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How to Improve Your Child's Vocabulary in 5 Fun Ways

Updated: Mar 28, 2023


The diligent mother spent hours every day reading and explaining new words to her child

Do you want to boost your child's vocabulary in a fun and engaging way? Look no further! In this article, we'll explore five exciting ways to help your child learn new words and strengthen their language skills.

These ideas, which include games, books, and treasure hunts, are sure to get your child's attention and make learning new words fun for the whole family. Get ready to dive into the world of words and watch your child's language abilities soar!

1. Word Games


kids playing word games

Word games are a fun and efficient way to help your kid learn new words. Word games like Scrabble and Boggle are fantastic ways to learn new vocabulary terms and improve one's language skills.

These games will keep your kid entertained while teaching them new vocabulary and encouraging an early love of language. Playing word games with your kid is a great way to bond as a family while also fostering a lifelong appreciation for the English language.

In addition to these exercises, there are many other vocabulary building games and activities that you can do with your child, such as word puzzles, word association games, and word matching games. These games are not only fun, but they also help improve your child's memory and cognitive skills.

2. Reading

Encouraging your child to read is one of the best ways to help them improve their vocabulary. To make the reading experience more engaging and challenging, consider introducing them to books that are a little more advanced than their current reading level.

This will help them learn new words and concepts that they may not encounter otherwise. Moreover, you can make reading fun and interactive by making it a family activity or creating a reading challenge.

Word Scavenger Hunt

Create a word scavenger hunt to give your child an exciting way to learn new words. Provide them with a list of interesting and challenging words to find in a book, and encourage them to highlight or circle them as they discover them. This fun activity not only helps them learn new words, but also helps them understand what words mean in context, which improves their ability to understand.

Vocabulary Notebook

Another way to help students develop a love for words is to encourage them to keep a vocabulary notebook. Encourage them to write down new words they come across while reading and use them in a sentence to help them remember what they mean. Additionally, they can use a dictionary to look up the word's definition and synonyms, which helps expand their lexicon and boost their writing skills.

The Synonym Search

To foster creativity and encourage expression, introduce your child to a synonym search activity. Select a few words from the book your child is reading and challenge them to find synonyms for each.

This activity will help your child learn new words and teach them how to better communicate by using different words to say the same thing. By doing these fun and educational things, young kids will develop a love of language and learn to talk clearly and with confidence.

3. Vocabulary Building Apps


mother showing her child different vocabulary app

Vocabulary building is an essential part of a child's education and development. It helps them communicate more effectively and express themselves better. However, memorising new words can be a tedious and challenging task for children. This is where vocabulary-building apps come in.

There are several vocabulary-building apps available that are designed to make learning new words fun and engaging for children. These apps use interactive games, quizzes, and other engaging activities to help children build their vocabulary in a more enjoyable way.

Some of the best vocabulary-building apps for children:

  • Vocabulary.com provides personalised learning based on the child's level of vocabulary and also has a vast library of articles that use the words in context.

  • WordUp is useful for finding out where your child’s vocabulary is weak. In only a few days' time, you may create a comprehensive map of the English terms your child knows and the ones they don't by playing a short game for just a few minutes each day.

  • VocabGenius offers a more game-based approach with fun challenges that make learning new words more enjoyable.

As a parent, you can encourage your child to use these apps regularly and make them part of their daily routine. You can also track their progress and see how much they have learned over time.

4. Vocabulary Journal

A vocabulary journal is a great tool to improve a child's vocabulary list and language skills. It's a place where they can record new words they encounter and their meanings. This will help them understand the meaning of unfamiliar words when they come across them in the future.

To encourage your child to keep a vocabulary journal, you can make it fun and interactive. Here are some tips:

  • Let your child pick a notebook that they like. This will make them more excited to use it and keep it organised.

  • Turn it into a game by challenging your child to find a new word every day and write it down. You can also have them create a sentence using the new word to make it more fun.

  • Adding illustrations or pictures to the journal can help your child remember the meaning of a word more easily.

  • Encourage your child to use the new words they learn in their everyday conversations. This will help them remember the words and reinforce their learning.

  • Set aside some time every week to review the words in the journal. This will help your child remember them better and reinforce their learning.

Additionally, it's important to emphasise to your child that copying definitions from a dictionary or another source is not allowed. Encourage them to write the definitions in their own words to avoid plagiarism. This will help them develop their language skills and understanding of words.

5. Vocabulary Building Exercises

Vocabulary building exercises are a fun and creative way to help your child learn new words and expand their language skills. There are many exciting activities that you can do with your child to make learning new words enjoyable and engaging.

One fun activity is to have your child write a story using a list of words. You can provide them with a list of challenging words to use in their story and encourage them to think creatively about how to incorporate them into their writing.

Another exciting exercise is to encourage your child to use a thesaurus to find new words to replace common words they use. This activity will help your child learn synonyms, which are words that have similar meanings to the ones they already know.


The child eagerly pieced together the cut-out words, forming sentences

In conclusion, there are many fun and engaging ways to help improve your child's vocabulary. Word games, reading, word scavenger hunts, vocabulary notebooks, synonym searches, vocabulary-building apps, vocabulary journals, and vocabulary-building exercises are all great ways to build your child's vocabulary and language skills. By making these activities interactive and enjoyable, you can help your child develop a passion for language and become an articulate and confident communicator.

AGrader Learning Centre is renowned for its Primary English Tuition Programme which helps primary students improve their English with its cyclical approach that focuses on building a strong foundation in English components. With our engaging teaching methods, interactive learning materials, and targeted vocabulary exercises, your child can develop a rich and diverse vocabulary that they can apply in their everyday lives.

Enroll your child in our English lessons today and watch as they grow into confident and skilled communicators!


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