Local Fun
Are you looking for a local family outing this summer that can fill up a whole day, or even an entire weekend?
It also showcases events that are just for kids. ? ?
Even better, you can use every single moment to entertain as well as develop your kiddo’s language skills through functional and fun activities.
Look no further than the Washington State Fair! ?
What to Expect
Everything from petting exotic animals to eating yummy food
to watching horses perform stunts, the fair has it all. With all there is to see and do, he won’t even realize he’s learning! All you have to do is look under Kid’s Fun on the Washington State Fair website and you’ll see all the fair has to offer. What a great sensory-rich environment!
Speech Activities
Practice commenting (having your child talk about what he sees). You can start off by saying “I see a zebra,” ? at the Animals of the World exhibit, or “I see a rollercoaster”? at the BECU Free Kids’ Labor Day Weekend. By talking and commenting on what you’re seeing, you are modeling what you want your child to say.
If he can’t think of anything, prompt him by saying “I see _____” and have him fill in the blank. For those kiddos who are not yet using words, you can have him get involved by pointing something out, even if he can’t say what it is.
Another fun tip is that you can encourage him to add more variety in commenting. We aren’t robots and we don’t want our kids to talk like ones either. And as they say, variety is the spice of life. It’s as simple as modeling, “Oh look! A _____.” Or while both pointing and gasping to get his attention, you can say “Hey, it’s a ____” (clown,? dinosaur, carousel, etc.).
Recording and Repeating
Also make sure to take plenty of pictures so that you can create a photo album at home. He can talk about what he sees over and over again; repetition is key in speech development. Videos are great too, as most kids LOVE LOVE LOVE watching themselves!
What This Accomplishes
By modeling these different phrases and sentences, you’ll be working on language expansion (using longer sentences or phrases) through social interaction (being with other people and communicating with or without words). You’ll be expanding both the receptive (understanding what words mean) and expressive (naming things) parts of his vocabulary.
Join In The Fun
Don’t miss out. Take advantage of this unique chance to spend some quality time with your child as well as nudge him gently along the path to speech development. 
For more information about the Washington State Fair, click here.
Have fun! And make sure to tell Big Washington (aka Bigfoot) I said hi.