Tongue Twisters Create Tangled Tongues

Playing with words advances your child’s fluency, reading and spelling skills.  You may think your four year old is just having fun when the reality is that it is language skills that are developing!

One activity you can do with your child is to play with rhyming words.  Take a simple three-letter word such as cat and see how many words your child can rhyme.  Cat, bat, hat, rat, sat!  You may need some patience and wait for your child  to get the hang of it and play along.  If he throws in a word such a dog, say, “Good try, that’s an opposite!  Cat. Dog. We are looking for rhyming words like cat, hat, and sat.”  Let your child hear you enunciate the words.  Try another word.  It may not come easily but he’ll have fun hearing all the words.  You can even make up nonsense words that rhyme!

Repeating words or sentences is also an important milestone.  Begin with one word and have your child repeat the word.  For example, “Go”.  Then add onto the sentence, “Go get.”  See if your child can repeat up to a four-word sentence.  “Go get the ball.”  Make these sentences more difficult as your child demonstrates success.

Next, add tongue twisters to the mix.  A tongue twister is a rhyme or a sentence that is difficult to pronounce.  Tongue twisters  may have repeating sounds or similar words.  Either way tongue twisters are meant to be tricky!  When you practice with tongue twisters it may seem like play but your child is learning many literacy skills such as practicing pronunciation of words, hearing the sounds that make up the words, and providing a solid foundation for early literacy.

Tongue twisters are meant to be said between three and ten times repeating faster and faster each time.  You will surely be laughing together as you take turns listening to your tongue getting tangled.  Laughter is a delightful sound that brings smiles to everyone.  Try these tongue twisters with your child:

Friendly fleas and fireflies.

Unique New York.

She sells seashells by the seashore.

Toy boat, toy boat, toy boat.

Three free throws.