week 1

Diary
DiaryActivities
Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Two sets of associated toys:

Suprise boxes:
Try to get the child interested in a container before opening it. You may bring it
Set 1:
out from under a cloth, shake it and listen to the sound or bang on it.
Circle participants
Doll, Spoon, Cup, Cloth
Try to draw the childs attention to the picture on the container, talk about it
Bib, Bed, Cover, Bottle
very briefly.
Mother
Peek inside the container and encourage the child to look inside.
Set 2:
Allow the child to open the container and take out what he or she wants.
Father
Toy cars or train
Allow the child to freely handle the items.
Toy people
Follow the childs interest, talk about what the child is doing. At opportune moSibling
Small cardboard box or stacking cup (representing
ments, try to model appropriate play, for example, feeding the doll or wiping the
a
house)
dolls mouth.
Other
Focus on facilitating the childs play, playing as the child wants to play.
Reward the child for interacting with you by responding this interaction may
Hearing age of child:_____ Containers (in which to place these sets of toys)
Containers may be gift wrapped, or better still, have a
simply be a look or a vocalization combined with a gesture indicating that she
simple large picture on them to cue the child to what is
wants something.
inside e.g., a picture of a doll being fed with a spoon from
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
a cup OR a car with a person inside.
sickness, poor attendance, family
Containers should be easily opened.
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling
Other

week 2

Diary Activities

Materials

Activity

A collection of toys/objects that make a noise:

Plastic duck
Toy dog that barks when squeezed
Ball that makes a sound when shaken
Toy that plays music
Wooden spoons for banging together

Play with noise making toys:

Draw the childs attention to the stuffed sock.
Let the child handle it.
Encourage the child to pull the tie to open one end. Peek inside.
Encourage the child to pull an object out.
Encourage the child to explore the object. Show the child how to make the
object make a sound.
Listen to the sound from quiet.
Make a similar sound with your voice. Have a few props ready to do something
with the toy, e.g. a bowl and water to make the duck swim, or a bucket to throw
the ball in.
Try to sustain the childs attention by hiding the object and then finding it again,
e.g. inside the childs jacket or pocket or hide it under a cloth.
When the child gets bored encourage him to pull another object out of the sock.
You could finish the activity by encouraging the child to push the objects back
into the sock and then pick up the sock and put it away together on a shelf or in
a cupboard.

Long stocking to hide toys in

(tied at open end)
Cloth for wrapping up toys

Hearing age of child:_____

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother

week 3

Diary Activities

Materials

Activity

Cloth
Cloth shoe bag
Finger puppets
Small ball/s
Plastic stacking cups

1. Peek a boo:
Put a cloth over your head.
Encourage the child or helper to pull the cloth off. Pull a funny face, laugh and say,
peek a boo!
Encourage the child to take a turn. Before pulling the cloth off the childs head
say something first which can be repeated each time you do this action, e.g., Im
going to find you!

Father

2. Finger puppets:
Without the child seeing put a finger puppet on.
Hide your hand in a bag.
Encourage the child to pull the bag off, play at snatching your hand away.
Wiggle the finger with the puppet on it, play at tickling the child with it.
Allow the child to examine the puppet, pull it off and try it on.
Sustain interest by having the puppet do things like rolling a ball along.
Let the finger puppet talk to the child or make a repetitive sound effect.
Change puppets before the child gets bored.

Sibling
Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

3. Balancing stacking cup on head:

Draw the childs attention to your face by balancing an object on your head waggle your head and make the object fall catch it. If the child allows, change
roles.
Try to repeat this play routine a few times saying similar things each time.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 4

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Plastic laundry basket

Circle participants

Washing line
(string strung between two table legs)

Mother
Father
Sibling

Activity
Play at hanging and putting away washing:
To gain the childs attention and motivate him to play, in the childs absence, hang
some familiar items of clothing on an improvized washing line, leaving some in a
washing basket with a peg bag and pegs.
Follow the childs interest. If the child goes first to the washing line and pulls
laundry off, try to develop this action by encouraging the child to squeeze the
peg to release the clothing item, put the pegs back in the bag and maybe fold the
item.
Try to talk about what the child is doing and thinking. If, while placing a peg in
the bag the child tips out all the pegs, the adult should try to play and talk about
filling and emptying pegs.
Work on following the child as opposed to trying to teach the child or direct
her actions.

Pegs in peg bag

Some clothing items belonging to the child or sibling
A cupboard or drawer for putting clothes away

Other
Hearing age of child:_____

Additional activities:
Folding and putting away clothing items, hanging clothes, playing with pegs,
attaching them to each other to make a chain, trying on some items, sitting in
the laundry basket, being pushed around in the basket pretending its a car and
putting the basket over the childs head and saying, peek-a-boo!
As well as playing pretend laundry in a play session, the child will really benefit
from conversing with the parent while being involved in washing activities at
home on a regular basis
Child and parent can load the machine and put in detergents together; the child
can pass pegs to the parent as she hangs washing. The parent and child can sort
and put away clean laundry.

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 5

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Toy props associated with chosen rhymes:

Circle participants

For Two Little Dickey Birds

A toy bird

Mother
Father
Sibling

Activity
Rhymes and finger play:

Before singing, parent and child could look at and feed

real birds or a bird in a cage.
For This Little Piggy
A cardboard/cloth book picturing the rhyme

Two little dickey birds

Two little dickey birds sitting on a wall
One named Peter one named Paul
Fly away Peter
Fly away Paul
Come back Peter
Come back Paul

This rhyme can be introduced by playing with 2 toy birds, making them fly,
pretending to feed them, or using index fingers to represent birds.

Other

Suggestions for other rhymes:

Hearing age of child:_____

Round and round the garden.

Round and round the garden
Like a teddy bear.
One step, two step,
Tickle you under there.

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

This little Piggy went to market.

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed at home.
This little piggy has roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy cried Wee! Wee! Wee! all the way home.

_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

Try to associate a toy or a picture with each rhyme you say. It is better to have a
small repertoire of rhymes that you say often than keep introducing new ones.
This is so that the child can become familiar with certain rhymes.

week 6

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father

Activity

Cardboard boxes of various sizes, with one end open, Play with cardboard boxes:
covered in wrapping paper
Show the child the biggest box (with other boxes inside).
Open the lid and peek inside.
Big ball
Quickly close it again this should encourage the child to want to peek inside.
Allow the child to try and pull the other boxes out. You can pretend it is difficult
to pull the other boxes out, you may ask for help. If the child doesnt know what
to do you may model some activities.
Additional Activities:
Carry large (light) boxes around.
Cross the room and ask the child to bring you a box.
Sustain the childs interest by putting something inside a box.
Boxes can be placed on top of each other or inside of each other.
Build a tower together and then knock it down with a ball or by pushing it.
Usually infants will not be able to wait for a tower to be built and will start
knocking it down immediately, the adult should not get exasperated.
An item can be hidden under a box in the childs vision and then you can play at
finding it.
The child may enjoy sitting in a box and being pushed around in it.
Make car sound noises as you do push the child around and encourage the child
to say, beep-beep and steer a pretend steering wheel.

Sibling
Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 7

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Bottom kitchen drawer (filled with safe items for Making different sounds with kitchen utensils:
child to handle):
Encourage the child to explore items in the drawer.
Follow the childs interest and play the way the child wants to play.
Circle participants
Small saucepans with lids
If the opportunity arises, the adult may show the child how to put food in a pan,
Wooden spoons
stir it and put the lid on, etc.
Mother
Plastic measuring cups
If the child makes a sound with the utensils the adult should draw the childs
Metal spoons
attention to it and show her how to make some different sounds, e.g., banging
Father
Plastic collander
saucepan lids together like cymbals, scraping the handle of a wooden spoon
along collandar, shaking plastic measuring cups with teaspoon inside. Encourage
Sibling
the child to take turns at playing several different things.
Listen while the child plays indicate whether the sound is loud or soft, pleasant
Other
or unpleasant.
Encourage the child to let you play while she listens.
Hearing age of child:_____
Allow the child to change instruments as she likes.
Child, adult and therapist could play utensils all together one could be the
conductor who says, PLAY and STOP.
Notes:
Date: ___/___/_____

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 8

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling
Other

Activity

Two changes of clothes:

Getting dressed:
Vest, pants, T-shirt, cardigan, sweater, skirt, dress, shorts, Draw the childs attention to the bag, encourage the child to open it and peek
trousers, socks, tights, shoes, boots, etc.
inside. Help the child pull out some items, talk about whose clothes they are.You
can have fun trying to put on clothes or shoes that are too small for you, etc.You
Have items of different colors, sleeve lengths, textures
may prompt the child to communicate by kidding that his shoes are your shoes.
and thickness so that a choice can be offered.
Encourage the child to allow you to take off his shoes and socks and change
them for ones out of the bag. Try to offer choices, Do you want to put on boots
A bag owned by the child to put the clothes in.
or slippers? Play and talk with the child as you help him to dress by tickling under
arms, saying, boo as the childs head pops out of the sweater, or by counting and
tickling toes.
The adult should encourage the child to actively participate by trying to fasten
velcro fasteners, trying to pull up trousers, etc.

Hearing age of child:_____

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 9

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling
Other

Activity

Cardboard box large enough for toy dump truck with Play with dump truck:
one end cut to make a door.
1. Filling and emptying
2. Pushing along
Large plastic dump truck with tip up back for unloading. 3. Cleaning
In a separate container:
Wooden blocks
Action doll/s
Damp cloth (wet wipes)
Toy bucket
Brush

Present the cardboard box with the dump truck in it.

Encourage the child to open the door of the garage by peeking in and talking in
an excited voice.
Encourage the child to take the dump truck out.
Allow the child to freely handle and explore the dump truck talking about what
he is interested in, e.g. turning wheels or the back that comes up.
Try pushing the dump truck along saying, vroom, vroom.
At an opportune moment introduce the blocks by shaking the bag they are in
and listening to the sound. Encourage the child to listen.
Allow the child to empty the bag of blocks.
Try to put the blocks in the back of the dump truck taking turns.
Allow the child to tip them out before they are all in!
Introduce dolls have one each, make them pick up blocks and put them in the
dump truck.
When the child is ready for a change in activity you could give each doll a wet
wipe and have them clean the dump truck.

Hearing age of child:_____

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

week 10

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Play dough
Cat and dog shapes
Toy sets

Play with play dough, dog and cat shapes and associated toy sets:
Hold a can of play dough in one hand.
Hide your hands behind your back ask the child to choose a hand.
Circle participants
Show excitement when the child chooses the correct hand. Allow the child to
Toy cat set
try and open the dough can.
Mother
Toy cat, bowl, drop of milk, ribbon with bell to tie Smell the dough, allow the child to handle it freely. Encourage the child to squeeze,
around cats neck, cushion or toy chair to sit in.
pat and roll the dough. Play the same hiding hand game to introduce a cat shape.
Father
If the child allows, press his/her dough flat, place the shape and encourage the
Toy dog set
child to press the shape down to cut out a cat. If the child does not want you
Sibling
Toy dog, bowl, pieces of biscuit, dog bed or basket, dog to touch his/her dough you can use your own dough and shape to model the
leash.
activity.
Other
Pretend the dough cat is real and call it saying, here, kitty, kitty, make meow
sounds.
Hearing age of child:_____
Do the same activity with a dog shape.
To keep the child interested for longer, and to be able to use repetitive language,
when the child is bored with the dough, introduce associated toy sets one at a
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
time.
sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

10

week 11

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Plastic sheet to spread on floor to protect carpet.

Circle participants

Plastic doll with hair

Mother

Dirty set of clothes

T-shirt, pants and socks

Activity
Bathing baby doll:
Draw the childs attention to the doll dressed in dirty clothes by making the doll
pop in and out from behind a box of materials saying, peek a boo!
Encourage the child to catch the doll.
Allow the child to handle the doll.
Smell the doll and indicate that it is dirty and smelly.
Show the child and talk about a picture of a baby having a bath, pasted on one
side of the material box.
Let the child peek into the material box.
Talk about bathing your doll.
Allow the child to take out and explore materials.
Talk about what the child is interested in.
Some infants may just put the washing bowl over their heads or try to get into
the bowl, etc.
Try to prompt the child to move on by modeling activities or introducing new
items at opportune moments, e.g. introduce the water, encourage the child to
hold out their hand or a small cup to catch water.
Allow the child to open the lid and pour some shampoo out or soap the cloth
etc.
Help the child roll up their sleeves and carefully wash the dirty doll, encouraging
them to do their best to keep the water in the sink or washing area.

Father

Clean set of clothes

Pajamas
Sibling
Warm water in plastic jug
Small cup
Other
Plastic bowl
Soap
Hearing age of child:_____
Shampoo
Towel
Bottle
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

11

week 12

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father

Activity

Balloons
If you arent sure whether or not your child has latex
allergies be sure to purchase allergy-free balloons.
Bottle of water
Felt tip markers
Pin
Pump

Balloon Play:

Blowing up and then letting go of a balloon.

Hitting a balloon to each other
Bursting a balloon Pop!
Drawing a face on a balloon
Filling a balloon with water
Indicate to the child that you have something in your pocket.
Allow the child to pull out a red balloon.
Move to a different pocket have the child pull out a yellow balloon.
Ask the child to choose a color.
Get the child to help you attach a balloon to the pump, press the pump together,
listen and then make a similar sound. On the count of three, release the balloon,
watch it fly away, wave bye bye, instruct the child to go and get it.
Ask the child if he wants to blow up the balloon again, etc.
This time manipulate the mouth of the balloon listen to the strange noises
try to make similar sounds.
Tie the end of a blown up balloon, play at hitting it to each other.
Say, my turn, your turn.
When the child gets bored, if he is ready and paying attention, burst the balloon
Pop!
Blow up another one together and let the child burst it this time.
Fully involving the child, fill a balloon with water Knock it from side to side.
Listen and make the sound Blop, blop!
Squeeze the water out.
While pointing to and talking about the childs eyes, draw eyes on a balloon.
Draw the nose, mouth, ears etc., in the same way.
You may save some of these activities for another day.

Sibling
Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

12

week 13

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Two Mr. Potato Head toys

Bag to keep Mr. Potato Head in

Mr. Potato head:

To gain the childs attention present the toy in a different way by placing it inside a
shopping bag or back pack.

Circle participants

You may use one Mr. Potato Head toy and a cardboard
figure of a potato head if you only have one toy.
Encourage the child to open the bag himself.
Mother
Allow the child to tip out all the pieces.
Talk about the body part the child handles, e.g., arm.
Father
Try to draw the childs attention to his own arm and match toy parts to real
body parts.
Sibling
Have another potato head made up which you can bring out at an opportune
moment.
Other
This may encourage the child to complete his own Mr. Potato Head. Having two
potato heads means you can have a dialogue. Say hello, shake hands, kiss each
Hearing age of child:_____
other, etc.
Dont insist on the child naming or placing the body parts correctly. The aim of
the game is to communicate, share ideas and have fun together.
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
By now your child may have started asking you to name objects. As the chld
sickness, poor attendance, family
begins to understand and say words you need to provide the child with the
problems affecting child care, etc.
words he needs using short, repetitive, simple phrases which he can understand.
_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

13

week 14

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Date: ___/___/_____

Three surprise boxes containing:

Circle participants

Airplane
If possible, one that toy people can sit in, with a cardboard
runway.

Mother
Father
Sibling

Car/minibus/bus
If possible, one that toy people can sit in, with a ramp.
Boat
If possible, one that toy people can sit in.

Other

Plastic container
Hearing age of child:_____ Water
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

People can be made by painting faces on spools and can

be secured onto vehicles with tape, etc.
An extra airplane, car, and boat for parallel play and/
or interactive play, e.g. bumping, following and racing
each other.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

14

Play with vehicles:

Present the child with 1 surprise box at a time.
Allow the child free access to the toys.
As well as talking about what the child is doing, in short, clear phrases, also try to
focus on the sounds made by each vehicle, e.g. vuuuu for plane, vroom for car,
chug chug chug for boat.
Introduce other words like stop and go.
Encourage the child to try and imitate these words by pausing, looking expectantly
and praising the childs attempts.
Sustain the childs interest by doing things with the toy people like making them
get on and off the vehicles. Try to establish dialogue between people say, hello
to the pilot/driver/captain, etc.
Try to establish turn taking. The adult flies the plane then the child flies the plane.
The adult puts a person on the bus then the child puts a person on the bus.
If the child is mature enough, you can play at only making the vehicles move
when there is sound. For example, the child only pushes the car along when
Mom says, vroom.
You can try to change roles so that the child makes the sound.
You can also play at speeding up action when words are presented quickly, e.g.
chug chug chug, as opposed to chuuuug.........chuuug.
If the child prefers to play alone, and is not communicative, the adult may try
gaining his attention through parrallel play.

week 15

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling
Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

Set of colored plastic tea cups

Saucers
Spoon
Side plates
Teapot
Water jug with a little water
Pot with a few sugar cubes or a pack of
sweetners
Tea bag
A few bite size biscuits
Plastic tray to contain spills

Activity
Tea party and Teapot song:

Present the tea cups, saucers, plates, spoons and teapot in a large tin biscuit cookie box.
Shake the tin and listen.
Look at the picture of biscuits on the side of the tin, smell them, pretend to enjoy eating a biscuit.
Encourage the child to open the tin, allow the child to handle the cups and saucers etc.
Play at stirring and drinking imaginary tea.
Play at giving each other a cup of tea, saying, thank you saying, it tastes nice, etc.
Sustain the childs interest by introducing, a tea bag, water and sugar.
As long as the child behaves well allow her to make some real tea with cold water pretend its hot.
Encourage the child to pour out tea and serve it to all in the room saying, here you are and
thank you.
At this point introduce the biscuits (hidden in the tin).
Gain the childs attention by shaking the tin. Have the child try to open the packet of biscuits.
Smell the biscuits, talk about their shape.
Have the child serve everyone a biscuit on a plate (opportunity for repetitive language).
Eat the biscuits!
Sing: Im a little teapot do the actions.
Sing this song each time you make tea at home.
Im a little teapot,
Short and stout,
Here is my handle (one hand on hip),
Here is my spout (other arm out straight),
When I get all steamed up,
Hear me shout,
Tip me over and pour me out! (lean over toward spout)
Im a very special teapot,
Yes, its true,
Heres an example of what I can do,
I can turn my handle into a spout,
Tip me over and pour me out!,

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

15

week 16

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father

Activity

Two small drums

Drum sticks
Drummers paper hat
Cardboard screen
Music player
Marching music
One or two large rag dolls

Parents can make these dolls at home from their childs

old baby clothes. The body can be a plastic water
bottle, with some beans inside it, so that the doll makes
Other
a sound when shaken. Also the doll could have a bell
Hearing age of child:_____ necklace or a bracelet.
Sibling

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

16

Playing and responding to drum beat, responding to music:

Encourage the child to open the cupboard door and take out drums, hats and
sticks.
Sling the drums over your shoulders and put on hats.
Beat the drum as you march around the room.
Say a sound like, boom boom as you beat the drum. Encourage the child to do
the same.
After having some loud fun encourage the child to sit down and listen carefully
to the drum from quiet.
Play the drum loudly, softly, slowly and quickly.
If the child allows, you could try to take turns at beating the drum.
You could listen to some marching music and only beat the drum when the
music plays.
You will have to draw the childs attention to sound and silence.
Try to make it fun, for example, startle when the music starts.
Stop dead when it stops and say, shhh.
When the child has had enough you could put the drums away and introduce a
rag doll.
You can make this fun by having the rag doll pop out calling the childs name
from behind a cardboard screen. Allow the child to handle the doll freely.
Introduce the music again.
Make the doll listen carefully dance and sing lalala when there is music and lie
down fast asleep when there is no sound.
You could have a doll each. You could also dance around the room holding the
doll to the music then sit down when the music stops.

week 17

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

A kitchen drawer with:

Tablecloth
Plates
Small knives
Forks
Spoons
Cups
Napkins

Setting the table and eating a meal together:

Encourage the child to open a prepared drawer in a kitchen unit.
Get the child to take out a table cloth.
Circle participants
Talk about where to put it, for example, not on the floor but on the table.
Encourage the child to try to do everything herself or together with you.
Mother
Ask her to carry the plates to the table, talk about and indicate who each plate
is for.
Father
Indicate that there is no food, ask, What shall we do? Wheres the food?
Open the fridge door together, allow the child to carry food to the table.
Sibling
A shelf in the fridge the child can reach with cheese, Give the child all the language she needs, say the names of things in phrases, e.g.
olives, jam, etc.
margarine,
You can carry the bread.
Other
Be there for the child when she asks for help to open the margarine lid, or slice
some cheese.
Hearing age of child:_____ Thermos with tea or a carton of milk or juice, etc.
Remember to combine your actions with words, Shall I slice some cheese for
you?
If child and adult prepare and eat meals and snacks together, routinely, the child
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
will be exposed to the same words and phrases in context making the words
sickness, poor attendance, family
easy to understand.
problems affecting child care, etc.
Remember to use each opportunity to talk to the child in a meaningful way.
_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

17

week 18

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Date: ___/___/_____

Stackng cups with animal or vehicle templates on the Play dough and stacking cups:
base.
Place a stacking cup on your head and draw the childs attention to it. While the
child is watching say, down it comes and nod it off.
Circle participants
Play dough
If the child is amused, do this with the remaining cups.
Plastic knife
If the child wants you can place one on her head try to get her to nod it off to
Mother
a command like Now!
Allow the child to play freely with the cups you may model building a tower,
Father
putting them inside each other, rolling them, etc.
Show the child a can of dough, and as she takes this remove the stacking cups.
Sibling
Encourage her to take out the dough and knead it.
You may bring out a second can of dough (different color) so that you can both
Other
play and child has a choice of color. You can roll sausages; make balls, etc., from
the dough. You can bring back a couple of stacking cups to put the balls in; you
Hearing age of child:_____
may also cut sections off a sausage and place these in a cup. If the child is willing
you can flatten out dough circles saying, pat, pat, pat, (Sing Pat-a-cake, Bakers
man) and then print pictures using the templates on the bases of the stacking
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
cups.
sickness, poor attendance, family
Try to set up short play routines so that the same things can be said repeatedly,
problems affecting child care, etc.
e.g. roll out sausage, cut it up, pat the dough and print a picture.
Always remember to follow the childs interest and allow the child to lead.
_____________________
As long as you are sharing an activity and talking to each other it doesnt matter
if you dont get to do all of these different activities.
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

18

week 19

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

An old handbag with:

A coin purse or wallet
Old credit cards
Circle participants
Mirror
Comb
Mother
Emery board
Pack of tissues
Father
Small pack of wet wipes
Key ring with lots of keys
Sibling
Toy cell phone
Small notebook
Other
Thick pencil
Hearing age of child:_____ One or two candies hidden in an inside pocket of the
bag
A doll
Notes:
Date: ___/___/_____

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

19

Exploring contents of old handbag:

Young children love to rummage around in Moms handbag. Draw the childs
attention to the bag and encourage him to open it.
Follow the childs interest and talk about what he is doing and handling.
Try to remove the bag briefly, once the related items have been removed (e.g.
mirror and comb). This is to reduce distraction and to be able to expand on the
activity in hand. Encourage the child to look at himself in the mirror as he combs
his hair, comment about how nice he looks.
Ask for a turn, ask the child to hold the mirror for you. Comb your hair, ask if you
look nice.
You may take turns at pulling faces in the mirror.
Encourage the child to let dolly have a look in the mirror.
When the child gets bored: Hide used items behind your back and get the child
to look for something new in the bag.
Try to do something with each item, you could file nails, unlock and lock door,
scribble in note pad, wipe nose, wipe hands or do some cleaning with a wet wipe.
Finally indicate that the bag is empty, have your child check the pockets and, for
a nice surprise, find the sweets!
If your child is still interested you could replace all the items giving you the
opportunity to say similar things again.

week 20

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Horse set:
Horse
easy to handle, should stand up
Circle participants
Baby horse
Box with lid off and door cut in front panel for stable
Mother
Small container for water
Bag of grass
Father
this can be collected from the garden by the child
Rope
Sibling
Blocks or very easy to construct fencing to make paddock
Toy farmer
Other
Small brush
Hearing age of child:_____ Box to keep items in with picture of horse and foal
eating grass on the side
Date: ___/___/_____

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

Play with toy animals:

Take the child to see real animals. Pretend play will have more meaning after
seeing the real animal.
OR show her toy animals.
Encourage her to love and feel for the animals by petting, feeding the animals, etc.
If possible, have someone take photos of you looking at petting/feeding real
animals. OR make photos of your toy animals.
These can be pasted onto cardboard and combined to make a first book.
Preparation of materials for this activity is a valuable activity in itself. Remember
every activity that you share with your child, and every conversation you have
where the meaning of words is clear, helps your child to talk.
Present the child with a prepared set of toys in a box.
Try to draw the childs attention to the picture on the side of the box and once
the items are removed, match the toy objects to pictured objects.
Allow the child free access to the toys.
Rabbit set:
Follow the childs interest, at opportune moments you may show the child some
A few plastic rabbits
activities like giving a horse water or grass, grooming it, leading it to the paddock,
A small box with lid off for hutch
making it jump over a fence, putting it in the stable, making it lie down and go to
Pieces of carrot (this can be taken from the fridge and
sleep.
cut by the adult and child together)
Say shhhh when the horse is sleeping then say get up! and make the horse stand
Leaves collected from the garden
up.
Box to keep items in with picture of rabbit on side
When the child begins to lose interest tidy the toys up.
As your child puts the toys in the box dont forget to use the opportunity to say
the names of things again, e.g. in goes the horse.
Have the child carry the box and put it away saying, good bye, horse.
Play with the rabbit set in a similar way.

20

week 21

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Pieces of cloth in different sizes, some at least as big as

a head scarf
Try to have a selection of textures; furry, silky, fleece, raised
pattern. Also have some solid (different colors) and some
patterned selections.

22864 1.0

Pulling different textured cloths out of a sock, making bundles to carry:

Attract the childs attention to the sock.
Squeeze it.
Circle participants
Peek inside.
Encourage the child to pull out a cloth.
Mother
Ask the child to hold the sock so that you can have a turn at pulling a cloth out.
Take turns untill the sock is empty turn it inside out.
A long wool sock to stuff the cloth into
Father
Talk about it being empty.
If your child prefers to start pushing cloths back in before they are all out its OKAY.
A pole (walking stick)
Sibling
Play as the child wants to play as long as he remains interested.
Push the cloths back in, too!
Some objects to wrap up, e.g. plastic plate, cup, knife
Other
Try to draw the childs attention to differences, say look mines small, yours is big.
and fork set, some clothes
Point out colors by matching the color of the childs cloth to other objects in the
Hearing age of child:_____
room.
An empty drawer in a cupboard unit
At an opportune moment, to re-kindle the childs interest, you may introduce new
activities like folding your cloth and putting it in an empty drawer, wearing the cloth
Notes:
like a headscarf, covering your face and playing peek-a-boo, wrapping objects up in a
Problems with listening devices,
cloth.
sickness, poor attendance, family
Tie
the ends of the cloth together to make a bundle then put the stick through the
problems affecting child care, etc.
hole and walk around the room with your bundle over your shoulder,
Sing as you walk along!
_____________________
When the child loses interest in what he is doing dont immediately move onto a
new activity. Wait a moment. This gives the child the opportunity to suggest what to
_____________________
do next.
Remember the child will be much more involved and have more ideas to share with
_____________________
you if he gets to direct the play. Every time the child tries to tell you something he
has a chance to practice communicating.
Children learn to talk by practicing talking.When your child tries to tell you something,
listen and try hard to understand and answer appropriately.

21

week 22

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Child height kitchen drawer with:

Plastic storage boxes that fit one inside another
Wooden/plastic egg cups
Plastic eggs
Teaspoons
Plastic plates/cups
Washing up gloves
Tea-towel
Salad spinner
Two hand puppets

22864 1.0

Rummaging through kitchen drawer:

You may draw the childs attention to the drawer by wearing a hand puppet and
having it open the drawer and peek inside.
Circle participants
The child may be more interested in the puppet - help her put it on.
Wear a second puppet, try to set up a dialogue.
Mother
Open the drawer and have your puppet start to take things out.
Help the child to make her puppet handle things.
Father
Instead of you initiating conversation, try to talk in response to the childs actions/
vocalizations/words.To be able to do this you will need to watch and listen to the
Sibling
child.
Try to understand what your child means and then respond by doing what the
Other
Tip:
child indicated - remembering to accompany your actions with speech, e.g. the
Hearing age of child:_____ Content of drawer should be changed from time child indicated for you to put a plastic container back in the drawer. Put it back
to time to sustain the childs interest and promote saying, okay, lets put this box back. By doing this you reward the child for talking
exploration.
to you and encourage her to talk more.
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
Other suggestions:
sickness, poor attendance, family
Put eggs into cups.
problems affecting child care, etc.
Talk about too many, too few eggs.
Place a teaspoon by each egg cup and count.
_____________________
Make a puppet pretend to crack an egg open and eat it yummy yum!
Stack plastic boxes.
_____________________
Put boxes inside each other.
Pretend to wash and dry dishes. Use base of salad spinner for washing up bowl.
_____________________
Whizz the spinner.
Listen to sounds.

22

week 23

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling

Activity

Series of small bells on a ring

Choose one that can easily be shaken by a small hand.

Listening to and playing various percussion instruments:

Gain the childs attention by indicating that you can hear something (be quiet,
point to your ear, look excited). Play the instrument you are going to introduce
from behind your back.
Dont keep a young child waiting too long, bring out the instrument and allow
the child to experiment freely with it. Dont talk while the child is listening to this
new sound.
If the child allows, you may take turns playing, encouraging the child to listen
while you play.
Remember to listen carefully when the child plays and indicate whether the
sound is pleasant/unpleasant/loud/soft, etc. You may make a similar vocal sound.
If the child is interested you can talk about what the child is doing and what the
instrument is like. Together you could count the bars on the metalophone and
talk about the colors of the bars, however, the most important thing is the sound
the metalophone makes.
As the child begins to get bored encourage him to put this instrument away and
then sit down quietly in anticipation of the next one.
These 4 instruments will allow the child to learn about different ways to make
sound, for example, shaking, striking, rubbing and blowing. If possible you may also
introduce a plucking instrument such as a toy guitar.
The child will need to have many tries at listening to and playing these instruments
to be able to recognize their sounds, therefore this type of activity should be
repeated regularly.
If the child is cooperative you may try playing when the conductor plays and
play in accompaniment to music. Sound should always be compared with silence
and activities should always be fun to do.

Metallophone (metal xylophone) and mallet

Sticks for rubbing against each other (one ridged)
Whistle, mouth organ or kazoo
Toy guitar or violin

Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

23

week 24

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Photographs of the child and/or siblings and parents

doing various routine activities.
Examples: mom combing childs hair, child carrying
bread basket to the table, child feeding the dog, mom
and child in the supermarket, child riding in a shopping
cart.

22864 1.0

Looking at simple pictures:

The pictures should be relatively large, colorful and simple, with only one event
pictured.
Circle participants
Pictures need to be durable as the child will handle these roughly.
The child should be able to relate to events easily. This is why photos of the child
Mother
doing something - like eating, bathing, playing in the garden, petting a cat or family
members doing something - like father washing car, are the best pictures to start
Father
These photos should be pasted onto cardboard and kept with.
for special times when adult and child sit quietly together, The child may enjoy sitting on the adults lap to look at pictures.
Sibling
e.g. before bed.
The adult should start by offering the child a choice of 2 or 3 picture cards. After
choosing, the other pictures should be hidden.
Other
Collect toy props to go with the pictures you look at. Encourage the child to look at the picture and then try to talk about what the
child is interested in and is looking at or pointing to.
Hearing age of child:_____
Young children quickly get bored with looking at pictures especially before they
can understand what you say. Because of this you should have toy props for each
picture so that you can match objects to pictured items and act out the scene.
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
Having such toys helps to keep the child interested for longer, helps the child to
sickness, poor attendance, family
understand the event and allows you to use repetitive language. Use a lively and
problems affecting child care, etc.
interesting voice to add sound to the picture.
Try to add meaning with expression, e.g. when looking at a picture of a child who
_____________________
has fallen and is crying you pretend to cry, too invite the child to pretend to
cry.
_____________________
Try to look at the same pictures over and over again. The child will understand
more and be able to participate more, the more familiar a picture becomes.
_____________________
A number of separate picture cards can later be put together to make a first
book.

24

week 25

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father

Activity

A collection of age appropriate books:

cardboard, cloth, bath books.
When buying books for a young child try to avoid
books with pictures of single items and instead choose
books picturing activities such as a baby sitting on a
potty, a baby sitting in a high chair eating or a toddler
kicking a ball, etc.

Sibling
Other
Hearing age of child:_____
Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________
_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

25

Looking at books:
Once your child can pay attention and look at more than a couple of pictures at
a time you may start to introduce books.
The child should have access to books - these may be kept next to a floor
cushion, down the side of the sofa in a pocket or next to the bed.
It is useful to try to look at a book at the same quiet time each day, for example
before bedtime.
Look at the same book as many times as the child likes. Try to talk about the
same things and do the same actions each time. The child will begin to anticipate
events and expect you to make a roaring sound and pull a fierce face each time
you look at the picture of the roaring lion. As the child becomes more familiar
with the book she will become more responsive.
When looking at books, try not to simply name items the child points to, always
try to talk in phrases about what is happening. Use lively voice and expression to
make the story more interesting. Try to act out the actions pictured in the book,
e.g. walk on all fours and roar like a lion. Play at scaring each other.
At first young children tend to just want to turn the pages. Try to talk about
anything that seems to catch the childs attention, and in time, if the adult and
child share books together regularly, the child will begin to pay more attention,
enjoy and understand pictured events more. Eventually he or she will be able to
actively participate by saying sounds or words and by asking the adult to say and
do certain things.

week 26

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Date: ___/___/_____

Toy bird
Caring for a pet:
preferably a realistic looking one with feathers, beak, Cleaning out a bird cage.
claws, etc.
Bring out a toy bird in a fun way. You could make bird sounds and say, Listen!
Circle participants
Whats that? Then slowly bring bird out of your pocket. Let the child handle it
Bird cage
freely. Give the child time to come up with some ideas, e.g. petting it, feeding it,
Mother
Water
making it fly.
Bird seed
Show the child the bird cage covered with a cloth. Build up excitement let
Father
Newspaper
the child wonder what is underneath the cloth. Together pull off the cloth to
Sink
uncover a bird cage. Look at the bird together, say how beautiful it is, call it, etc.
Sibling
Wastebasket
Indicate that the bird has no water left. Take the water tray away have the
child wash it, re-fill it and then, with your help, replace it.
Other
Bring out a packet of bird seed. Shake the bag, listen, think how to open it, smell
and handle the seed. Make sure the child doesnt put this in his mouth. Fill the
Hearing age of child:_____
birds seed tray.
Together, replace the newspaper at the bottom of the cage, encourage the
child to know where to throw the dirty paper, tear strips of newspaper to
Notes:
Problems with listening devices,
make a clean bed.
sickness, poor attendance, family
This activity exemplifies the usefulness of caring for a pet such as a bird, fish,
problems affecting child care, etc.
rabbit, cat or dog. If a child is regularly involved in caring for a pet he will hear
repetitive, easy to understand language, he will also learn to care for and
_____________________
respect the feelings of others. Similarly, a child could be involved in regular
watering of plants or simply putting out bread crumbs for birds or feeding the
_____________________
ducks in the park.

22864 1.0

_____________________

26

Week 27
Date: ___/___/_____
Circle participants
Mother
Father
Sibling

week 27

Diary Activities
Materials

Activity

Bag of groceries:
Box of cereal
Carton of eggs
Talk about careful handling, what happens if an egg drops,
count the eggs, store each egg on a rack in the fridge.
Cans of tomatoes
Roll the cans, stack them, talk about their size and weight.

Bread
Butter
Hearing age of child:_____ Open the bag, smell and taste the bread, spread a slice
with butter.
Other

Notes:

Problems with listening devices,

sickness, poor attendance, family
problems affecting child care, etc.

_____________________

Fruits and Vegetables

E.g., carrots and apples.
Talk about shape, number, color, hardness, etc. Put them in
a mixed pile, then encourage the child to put the carrots
in one bag and the apples in another.

_____________________

22864 1.0

_____________________

27

Putting shopping away:

Allow the child to participate in routine household activities such as putting
groceries away.
Involving the child regularly in such activities gives the child the opportunity to
benefit from experiencing highly repetitive, meaningful language. Young children
do not want to watch, they want to do. A child who is busy will be engaged
and want to communicate.
Encourage the child to try to carry a bag of groceries. Talk about the bag being
heavy. Sit down, ask the child to open the bag and take out an item, e.g. a box
of cereal. Quickly remove the bag with the remaining items so that she is not
distracted.
Without taking the item out of her hands try to talk about what the child is
looking at/thinking about. If the child is pointing to a picture on side of box
talk about this. If she shakes the box to see if it is empty or full encourage her
to listen and let you have a listen.
If appropriate you may ask her to open the box. Most likely she will ask for help
giving you the opportunity to give meaningful language e.g. shall I open it? Start
to tear the cardboard but ask the child to help you, say things like, pull hard.
Look at the contents, smell and taste the cereal, together find a suitable
container and pour the contents into it. Listen to the sound this makes. Allow
her to put the container away in a cupboard. She probably cant reach and will
need to ask to be picked up.
Bring back the shopping bag and encourage her to choose another item. Of
course involving the child in routine activities makes jobs take a little longer,
however, the child will be usefully engaged, have things to say, and probably be
able to attach meaning to what you say.

week 28

Diary Activities
Materials

Date: ___/___/_____

Activity

Picture of child eating a banana.

22864 1.0

Making a fruit salad:

For this activity to be useful linguistically, the child needs to be actively involved
and the adult needs to pace the activity slowly using every opportunity to talk
Small bunch of bananas
Circle participants
meaningfully to the child.
Two mandolin slicers (may best be handeled by the
Introduce
the activity by briefly looking at and talking about the picture. Pretend
adult)
Mother
to
eat
a
banana
indicate its tasty, say mmmm, thats nice! Have the child pretend
Small bunch of grapes
eat
one
and
encourage
her to say, mmmm, too.
to
Kitchen sink or bowl of water for washing fruit
Father
Bring
out
a
bag
with
utensils
in it. Allow her to take out the board, knife, bowls,
Blunt knife
spoons etc. Talk about what you are going to do.
Chopping board
Sibling
Look
at the picture again and ask where your fruit is. Get her interested and
Table mats
excited by pretending to look for fruit, e.g. in the kitchen cupboard. Make a big
Bowls
Other
thing out of there not being any fruit.
Spoons
Encourage her to look in the fridge. Have her bring out the bag of fruit. Encourage
Hearing age of child:_____ Napkins
her to feel the objects through the bag and guess what they are, allow a few peeks.
Dont just give her a banana but have her pull one off the bunch have her pull
Container for child to take some fruit salad home in, one off for you, encourage the child to say pull, pull/pull hard, etc., by you saying
maybe a topping such as cream, yogurt, syrup, etc.
Notes:
and then looking expectantly at the child.
Problems with listening devices,
Reward the child for saying sounds and words by listening when she talks, looking
sickness, poor attendance, family
pleased and repeating what she says.
problems affecting child care, etc.
Have her peel a banana, talk about where to throw the peel, have her take the
peel to the garbage can and throw it in. Ask her to ask you to open the bin, etc.
_____________________
Prepare the fruits together. Make the most of washing, peeling, cutting, tasting,
mixing fruit together, separating into small bowls and finally eating.
_____________________
Young children love to give things out, encourage the child to give a bowl of fruit
and then a spoon to each person in the room saying,This ones for Mommy, this
_____________________
ones for Julie, etc.
Save some fruit for Daddy and put this in a container to be taken home. Giving
this to Daddy at home, later, will allow you to talk about making fruit salad again.
The child learns to talk by hearing the same words over and over again.

28