Play With Me

In our class, we use the OWL strategy (Observe, Wait, Listen) when playing with children. If you follow the strategy at home too, you will see improvements in your child’s language, social skills and creativity. An added bonus is that you will develop an even stronger bond between the two of you while you are having fun!

Observe – your child and see what s/he does during play. Observe silently, really watching to see what s/he is doing with the toy(s). To give your child time to come up with his/her own ideas, just observe without speaking, suggesting or instructing him/her.

Wait – sit quietly and avoid showing your child things s/he could do with the toy(s). Your goal is to give your child an opportunity to do what S/HE wants to do FIRST.

Listen – to what s/he says, without interrupting. If s/he says something, respond and show interest, but avoid telling him/her what to do or try not to ask questions that test, such as “What are you doing?”, or “What are you making?” S/he probably doesn’t know yet – s/he’s still experimenting!

Once your child has started to show some direction as to what she wants to do with the toy(s), then Join in and Play, which means:

• Use your own toy (rather than taking or trying to share your child’s)

• Observe your child and look interested, without speaking

• Once s/he says or does something, then follow his/her lead - build on what s/he has said or done by commenting on it and adding something to his/her actions and ideas, without taking over the play and telling him/her what to do.

For example, if your child races his car across the floor and says, “I can go fast!” you can say, “That looks like a fast car. I’m going to do some spins in my car” and then wait for him/her to respond again.

When you Join in and Play and Follow your Child’s Lead, you are building on what your child has started and adding a fun idea. You have not changed the topic or the activity. Then you STOP, observe, wait and listen to see whether this interests him/her. Your child will enjoy your playfulness and the fact that you are playing with him/her, contributing to what s/he has started to create.

You will probably notice that your child:

• played for a long time (maybe longer than usual)

• became quite creative both with the toys and the pretend theme

• communicated with you frequently

Wendy Bain