Point and It Comes
What you need
- three or four favourite things in a basket
How to do it
- Sit with the basket on your lap, just out of your toddler's reach.
- Point clearly at one thing in it and name it: 'the car'.
- Give it to them, then point at the next and name that one.
- Pause, and let them point at whatever they want next.
Why it matters
Toddlers borrow the gesture before they invent it, so seeing you point at something and that thing arriving is the clearest possible lesson in what pointing is for.
What they're learning
- Copying a gesture
- A pointed finger is a shape they can copy long before they can copy a word.
- Asking with a gesture
- Point, then the thing arrives. Repeated often enough, that becomes something they do on purpose.
- Hearing the word for it
- Naming the thing at the moment they want it is when the word is most likely to stick.
What to look for
Watch for a finger coming out of a fist. An open-hand wave at the basket is the same request, earlier.
A tip
Point with one finger and hold it there a second longer than feels natural. That's what makes it copyable.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: point with their hand in yours if they offer it
Harder: hold the basket where they must point rather than lean in
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Quiet & calm activities · Activities for 1 year olds · Activities for 18 month olds · Toddler activities with a basket