10 Stocking Stuffer Ideas to Promote Early Language Development

As the holiday season approaches this year, I think we’re all a little fuzzy on what Christmas will look like this year, but one thing is for sure in my house- Santa is not cancelled! 

2020 has been particularly hard for small businesses.  So for this year’s stocking stuffer list, I have not only linked to amazon.ca, but have also done my best to include links to local retailers in Waterloo Region.  If you are not local to me, I would encourage you to seek out retailers near to you this holiday season.  So without further ado, I present the 2020 stocking stuffers list:

Baby Faces- Indestructibles  -- available locally at Wordsworth Books

This is one of my all-time favourite gifts for our littlest language learners.  This book, and the others in the series, is literally indestructible.  Believe me- my kids have tried.  It is rip proof, bite proof and washable, which makes exploring books accessible for even very young babies.  Frequent and early exposure to books is one of the best predictors of later literacy success.  My kids loved this book at 1 month old, and even now at 3, my son still pulls this book out with regularity.  Each of the babies in the book displays a different emotion.  With younger babies, point out how the babies are feeling and try making the faces yourself.  With older babies and toddlers, try modelling guessing why the baby might feel that way or even have your child come up with their own guess.

Hide n Squeak Eggs  -- available locally at Hobby and Toy Central

These little eggs pack a lot of punch.  I love these eggs for working on the concepts of same and different (i.e. matching the top of the shell to the chick of the same or different colour inside).  They are also great for talking about the emotions depicted on the different eggs (e.g. can you find me the tired egg?). Each chick squeaks when the shell has been placed on top, which is great for cause-effect relationship teaching for younger babies.  I also love pretending to crack the eggs, including them in grocery store or cooking play, or even having hens lay them in barnyard play.

My Barnyard Friends – unavailable locally

This is hands down one of the most loved toys in my house.  It’s another one that does a great job of spanning from babyhood through the preschool years.  I like this barn in particular because all of the objects, including the barn, are soft.  The animals make sound when manipulated (e.g. squeezed or shaken) which is great for teaching cause-effect relationships to little ones.  The barn is easy for even young babies to manipulate safely and is a great tool for teaching early concepts (e.g. in, out, on, under, open, closed).  As kids get older, the animals can get called into action for all sorts of barnyard adventures in imaginative play.  Try encouraging your toddler or preschool-aged child to experiment with talking about the similarities and differences between the different animals (e.g. the rooster and chick have wings, but the pig and cow do not have wings) as well as vocabulary specific to visiting the farm (e.g. That cow is grazing in the field). 

Food Groups Set  -- available locally at Play-a-Latte, Hobby and Toy Central and Toy Soup

A great addition to any toy kitchen!  I love this set in particular because of how easily it lends itself to practicing categorization skills.  Kids can practice sorting foods into meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy and grains.  Try experimenting with other ways of categorizing by thinking characteristics such as colour, whether we cook them, where they come from or when we might eat them.  And don’t forget to play around with lots of action words while you cook up your pretend feasts (e.g. chopping, mixing, grilling, eating, washing).

Jungle Heads and Tails – unavailable locally

I love this matching game for talking about the characteristics of animals.  Try guessing what animal it could be by starting with their tails (e.g. this animal has an orange and black stripey tail.   What could it be?).

Catch and Count Fishing Rod Set – available locally at Toy Soup,  Play-a-Latte and Hobby and Toy Central

I love this fishing set for so many reasons.  The fishing rods that you can actually cast and reel in are tons of fun for pretend play (though I would not recommend them for unsupervised pretend play under the age of about 3).  I also love how much there is to talk about on the fish themselves as you catch them.  Try catching fish with only a certain characteristic (e.g. can you catch all the spotted fish?  all the blue fish?), catching them in numbered order, or closing your eyes to play it as a matching game.

Float Along Bath Book  -- available locally at Play-a-Latte , Hobby & Toy Central and Wordsworth Books

Another gift for your little readers.  I love these bath books because of the included toys that help bring them to life.  The short verses support learning of rhyming skills- an important phonological awareness skill (a precursor to learning to read).  Use the included toys to act out the actions in the book as you go along, and use them to model other action words (e.g. My penguin is splashing!!) and descriptors (e.g. Wow, that’s a fast penguin!).

Around The House Sound Puzzle – available locally at Hobby and Toy Central and Toy Soup

There’s a lot going on in this puzzle!  This sound puzzle is great for discussing actions (e.g. she is brushing her teeth), making predictions (e.g. what do you think is in the garage?) and talking about the kinds of activities we do in each part of our house (e.g. which room do we sleep in?).  Try talking about the characteristics of the sounds that you hear when a piece is placed (e.g. that’s a noisy washing machine!). 

Rhyming Words Puzzle Pairs  -- available locally at Toy Soup

This is a great one for older toddlers and preschoolers who are starting to play around with rhyming.  I like that the pieces are colour coded, making it easier for those who are just starting to develop the skill of rhyming.  Help your child expand this activity by generating other words that rhyme with their pairs (e.g. let’s think of other words that rhyme with cat and hat.  Does fish rhyme?  No.  What about bat?  Yes!)

1001 Things to Spot in the Town Sticker Book – available locally at Toy Soup and Wordsworth Books

This is an activity older toddlers and preschoolers can revisit again and again, building new vocabulary every time.  This book is packed with different aquatic scenes, with different objects to spot on each page, and stickers for tracking their finds.  I love how busy the pictures are- you could talk about something different each time you look at a page.  Try using lots of descriptive language when talking about elements of each page (e.g. those kids are surfing on big waves!  The orca is diving deep into the water).