to make a sensory bean with filler like beans or rice.

10. Cardboard

Lastly, for those bigger Amazon boxes, try breaking them down so they are flat, you and your child can draw a road or a town or even build a

house with the cardboard pieces.

I hope this blog post has given you some inspiration to use what you already have to support your child’s development. A toy can easily be purchased or created. It just matters what you do with it! Just know that you are doing an amazing job.

If you have concern regarding your child’s speech or language development, reach out to us today for a FREE consultation.