Storytelling and its magic for applying words to real life

Who doesn’t love a good story? Escapism is beneficial to both children and adults, and a good book can grab our attention over and over again. Books support your toddler’s development in plenty of ways; you’ve probably read a thing or two about them in some of the earlier skills, but we can’t overstate the joy of books – the learning they provide is incredible. Now that your toddler is starting to use the words ‘the’ and ‘a’, reading books can truly embed how to use these words in speech. 

Most books have a theme, a setting, a plot, and a character or more.  

From these basic elements, lots of conversations have the opportunity to flow and you can indulge yourselves in the story using the words and illustrations provided.  

Characters and objects within the illustrations have a fab way of drawing out your toddler’s language, and they can join in by showing you, say, where ‘the’ bird is, or who is eating ‘a’ sandwich. 

Stories can be embellished with props, sounds and smells! 

Involving your toddler in the story with an assortment of props can help bring it all to life. Finding figures or toys for the characters, or instruments to represent sounds can make an already interesting book, totally amazing.  

Asking your toddler to ‘find the queen’ or ‘make a loud bang using a toy’, helps embed these new words in a fun and playful way. 

They can be involved in the choosing of the props too, which encourages them to describe what they’ve found. 

Prop ideas can be limitless! Some of the books you enjoy might lend themselves to introducing smells and textures; whatever you decide to use, they’ll all help boost your toddler’s language skills. 

The next time you choose a book, try to think about inviting your toddler to use ‘the’ or ‘a’ words in a fun and playful way. They’ll remember them more easily when they’ve had an exciting time!