Tongue Twister Activity

by Babs Hadjusiewicz December 20, 2013

Kids of all ages enjoy this kind of playful fun with language. Yes, even a teen sitter will like to play these language games with your young child.

You know this tongue twister:

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Did it twist your tongue into knots? Okay, now slow down and say it again.

Now tell it as a story.

Hmmm. Didn’t twist your tongue, did it? Not difficult for your child to say with you, is it…or to say as your echo, one line at-a-time.

It’s a story. And it still works to give practice to your child's ears and tongue. WOW! This is a fun kind of talking you do now with your infant and toddler. It's fun, and it's already helping your child to develop skills needed later when learning to read. Really, you ask? Doing tongue twisters now helps my child learn to read a few years from now?

Why it works

An alliterative poem, such as "Peter Piper" where you say and hear a repeated language sound /p/, immerses your child’s ears and tongue in that sound of language.

Later, your child's eyes and hands will be expected to join in to read and write a letter that represents that "p" sound. Very important talk you are doing while playing with those fun-sounding words!

Babs Hadjusiewicz

Author

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