Vehicle Sounds
Here's What To Do
Gather some visual examples of vehicles like trains, cars, trucks, airplanes, or boats. These visual examples can be vehicle toys, flashcards, books, homemade drawings, or cut-outs from a magazine.
Show the vehicles to your child while saying their names and making the sounds they make.
Vary the tone, pitch, and volume of your voice when you make the vehicle sounds. Encourage your child to copy you.
Give lots of affirmation and encouragement when your child tries to mimic the vehicle sounds.
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Position yourself to be at eye-level with your child.
Engage:
- “Here is a car, it goes vroom vroom. Can you say vroom vroom?"
- "This is a loud train, can you go choooooo, choooooo?”
Encourage:
- Your child might not be able to match the noise. If they make any kind of noise at all, say, “That’s right, an airplane goes shoo, shoo!"
- If your child is able to make a noise, encourage them to match exactly how you do it. Repeat the sound with the same tone, pitch, and volume, and see if they'll match you.
Reflect:
- Which transportation sounds is your child able to make? Were they trying to match the tone, pitch, or volume you were using?
Not quite ready?
Try this game with more familiar sounds, like animal sounds.
Ready for more?
Ask your child to tell you about the different vehicles. Notice if they try to make a sentence, and if they vary the tone or emphasis of different words as they talk.
As your child masters this skill...
They will imitate an adult's changes in tone and volume as they babble or talk.