December - Communication
December is about Communication.
Books about Communication
- Baby's First Kind Words by Hsinping Pan
- Baby's First Words/Mis Primas Palabras by Christiane Engel
- Duck! by Meg McKinlay
- Gnome by Fred Blunt
- Hannah Sparkles by Robin Mellom
- Lacy Walker, Nonstop Talker by Christianne Jones
- Listen Buddy by Helen Lester
- Listen Like an Elephant by Kira Willey
- Little Elephant Listens by Michael Dahl
- Magic Little Words by Angéle Delaunois
- Margot and the Moon Landing by A.C. Fitzpartick and Erica Medina
- Nita's Day: More Signs for Babies and Parents by Kathy MacMillan
- No Quiero Estar in Silencio! by Laura Ellen Anderson
- Please, Mr. Panda by Steve Antony
- Quiet Please, Owen McPhee by Trudy Ludwig
- Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins
- We Disagree by Bethanie Deeney Murguia
- The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds
- Words Are Not for Hurting/ Las Palabras No Son para Listimar by Elizabeth Verdick
- Yes, I Can Listen! by Steve Metzger
Activity: Listen and Color
Engage with your child about Communicating
- Model good listening to your child by actively listening to what your child has to say. Whenever you can, give your full attention to what your child is saying. Repeat back part of what your child says to confirm your understanding. Engage your child by asking follow up questions.
- Spending time reading with your child helps enforce strong communication skills. Books help build vocabulary, reinforce effective communication, and benefit overall language development. They can also help a child learn empathy, which is an important component of communication.
- Be mindful when communicating with your child. Be clear about when something is a request and when something is an instruction. Use clear language for an instruction, instead of asking if a child would like to help clean up the toys, say something like "I need your help picking up the toys on the floor before we can play with other toys."