Ready Steady Talk! is an activity book filled with games to help encourage and develop children’s listening and talking skills!
Helping children develop their speech and language skills in a fun and interesting way can be quite a challenge. There are lots of different ways to work with children on their speech development and in the past I have used toys like Mr Potato Head to encourage listening and interacting skills as well as imaginative play toys like wooden train sets as it gets the kids talking and communicating with each other, but my favourite was something simple – I really enjoyed going on a walk with the kids (even when it was just to the shops) and just stopping and discussing what we were seeing (like the ducks on the canal). When I was a foster carer, to help develop the kids speech and language skills I CAN, the children’s communication charity, sent me some resources, including the Ready Steady Talk! activity book, to use with the children in my care as they had some slight speech delay (which is apparently quite common among twins).
The Ready Steady Talk! book is an Early Years activity book filled with games and activities to help encourage and develop children’s listening and talking skills, and all in a fun, entertaining and educational way. It is a A4 sized paperback book and easy for little hands to hold. It also includes 8 pages of advice for parents and carers.
The activities in the book include picture matching and sounds, colouring activities which are used for listening and understanding, singing nursery rhymes (rhyming and singing along is excellent for encouraging participation, helping develop speech), storytelling and lots more. The book gives instructions on how to play the games and how to use everyday items found around the house for the activities; for example, unpacking the shopping and getting the children to help and describe each item which helps them learn new words, expands their vocabulary and listening skills.
All the activities are simple and there is no need to buy additional toys or books and they are all something that can be done anywhere; walking to school or nursery, walking to the local shops, getting ready for bed etc. Ready Steady Talk! encourages children to interact and learn in a fun way all while having quality time with their family and carers. It is not a book that needs to read cover to cover, you can dip in and out of the book whenever you want. You can vary the games and activities and even adapt them to suit your own specific needs as the children’s language develops.
The games and activities in Ready Steady Talk! help your child by developing five core skills:
- Paying attention and listening
- Understanding what is said
- Learning new words
- Making longer sentences
- Talking socially
We had lots of fun when we used this, and it really helped bring on their speech (alongside other resources that were in place at school and with SALT). It got lots of use and was definitely an invaluable resource, so at £5.99 it is a bargain. It is a good simple way to slowly but surely encourage more talking, learning to listen better and building a better understanding of vocabulary and instructions and without the need to buy additional equipment.
For more information and resources visit ican.org.uk and get your children off to a great start using their great resources, help and support. With school closures and SALT services stretched, I CAN resources can be a great source to help children communicate.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £5.99 (Paperback)
For more information or to buy, visit ican.org.uk.
