• Start Here
  • Books
    • Classics
      • 20th Century Classics
    • Early Chapter Books
    • Easy Readers
    • Folktales
    • Holiday Books
    • Middle Grade (8-12 years)
    • Nonfiction
    • Picture Books
    • Read Aloud Chapter Books
  • Games
    • Traditional Games
  • Kids Activities
    • Arts and Crafts
    • Literacy & Writing
    • Math
    • Playful Activities
    • Science
    • Toddler
  • Parenting

What Do We Do All Day

Books and Activities for Kids

You are here: Home / Literacy / Build Vocabulary with a Summer Word Jar (Plus Tips and Ideas)

Build Vocabulary with a Summer Word Jar (Plus Tips and Ideas)

June 8, 2017

25541shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Do you remember those vocab tests you took in middle and high school? The ones where you memorized tons of words and regurgitated them in multiple choice format? Did you actually learn vocabulary that way? Yeah, me neither.

And why do you not remember any of those random vocab words? Because vocabulary is meaningless if not used in context.

Well, it turns out summer is a great way to practice vocabulary in context. Summer! Who knew?

That’s right. Every summer, the kids and I use a word jar to introduce new vocabulary.

Increase kids vocabulary and summer literacy with a word jar.

The best way to boost vocabulary in children is through reading and conversation, and since we certainly have the reading element taken care of I created a snazzy-dazzling word jar to improve our conversational vocabulary. Parents, we all need to brush-up our vocabulary, too, right? After all, we lost a lot of brain cells during those sleepless nights.

Here’s how it works.

Every morning this summer, my son chooses a word from his vocabulary word jar. Then, throughout the day we have a good-sport contest to see who can use the word in context the most. It’s quite fun and we end up creating silly observations about our day.

Here are a few tips:

1. Keep it simple. Don’t start with SAT word lists! I filled our jar with words I found on these grade level lists based on his reading level, picking and choosing words I thought he might be unfamiliar with but which he could pick up easily.

2. Include some words with double meanings. A word like signal is both a noun and a verb. A word such as staple is a noun, verb and adjective and has a few completely different meanings.

3. Use words your child knows but may not regularly use. The above example of signal is perfect. My son knew the meaning of this word when he picked it from the jar, but I’d never actually hear him use it as a verb in conversation before. Now he uses it a lot!

4. Relax. Don’t make it a test. Some days we use the word a lot in conversation. Other days my son spends 10 minutes thinking up the craziest sentences he can and then doesn’t use the word again. That’s okay. It’s summer. It’s supposed to be fun. The real goal is simply to demonstrate the benefits and joys of having a large vocabulary, not to get your 7 year old using the word specious appropriately.

5. Use words from previous days. Truth be told, it is mostly up to me to reuse words from previous days in our conversation. I love that when I do, my son’s face shines with acknowledgment and understanding.

I admit, my favorite part of this activity is not even that my son is learning and retaining new words, it’s that we can have a lot of cheerful conversational moments at a time when he is displaying too much typical 7 year old petulance! It turns out the word jar is a great parenting tool! 

MORE:

Did you know wordless books are an excellent way to build your child’s vocabulary? Try using words from the summer word jar when you “read” wordless books! Here is a list of great wordless books, and here are the best tips for “reading” wordless books with your children. I offer a lot of tips I learned from my days as an actor!

Also try:

Summer literacy ideas that don’t use a book list!

Summer reading resource list

Want Your Kids to Love Being Unplugged?
Subscribe to our newsletter and as a thank you, receive 10 waiting games kids can play anytime anywhere.
Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
25541shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

by: Erica posted in: Literacy 20 Comments

« LGBTQ Chapter Books for Kids that Transcend “Issues”
23 Picture Books to Inspire Artistic Creativity »

Comments

  1. Pamela says

    July 16, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Love this idea, I will make one today for my kiddies!

    Reply
  2. Raising a Happy Child says

    July 17, 2012 at 6:06 pm

    It's an interesting idea! Mostly we just get new words from reading and listening, but perhaps I can do a little more about retaining them.

    Reply
  3. Malia {Playdough to Plato} says

    July 21, 2012 at 1:30 pm

    Great idea! I'm going to share on my Facebook page. 🙂

    Reply
    • Mom and Kiddo says

      July 24, 2012 at 10:37 am

      Thanks, Malia!

      Reply
  4. Chelsea @ Moments A Day says

    June 18, 2013 at 4:15 am

    Love love love this idea and appreciate the link for vocab lists. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      June 18, 2013 at 6:10 am

      Thanks Chelsea! Glad those links were useful.

      Reply
  5. Deceptively Educational says

    July 7, 2013 at 10:50 pm

    Great idea and so much fun, too! Thanks for sharing this at the After School Linky Party; I’m featuring this tomorrow. Stop by and check it out. While you’re there, share MORE great ideas of yours, too! I hope to see you there!

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      July 8, 2013 at 4:27 am

      Yay! Thanks for the feature.

      Reply
  6. Erin says

    February 2, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    I absolutely LOVE these! Just pinned! Thank you so much for adding this post to my vocabulary link-up.

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      February 2, 2014 at 7:37 pm

      My pleasure! I look forward to future installments of the series.

      Reply
  7. Erin says

    February 2, 2014 at 5:02 pm

    Also, your blog design is gorgeous. 🙂

    Reply
    • Erica MomandKiddo says

      February 2, 2014 at 7:36 pm

      Thanks, Erin. It’s all the work of my awesome designer, Shay Bocks.

      Reply
  8. Jillian says

    May 23, 2014 at 8:53 am

    I ADORE this idea! Printing out and making my list this week. You are awesome. Thank you. Thank you!

    Reply
  9. Emmanuel says

    May 29, 2017 at 8:59 pm

    Love these ideas! Here are some Summer Vocabulary builder ideas from Teacher Sherpa.

    Reply
  10. Lauren @thesmilelines says

    June 9, 2017 at 11:23 am

    Great idea!! I will try this!

    Reply
    • Erica says

      June 20, 2017 at 1:19 pm

      Enjoy!

      Reply
  11. Emily says

    June 15, 2017 at 12:50 pm

    I just found your blog after looking for good read aloud chapter books for 4-6 year olds, and I have to say – I love it!!! I read your about page and it’s like you jumped in my brain and read my thoughts on parenting and motherhood. Our summer vacation officially begins tomorrow be I can’t wait to adopt some of your ideas into our routines. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Erica says

      June 20, 2017 at 1:13 pm

      Thanks for your comment, Emily. I’m glad you found the ideas useful. Have a great summer!

      Reply
  12. Jake Bersani says

    August 1, 2017 at 11:24 pm

    Hi!

    I just found this blog today looking for good graphic novels for my ESL school. I love this blog. I’ve been in a rut with game ideas and general learning tactics. Your site has so many refreshing angles to making kids happy and exercising their brain at the same time. Nice work!

    Reply
    • Erica says

      August 7, 2017 at 2:42 pm

      Thanks!

      Reply

Feed My Comment Addiction Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

STOP THE WHINING!

SAY, "YES I WANT TO UNPLUG MY KIDS." JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER LIST AND GET 10 WAITING GAMES YOUR KIDS CAN PLAY ANYTIME, ANYWHERE.

Join over 12,000 parents who subscribe to the most useful newsletter on the planet. 

    We won't send you spam (yuck). Unsubscribe at any time.

    Search

    What Have We Done Lately?

    Printable Puppets for Kids

    Poetry Bookmarks Coloring Page

    Diverse Graphic Novels for Kids and Tweens

    Best STEM Games for Developing Growth Mindset

    Read Alike Bookmarks for Kids!

    Middle Grade Books featuring Asian and Pacific-Islander Characters

    Asian and Asian-American Children’s Books by #OwnVoices Authors


    We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
    Copyright 2007-2020 What Do We Do All Day? All rights reserved.

    EXPLORE MORE:

    Awesome Newsletter
    Favorite Resources for Parents
    100s of Book Lists
    Gigantic List of Indoor Activities
    Best Games on the Planet
    Stay At Home Parent Resources


    Privacy, disclosure and copyright policy

    Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme Description: This is the Foodie Pro child theme created for the Genesis Framework. Author: Shay Bocks Author URI: http://shaybocks.com/ Version: 2.0.5 Tags: black, orange, white, one-column, two-columns, three-columns, fixed-width, custom-menu, full-width-template, sticky-post, theme-options, threaded-comments, translation-ready Template: genesis Template Version: 2.0.1 License: GPL-2.0+ License URI: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-license.php by Shay Bocks

    Want Your Kids to Love Being Unplugged?
    Subscribe to our newsletter and as a thank you, receive 10 waiting games kids can play anytime anywhere.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
    Want More Free Activity Ideas?
    Join our email list and as a thank you gift I'll send you a list of 10 waiting games that will make your kids smarter.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.
    Want your kids to love being unplugged?
    Join our newsletter and as a thank you, I'll send you a list of 10 waiting games.
    Your email will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party. Click here to view our privacy policy.