I am excited to announce the 2010 winners of playonwords.com’s new PAL Award (Play Advances Language) honoring the best toys, games and books that by design, content, quality, and character, engender play that advances language development. Throughout my over 30 years of experience working with kids and families, I have taught parents how to recognize and use toys, games and books to bring out the “chat” in their children. Simply re-prioritizing the playroom with more toys that can build language, can encourage the growth of a child’s language. Add a conductor, passenger and ticket taker to the train set and you gain the potential for conversation.
We know that early language proficiency correlates with later performance in school–reading, writing and critical thinking–and influences emotional, cognitive and social growth. The impact parents and teachers can have on early language development fuels my passion to inform them about how to play and read with kids to build speech.
Congratulations to the winners! My list is short and I want to keep it that way, making this award an honor. My reviews of the winners are intended to give parents expert tips on how to use the toys to encourage language and have fun.
2010 PAL Award Winners are listed here.
Press Release: Playonwords.com Announces PAL Awards Honoring Best Language Toys, Games and Books, click here
