I love art and use it frequently in language therapy. After reading a picture book, I will often ask a question and have a child illustrate his answer. Watching what details he includes helps me see what he has understood and provides us with a platform for more language–describe your picture, telling me more and more as he lengthens his answer.
Beautifully illustrated games are a great resource for building children’s language. Eeboo does just that in so many of its products. Yesterday I was using their “Mystery in the Forest Matching Game” which has delightful story vignettes on each tile to be turned over and matched as a game of memory.
But hold on. There is much more to this game. Take advantage of the intricate illustrations and have your child describe the tile before turning it over or when making a match. It’s also great fun to put the tiles face down in a pile, draw them one at a time and generate your own story through the backdrop of the forest. There are plenty of open-ended scenes that can take the story line different routes–stranded on a rock in the ocean, sitting on the moon, caught in a rainstorm or escaping with a magical key. Kids are captivated with these drawings and don’t realize they are learning in the process.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. Mystery in the Forest Matching Game was provided by eeboo for review.
