Say This: Ball

Ball: What to Say While You Play to Develop Language Skills

Playing with a ball is a simple, engaging activity that creates many opportunities to model language. In this post, we'll look at the types of words that naturally occur during ball play and how to use them during everyday interactions.

Why Ball Play Supports Language Development

Ball play involves movement, interaction, and simple back-and-forth exchanges. This creates natural opportunities for children to hear and use a variety of words during play.

Ball play can support:

• Joint engagement and attention
• Turn taking
• Comprehension of words and phrases
• Functional vocabulary
• Gestures
• Shared enjoyment during interactions

What Types of Words Should You Model?

The words you use during play help describe what your child sees, does, and experiences. Here are four types of vocabulary that naturally fit ball play.

Action Words

Action words tell what someone is doing with the ball.

Examples:

• Go
• Stop
• Roll
• Throw
• Kick
• Push

Action words are an important part of everyday communication and become building blocks for longer phrases and sentences.

Describing Words

Describing words tell how something looks, feels, sounds, or moves.

Examples:

• Big
• Little
• Fast
• Slow
• Bumpy
• Bouncy

As you play, think about what you and your child are seeing, hearing, and feeling. Those observations create natural opportunities to model descriptive vocabulary.

Location Words

Location words tell where something is or where it is going.

Examples:

• Up
• Down
• In
• Out
• Over
• Under

These words help children understand directions, follow routines, and talk about where objects are located.

Social and Core Words

Social and core words help children communicate during everyday interactions.

Examples:

• More
• All done
• Help
• Hi
• Bye
• Uh-oh

Many of these words can be used across activities and routines throughout the day, making them highly functional and useful for communication.

How to Use These Words During Play

You don't need to turn playtime into a lesson. Simply model words as they naturally fit into the activity.

1. Comment, Don't Question

Comment on how the ball looks, feels, or moves as you play.

For example:

• "Fast ball!"
• "The ball rolled!"
• "Big ball."
• "The ball went under."

2. Pause and Wait

After you model a word or phrase, pause for a few seconds. This gives your child time to process what they heard and an opportunity to join the interaction.

3. Say It Again and Again

Repeat the same words throughout play. Repetition helps children learn new vocabulary.

For example:

• "Roll."
• "Roll the ball."
• "Let's roll it again."

4. Model Without Expectation

Your child does not need to repeat the words. Hearing words used during meaningful interactions is one of the ways children learn language.

Play Ideas

• Change the Type of Ball

Offer balls of different sizes, textures, and colors.

This creates opportunities to model words like:

• Big
• Small
• Soft
• Bumpy
• Blue
• Red

• Do Something Unexpected

Try rolling the ball fast or slow, hiding it behind your back, or balancing it on your head.

You might model:

• Fast
• Slow
• Again
• Uh-oh
• Where'd it go?

• Combine Other Toys

Use blocks, cars, bins, stuffed animals, or other toys alongside the ball.

Examples:

• "The ball is on top."
• "Throw it in."
• "Puppy's ball."
• "The ball went under."

• Copy Your Child

Watch how your child is playing and join them by copying their actions, sounds, gestures, or words. If they bang the ball on the floor, join in by imitating their actions and adding language, like “boom” or “bang.”

Copying your child helps keep them engaged and creates more opportunities for shared attention.

Try It at Home

Choose a few words from the lists above and use them the next time you play with a ball. Say them as the action happens, repeat them throughout play, and keep it simple. Have fun!