As a parent, your kid’s education is paramount. But what if you could combine learning with fun for your kid? It would be a win-win situation. Every parent strives to get their kid engaged in learning. With positional language, you won’t even have to encourage your child to learn or study anymore. Your child will want to do it on his/her own. And he/she will have fun while learning for sure!
Positional language: What You Need to Know
Positional language words are also called prepositions. They are used to refer to where someone is, usually in relation to something else. For example,
- The cat hid under the table.
- The rug is on the floor.
In the first sentence, the word “under” describes where the cat is in relation to the table. The cat is “under” the table. In the second sentence, the word “on” describes where the rug is in relation to the floor. It is “on” the floor.
Positional Language Words
The table below shows some common positional language words. You can teach these positional language words when your kids are in kindergarten. Your children can start using the words in their vocabulary to form basic sentences.
|
Under |
Bottom |
End |
Right |
|
On |
Left |
Top |
Left |
|
In |
Above |
Inside |
Back |
|
Beside |
Behind |
Outside |
Front |
How to Use Positional Language in Sentences?
Given below are sentences with positional language words highlighted:
- The cat jumped onto the table.
- She hid behind her mother because she was shy.
- The bottle fell into the river.
- The pickle was inside the jar.
- She was standing at the top of the mountain.
You can teach these words by giving examples like the ones above or enacting them. But, your kids might lose interest in this. Then, how can you make sure your kids remain engaged? In this blog, you’ll find some fun games and activities. You can do these with your kids while they learn positional language as a concept.
Positional Language Games
To make learning more fun for your kid, pick from the fun games and activities detailed below. Spend a relaxing afternoon playing with your kids. You’ll also be helping them learn positional language.
- Itsy Bitsy Spider
- Snip and Paste
- Simon Says
- Hide the Treasure
- Story Time
Remember the rhyme you learnt in kindergarten? Chances are your kid has also learned the rhyme. However, you can now leverage the words of this simple children’s rhyme to demonstrate what positional language words can do. While reciting the rhyme, you can show and then let your kids enact it, in the following way:
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout. (Crawl fingers up)
Down came the rain (Wiggle fingers down)
And washed the spider out. (Brush hands to side)
Out came the sun (Circle arms above head)
And dried up all the rain.
And the itsy bitsy spider (Crawl fingers up again)
Climbed up the spout again.
Using this fun nursery rhyme, your children can gain a deeper understanding of the concept of position words. By enacting the rhyme, they will begin to connect the position words to their meanings.
Give your kids some newspapers and catalogues. Ask them to cut out some words that they like. For example, your kid might cut out the words “toy”, “balloon” and “house”.
Next, ask your kids to draw a picture of a room on sheets of paper. Let them be creative about the different furniture and knick-knacks they want in their rooms. Next, give them directions like “Paste the toy under the chair”.
Through activities like these, children learn to use positional language in real life.
You can play this game with your kids to test their understanding of position words. Use commands like “Simon says put your hand on your head” and “Simon says crawl under the table”. You and your kids can take turns being the leader.
If your kids have their friends over, here’s a way you can make their afternoon even more fun! Divide the children into two teams. Ask the first team to leave the room (or close their eyes) while the second team hides a teddy bear or a toy. The first team has to find the toy using only the directions given by the second team. The directions have to use position words kindergarten taught them.
Thus, the second team can say “The toy is to the left of the table” or “The toy is not under the cupboard”. The teams can take turns hiding the treasure and hunting for it.
Tell your kids a story! Keep the story interesting by adding position details of important elements or characters in the story. Help your kids imagine the details of the scenes as you narrate them.
“The dragon took the kids inside the den.”
“The lion was caught under the net.”
“The hunter chased the deer quickly into the forest.”
Stories like these not only spark kids’ imaginations but also help them understand the differences between different position words.
To make your stories even more interesting, you can sprinkle them with wrong usages of language positional words. These will make your stories hilarious and even absurd at times. For example, imagine how much your kids will laugh if the “knight rushed under the fort” or “the tiger slept on the tree.”
By incorporating these positional language activities into your child’s learning process, you are not only helping them improve their grammar skills but also sharpening their spatial awareness skills. These games are a fun way for you and your little one to bond.
If you are searching for a play school where your toddlers can learn and have fun, Kangaroo Kids International Preschool is the best option. To learn more about the admission details, contact us today.
