Going On Walks

Whether your child is in a pram or if he is holding your hand and walking beside you, it helps to incorporate language on walks into your regular routine. The time you spend walking is a great opportunity to learn and release some energy.

There are a lot of  creative ideas you can prepare to make your walks more engaging and educational.  Browse the Internet to find pictures of items you may find on your journey and clip them together using a ring clip, thus creating a mini “flip book.”  Can you find the picture that matches what you see?  Take the opportunity to define the word and build vocabulary and language skills at the same time!

If you are pushing your little one in a pram, give him a pad of paper on a clipboard to draw what he sees!  Don’t expect him to draw intricate designs, but this will lay a foundation for such creativity down the road!

“I Spy” is a familiar game that you can play together during the walk.  It consists of looking for different objects and taking turns. If your son does not have the words yet to say “I Spy a car,” for example, you may tell him “I Spy a car, can you point to the car?” 

To work on colors you can make a picture list of blue cars, red cars, black cars and brown cars. As he sees them on the walk, mark them off the list with your child.  If you want to go an extra step, laminate the list so you can use a dry erase marker and re-use them over and over again!

If your child prefers sitting in the pram, encourage him to walk part of the way – not only can he expend some energy but also build stamina. Each week, see if you can lengthen the amount walking time by adding some running, skipping and galloping. Within a few months he may be able to walk the whole time with you! Use the cracks and lines in the sidewalk as a way for him to practice jumping forward by having him jump over and land on the other side of the line or crack.

Remember to walk talk about safety rules for being near the street. You can do this by watching out for cars, looking in both directions before crossing the street, recognizing different signs on the roads and other safety precautions out on the street.