Talk and sing to children

Talk and sing to children.

"I raised five boys, and I’d make them sing [traditional songs] with me. Now I teach my older granddaughters songs that my grandmother sang to my boys, and they ask me to sing it again. They’ll carry it on. And now they ask about the meaning."

—Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Caregiver

grandma and girlTell babies and young children what you are doing.  Say “Grandma is doing the dishes.  This is a cup.  This is a blue cup.  Grandma is washing the blue cup.”

Tell them what you see.  Say “There is a big white dog.  He is wagging his tail.  That means he is happy.”

Children learn from hearing you say words many, many times.

 

"They learn by watching older ones . . . [We are] explaining, praising, watching everyday.  Take the time to do things slowly. Explain when you do things and talk them through it. Then they catch on."

—Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Caregiver

help them learn