Our monthly updates provide information and resources for early years practitioners to support communication, language and literacy developments.

September 2026

This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:

“Point to and name things you are talking about and that your child is interested in – this will help them to learn more words.”

Pointing by care givers, also encourages babies to start to understand what pointing is about and therefore start to point themselves. Research has found that the more children under the age of 2 point, the better their language abilities are later on.

Words for life activity

Countdown to School or nursery - the week before starting school or nursery can be an exciting and possibly an anxious time for children. Share these ideas with parents to help them get ready for this transition.

August 2026

This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:

Have fun using different facial expressions, gestures and voices when talking to your child. This will engage their interest and encourage them to listen.

July 2026

This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:

"Take turns to talk. Give your child time to think and respond – this will help to build their confidence and give them a chance to think about the words they want to use”

Taking turns in play is a good way to support children’s communication and language as a precursor to early conversation skills. Watch this clip from Tiny Happy People for practical examples and ideas of early turn taking games.

When talking with children don’t forget the 10 second rule! This means waiting at least 10 seconds for a child to respond.

Come Talk with Me Time to Talk Online Activity Packs.

This is a perfect time to promote our Come Talk with Me online resources to parents. These packs are designed with children aged two to three years old in mind. They give a range of fun activity ideas, songs and stories with ideas on making them language rich learning opportunities. If parents spend just five minutes a day, playing and talking with their child we know this can make a difference to their child’s understanding, talking and therefore learning! So please share widely! Click on the link to see the titles available.

National Literacy Trust

If you missed National Writing Day last month, don’t’ worry the National Literacy Trust Newsletter includes fun activities, songs and rhymes to help you spot light early writing skills in your setting and share with parents.

National Literacy Trust Chat, play, read booklets, are another great resources to share this time of year. They are free to download from the Words for Life website and are filled with fun and simple activities that can be completed anywhere, anytime! Each one will support children to learn new words and develop their language and communication skills. To support bilingual learners these are available in English and an additional 18 languages, in a print version and voice recording.

June 2026

This month our Come Talk with me Top Tip is:

“Praise your child’s attempts to say new words. Repeat words back to them in the correct way, without mentioning mistakes – this will help them to learn the right way to say a new word.”

Children love experimenting with new sounds as their spoken language develops and will naturally copy what they hear. As children mature, they will usually develop the full range of sounds when supported within nurturing interactions. For more information about children’s sound develop visit Speech sounds - Speech and Language UK: Changing young lives.

Words for life activity

Play with letters and numbers - There are all sorts of games you can play with letters and numbers, from their shape and sound, to learning new words that share the same first letter. It will help get your child ready for reading when they’re older.

Top 10 starting school books

Books to help prepare children for school - One of the best ways to support children with changes they may face is through books. Reading stories with children helps to reassure them that things will be OK and helps to open up conversations about how they are feeling.

The National Literacy Trust

Take a look at the latest newsletter from the National Literacy Trust. This is full of great ideas to share with parents, including Internation Language Mother’s Day activities and downloadable free resources translated into 19 languages.