Where Does It Go?
What you need
- the shopping, or a basket of things to put away
How to do it
- Unpack the shopping together on the floor where they can reach it.
- Pick something up and say where it goes: 'milk fridge', 'beans cupboard'.
- Hand it over and let them carry it there.
- When they say a word, give it back with the place added.
Why it matters
Putting things away is a job with a right answer the child already knows, so they've got something to say and a reason to say it.
What they're learning
- Two words together
- A thing plus a place is a pair, and the shopping supplies a dozen of them.
- Knowing where things live
- Remembering where the milk goes is real memory, used for something useful.
- Carrying and fetching
- The job itself is worth doing, quite apart from the words.
What to look for
Watch for them setting off towards the right place before you've finished speaking.
A tip
If they mix languages in one phrase, that's fine. Children learning more than one language often do, and it's a sign of what they've got, not of confusion.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: do three or four familiar things only
Harder: hold something up and wait for them to tell you where it lives
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Everyday helper activities · Activities for 18 month olds · Activities for 2 year olds · Toddler activities with a basket