Language and play plan: Bubbles

Key words you can use while doing this activity:

• Bubbles
• More
• Ready, steady, go!
• Pop
• All gone
• Finished

What to do

1. First blow some bubbles so your child knows what to expect.
   
2. Put the lid back on, and hold the bubbles. Smile and wait for your child to request some more.
   
3. If they point, look at you or make a sound/say a word say; ‘more bubbles?’.
   
4. Hold the bubble wand ready to blow some bubbles and say ‘ready, steady…’ then pause…
   
5. Keep looking at your child and again wait for them to communicate (by pointing, looking, making a sound) before saying ‘go!’ and blowing some bubbles.
   
6. Pop the bubbles with your child saying ‘pop’, ‘pop’ as you both pop the bubbles.
   
7. When all the bubbles have been popped say ‘all gone’.
   
8. Put the lid back on and again wait for your child to request some more bubbles (remember this could be by pointing, looking, making a sound or saying a word).
   
9. When you have repeated the game a number of times and are ready to stop, put the lid back on and say ‘finished’ or ‘bye bye bubbles’ and put the bubbles away.

Using just these basic words gives your child a good model of how words can be used. It also helps them hear the most important word and lets them hear it over and over in the same way.

By waiting for your child to communicate, you are showing them how to take turns in conversations and encouraging them to have a go.

This activity is good for:

• Developing attention skills – by encouraging your child to wait for ‘ready, steady ……… go!’ before blowing bubbles.
  
• Developing eye contact – your child will learn to look at your face as you talk and blow more bubbles.
  
• Learning new words – by letting your child hear the same simple words over and over again and showing them how they can be used.
  
• Developing conversation skills – by waiting and giving them a chance to communicate, either by looking, pointing, making a sound or saying a word.
  
• Taking turns – by letting your child have a go at blowing or popping the bubbles. You can also say whose turn it is e.g. ‘your turn’, ‘mummy’s turn’, ‘daddy’s turn’ etc.