New Words Everywhere (EYFS)

Inside New Words Everywhere (EYFS)

naming words for things all around us, describing words like soft, shiny and enormous, opposites like big and little or hot and cold, sorting words into families, and saying a new word in a sentence. Point, chat and giggle together. About 15 gentle minutes with a grown-up.

Learning objectives

• name everyday things in familiar places — the kitchen, garden, park and bath;
• try out describing words like soft, shiny and enormous;
• play with opposites such as big and little, hot and cold;
• sort words into families — fruits, animals, things we wear;
• catch a brand-new word and use it in their own sentence.

Activities in this book

1. Play 1 — Word Hunt Around Our Day

   point to each picture, say its name out loud, then say one more thing about it — 'a spoon… a shiny spoon!' Big words grow from little chats.

2. Play 2 — Describing Words & Opposites

   say the whole sentence out loud with each choice — your ears will hear which word feels just right!

3. Play 3 — Word Families

   say the three words out loud first, then ask: which one belongs in this family? Sorting words into families is super word power.

4. Play 4 — Talk About the Park

   let your child do most of the talking. When they say a word, echo it back inside a longer sentence — 'yes, an enormous slippery slide!'

5. Play 5 — My New Word at Home

   when a new word pops up at snack time or bath time, say it together three times, then slip it into a sentence. New words stick when we play with them!

Suggestions for teaching

• Narrate the everyday. Name what you both see and do — new words land best inside real moments.
• Echo and stretch. When your child says "duck", echo it back longer: "yes, a noisy, splashy duck!"
• Describing words. Add one describing word to a naming word at a time — a soft teddy, an enormous slide.
• Opposites. Make it a game — you say big, they say little; keep it quick, silly and out loud.
• New words. Say a new word three times, chat about what it means, then tuck it into a silly sentence together.