Prepositions

The following activities are to help develop understanding of prepositions (position words). They can be adapted for use with any preposition being worked on e.g. in, on, under, behind, in front etc.

On the move - Make use of furniture, boxes, climbing frames, hoops etc. Show the child how he can be in, on, under these objects etc.

Hide and seek - Get the child to close his eyes and hide a teddy in different places e.g. under the table, on the bed etc. Get the child to open his eyes and tell him where to find the teddy. Use the same hiding places and give the child specific instructions as to where to hide the teddy e.g. “Put the teddy in the box”.

Posting – Use preposition pictures which you can find online (for example https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-t-2547904-where-is-the-fox-positional-language-picture-cards) or ask your child’s Speech and Language Therapist for some pictures. Using the pictures, ask the child to find the picture you describe e.g. “Show me the girl behind the bed”. Once selected correctly the child may post the picture in to a post box.

Tidy up time - Ask the child to help you tidy away at the end of an activity. Suggest places for the items to go e.g. “The pencils go in the tray”.

Follow the leader - Talk about where you are going as the children follow you e.g. “Jumping in the box”, “Sitting next to the table” etc.

Listen and draw – Give instructions for drawing a picture e.g. “Draw a red flower under the tree”, “Draw a car next to the house”.

Memory - Collect some objects together e.g. pen, cup, brick, spoon. Set up the toys and show your child where everything is e.g. “The pen is in the cup and the brick is in front of the spoon”. Ask your child to shut their eyes and move one of the items. Ask your child to open their eyes and say what has moved and where it has moved to, for example “Now the pen is under the cup”.

Creative development - Paint pictures with your child e.g. a house picture. Talk about where things are being painted e.g. “the sun is above the house”.

Activities for developing understanding of space concepts

Knowledge and understanding of the world - Go to the playground or park with your child. While they are playing talk about whether they are in front or behind things. When you are out and about look up and point out the things that are above you e.g. planes, birds, clouds. Look down and see what is below e.g. grass, pavement

Use these words in everyday activities as much as possible, emphasising the prepositions as you show what you are talking about. For example, when your child is getting ready for bed or getting up talk to them about the things they are doing involving prepositions e.g. put your toothbrush in your mouth, put your toothbrush under the tap, put your hands in the water.

First/Last

Miniature animals – Make a line of miniature animals ensuring that they all face in the same direction. Model first and last to the child e.g. “Look the cat is first”, “Look the elephant is last”. See if the child can make a line and answer “Who is first/last?” etc.

Lining up - Play games in a small group lining up at the door or window. Point out who is first and last. Change the order and ask “Who is first now?”.

Timetable - Look at the timetable for the school day and talk about what you will be doing first, last etc.

Building - Build towers with bricks. Take a pile of bricks and say “What colour do you want first?”. Build a tower yourself and talk about your first colour. This can also be done when choosing pens to do colouring in.

Sequencing - Use two part sequencing pictures, for example https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-s-2874-new-2-step-sequencing-cards or ask your child’s Speech and Language Therapist for some pictures. Put the pictures in the correct order and talk about which one is first and which one is last. Ask the child to explain the story “What happens first?”.

Drawing - Draw pictures of people/animals walking in one direction. Can the child draw a circle around the first boy, the last dog etc.

Action game – Give your child instructions, for example “Jump up and then touch your nose”. After they have carried out the instruction talk about what they did first and what they did last.