So much to do and so little time. When you are busy trying to get everything done, it’s easy to overlook the potential for teaching early literacy skills during everyday chores. However, research suggests that daily tasks like picking up, cooking, washing dishes, folding laundry, and cleaning offer rich, natural opportunities for children to develop the essential language and literacy skills they need to thrive in the future.
Language Development Through Routine Chores
Children begin developing language skills long before they start formal schooling. According to a 2021 study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, consistent verbal interactions are crucial to building vocabulary and comprehension in children under five years old (Hoff, 2021). Chores provide the perfect setting for these interactions. Whether you’re folding laundry or preparing a meal, talking with children about what you’re doing (and what they are doing) introduces them to new words and concepts.
For example, when folding clothes, narrate your actions: “I’m folding the shirt into a square,” or “Look, the towel is soft and fluffy.” By describing what’s happening, you expand children’s vocabulary, expose them to different sentence structures, and model important cognitive skills such as categorization (e.g., separating clothes by color, type, or size).
Check out this resource for more information on narrating activities using self and parallel talk: http://heartolearn.org/materials/docs/lsl-strategies-flyers/Self-Parallel%20Talk%203.18.18_ENGLISH.pdf
Engaging Children with Questions
Asking children questions during chores not only boosts their language skills but also promotes critical thinking. A 2023 study by Whitehurst et al. highlights that asking open-ended questions such as, “How can we get all the blocks to fit in this bucket?” or “What do you think will happen if we add these ingredients?”, encourages children to practice conversational skills, broaden their thinking, and strengthen their understanding of cause and effect (Whitehurst et al., 2023).
When cooking, for example, you can ask a mix of closed (specific answer) questions like, “What color is…?, Where is the…?” and open (no specific answer) questions such as, “What do you think will happen if we…?”. These simple interactions can help children make connections between words and their meanings which supports their comprehension and communication abilities.
Here’s a resource with open and closed question examples: https://especiallyforchildren.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Open-ended-Questions.pdf
Reading and Writing During Daily Tasks
You can also incorporate reading and writing activities while doing chores. When preparing a meal or at the grocery store, have your child “help” by looking at recipe cards, “writing” or collaging pictures for a list, or checking off pictures of what is needed as items are found. Similarly, while washing dishes, encourage your child to trace the shapes of the different dishes with their finger and naming each item (e.g., “the plate is an oval, plate starts with P [make the p sound], the glass is red, the bowl is a circle”, etc.).
Research in 2022 by Trussell and Bond found that creating opportunities for children to engage with print materials in everyday contexts—like labeling objects in the kitchen or bathroom—helps them develop letter knowledge and word recognition earlier (Trussell & Bond, 2022). These small but consistent moments help to lay the foundation for early reading skills.
Here’s a resource with more reading and writing ideas to incorporate into your daily activities: https://ecdc.nd.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ECDC_readingbirthtofive28902.pdf
Singing and Rhyming During Chores
Singing songs, rhymes, or simple tunes while you do chores can also enhance literacy skills. Studies have shown that singing supports phonemic awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in words—a vital skill for early reading (Hansen & Freeman, 2021). As you vacuum, mop, or sweep, include your child as much as possible such as providing toy or make-believe items and singing nursery rhymes or making up silly songs about what you’re doing. For instance, you can sing about washing dishes: “This is the way we wash the dishes, wash the dishes, wash the dishes, this is the way we wash the dishes to get them nice and clean!” This not only makes chores more engaging but also helps children develop an ear for rhythm, rhyme, and sound patterns.
Here’s a list of common songs and nursery rhymes with tunes you can use to create songs about chores: https://www.freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Nursery-Rhymes-Fingerplays-and-Songs-for-Circle-Time.pdf
Chores may seem like routine tasks, but they provide a rich opportunity to nurture children’s early literacy skills. By talking to children, asking questions, involving them in reading and writing, and using rhymes and songs, you’re helping them develop critical language skills. By incorporating these strategies, you can make literacy development part of children’s daily lives to help them develop a strong early literacy foundation.
Lynne Hall is a research associate at the Indiana Institute on Disability & Community’s Early Childhood Center. She holds a Master of Science in Education and an Indiana instructional teaching license (Early Childhood Education and Services; Elementary/Primary Generalist; Elementary/Intermediate Generalist). She formerly taught preschool in a variety of settings for over 15 years. Her expertise includes early literacy instruction, equitable strategies, and inclusive preschool classroom practices. Email her at hallma@iu.edu
Resources
- Hoff, E. (2021). Language Development: An Introduction. Wadsworth Publishing.
- Whitehurst, G. J., Lonigan, C. J., & Pan, B. (2023). The Role of Parent-Child Conversation in Early Literacy Development. Developmental Psychology.
- Trussell, S., & Bond, C. (2022). Developing Print Awareness through Daily Routines. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy.
- Hansen, J., & Freeman, K. (2021). The Role of Music and Rhyming in Early Literacy. Journal of Educational Psychology.
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