Play and Language Enrichment with Everyday Objects: Laundry Basket

If you are looking for new ways to facilitate language development, look no further than your own home. There is no need buy expensive toys — you can create novel and exciting play activities with everyday items you already own. Here are 5 ways to target expressive (what is spoken) and receptive (what is understood) language development through play using a laundry basket.

Mark a starting spot and have your child throw beanbags in the laundry basket. No beanbags lying around? You can tell your child to find 5 things that are round, 5 things that are soft or 5 things that are a specific color to toss in the basket instead. Get creative!

Try switching up the directions to address additional language skills. Spatial concepts work well here (“toss the ball next to the basket, in front of the basket or behind the basket”). You can also use 2-step directions (“find the biggest ball and put it on top of the basket”) or try turn taking. Try having your child pick up the beanbag while standing on one leg. That position brings in gross motor work, and pinching the beanbag with thumb and index finger adds fine motor practice. A stack of plastic cups can take over when the basket is full of clean towels, with the same directions and the same turn taking.

Pack the laundry basket with pillows and have your child sit inside. Push the basket to give them a ride around the room! Not only is this a blast for the child (and a nice workout for you!), but it also provides them with great sensory input. If your child enjoys heavy work activities, fill the basket with books and tell them push it to the other side of the room. Heavy work and sensory input are staples of pediatric occupational therapy in Chicago, where a therapist matches the activity to what your child seeks out.

To continue this activity and add language skills, ask your child, “Where do you want to go?” to work on answering questions and descriptive language. You can also work on requesting items, asking questions, and using pronouns (I want a push, you push me). Adjectives fit here too (fast push, slow push, push me far). Taking turns and pretend play work as well (imagine the basket is a rocket, school bus or train)! Does your child have a hard time with transitions? Use a basket ride to transition between activities or daily routines. You will be surprised how much easier teeth brushing gets when the trip there is a special ride. The ball under your couch earns a turn next, and it pairs well with the same questions you just practiced.

A laundry basket is a perfect size to play peek-a-boo with young children. For older kiddos, you can hide a toy underneath the basket and provide clues for your child to guess the item. Reverse roles and have your child hide an object under the basket and describe it to you. You can prompt them by asking the category, size, color or function of the item. This is a wonderful way to work on language processing skills while having a ton of fun! The same everyday-object thinking works at the kitchen table. Food play ideas for picky eaters turn an unfamiliar vegetable into something to handle first and taste later.

Why not use the basket to actually help mom and dad with the laundry? Tell your child to take out all the socks and then a few t-shirts to work on skills like following 2-step directions with quantitative concepts. You could also ask your child to sort the clothing by body part, family member, color or size to work on advanced directions and processing.

A laundry basket can be used to introduce object representation and imaginative play to your child. Put a blanket inside the basket and pretend it is a crib for a baby doll, or turn it upside down and imagine it is an oven for pretend food. Maybe the laundry basket is a racecar or a cage for some stuffed animals! Model some of these ideas and then see what your child can come up with. Symbolic play is critical to the development abstract thought, which is the foundation of language!

Ok!  You have been armed with lots of ideas, now go have fun and get creative with those household baskets!  Who knows, you might even get a little laundry done in the process???  Want more ideas from our professional players at Chicago Pediatric Therapy & Wellness Center?  Call us today at (773) 672-7775 and let us help develop your child’s language and processing skills!

Five laundry basket games, no new toys, and language practice folded into a chore you already do. That is the whole argument here. Pick one game and run it for a few days before adding another. If words are not coming the way you expect, message our speech team and send a short list of what your child says. Expect a reply covering what to try at home.