Sometimes, it's like charades with words!
"Ms. DJ. I went to the store yesterday with mommy, and I pushed it." I had some idea of what the "it" was, but I began to ask a litany of questions to gather information for her, so she could recall the correct word.
Years ago, when I was still in the classroom, I had the pleasure of teaching and suppporting Nina with learning. Nina had a severe language impairment and ADHD and word retrieval was a challenge. It made conversations difficult at times, and she would become frustrated when she couldn't think of a word. (Her language impairment also greatly affected her overall reading skills, including fluency and comprehension.)
So, I supported her quest to recall the right word.
Me: "What color was it?"
Nina: Shiny
Me: "What did you put in it?"
Nina: Stuff
Me: "What kind of stuff?"
Nina: Food
Tell me about the shape...
Tell me how you pushed it...
You get the idea. So after my litany of questions, I was able to repeat her shared information back to her in the hopes that she could recall the word. But no. Not yet.
Does this sound like your kid? Need more supports to increase skills like focus, comprehension, and language deficits? Schedule a time for us to connect HERE, and let's begin the conversation about learning supports that help!
I showed her an image on the computer and she exclaimed, "Yes! That's it! That's it!"
It was, of course, a shopping cart. Nina was not able to recall the word on that particular day, but the follow week with a few descriptive and visual reminders, the words came to her mind. "Ms. DJ. That is a shopping cart. That's what I pushed at the store."
I suppose my purpose in sharing this is: It is so important to talk to kids! Use the word that is assigned to objects rather than "thing", "stuff", and "it". Kids learn so much when you talk to them. That is how their vocabulary starts to grow!
If your kid asks about eggplant at the grocery store, give them detailed information rather than simply saying, "That's a vegetable." or "That's not what we're here for." or even worse, "Be quiet".
Parents, you have the gift of being your kid's first teacher. Share with them! "That's an eggplant. It's a purple vegetable that can be eaten baked or roasted. You can even put cheese on the top."
A curious mind has a lot of room for information. Fill it up!
Just like Nina's shopping cart...
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