Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Activities for Children During the Holiday Season

1. Combine Your To-Do List With Teaching New Vocabulary

Have your child join in and help you with your errands wherever they can. The holiday season offers many opportunities to teach new vocabulary and concepts as you go about seasonal tasks. As you decorate the tree, write cards, or wrap presents, use and teach your child new naming words (e.g., star, reindeer, candle), location words (e.g., top, under, behind, back, front), action words (e.g., wrap, decorate, hang) and mental state terms (e.g., hope, like, know, wish, think).  Acoustically highlight new words, concepts, and sentence structures, and use them repetitively throughout your conversation.

2. Expand Vocabulary Through Storybooks

One effective way to support your child’s listening skills is through repetition. Familiarize them with holiday-related vocabulary and concepts through seasonal storybooks. For younger children, classics like “The Polar Express,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” or “The Night Before Christmas” can be engaging options. For more advanced readers, consider longer stories. The key to developing listening skills while reading is interaction. Enjoy the story together and discuss it afterward, reinforcing the new words and concepts your child learned.

3. Create an Interactive Experience Book

Engage your child in conversations about upcoming activities throughout the holiday season. During these activities, describe what’s happening and take photographs of your child participating. Then, compile these photos in a scrapbook and add captions to reinforce the previously discussed words and concepts. You can also use magazine clippings or hand-drawn pictures to personalize your scrapbook. This will not only reinforce language but also encourage creativity.

4. Teach Through Photos

For a shorter-term approach, use your smartphone to capture moments of your child’s holiday-related activities. Later, when you have quiet time together, review these photos and discuss what’s happening in each one. This real-time learning helps your child associate words with their experiences, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment of the holidays.

By implementing these cochlear implant rehabilitation activities and creating an accommodating listening environment, you can help your child develop their listening and language skills while enjoying a memorable holiday season.

So, this holiday season, let the spirit of learning and togetherness shine as you support your child on their hearing journey.

Happy holidays!