I may have eluded to the idea of exploring historical sites when we explored Newcastle’s Parks and Playgrounds in my latest blog – remember the climb to Shepherd’s Hill from King Edward Park?! So now, it’s time to head out and explore the many incredible historical sites we have in Newcastle! Newcastle is rich in history and we are so lucky to be able to have accessible historical sites to discover with our children. They are the perfect place to work on building your child’s communication skills, as there are so many unique and new things to see, and with that, a lot to talk about!
Newcastle’s Historic Talking Points
If you’re new to the area or unfamiliar with the history, being Australia’s second oldest city, you might be surprised to learn about some of the history behind our famous landmarks. To name a few of the places I’m talking about; Nobby’s Headland, Fort Scratchley, The Bogey Hole, Soldiers and Ladies Baths, The Obelisk and Christ Church Cathedral. If you’re looking for somewhere to soak up all of the history in one go, you can also head to the Newcastle Museum where they have collected, preserved and interpreted objects and stories for and about Newcastle. Wherever you go, I can guarantee that you will have the perfect place to work on building your child’s communication skills!
Building Communication Skills at Fort Scratchley
We love a trip up to Fort Scratchley in my household, so I’ll focus my attention here as we discuss how you can build your child’s communication skills whilst out on your latest adventure. Start by getting your child to tell you what they see as you climb the hill to the Fort from the carpark, you can quickly see flags high on the flagpoles and as you climb higher the canons and tunnels come into view. You can talk to your child about where these things are, using position words (prepositions), ‘The tunnels are under the ground’, ‘The flags are on the flagpole,’, ‘The canons are on top of the hill’. Using prepositions exposes your child to different concepts that will build on their understanding (receptive language skills). There will also be lots of new things for your child to learn about, so you can explain these things to them and then ask them questions about your discussions.
Recently on a trip to Fort Scratchley my daughter asked what the big ‘carparks’ were for and why if there were carparks, cars weren’t allowed up there?! These areas are actually the parade and ceremony grounds, so we spent time visualising what this might look like and discussed words around these themes like uniforms, celebrating, and medals. These types of discussions can expand your child’s vocabulary and build their expressive language skills.
Eye Spy Language Development
As well as the incredible historic Fort, you can also enjoy gorgeous views up the Hunter River, across the City of Newcastle, Nobbys Beach and up the coast toward Port Stephens. If you joined us exploring Newcastle’s Beaches, you’ll know I love a good game of eye spy and the top of the Fort on the hill is the perfect place to stop and play! A game of eye spy is such a fun way to encourage language development. There are so many things to spy from the hill – the lighthouse, ships, bridge, ocean, surfers, beach, baths, and if you’re lucky during winter months, it’s a fabulous spot to look for whales cruising along our coastline. You can then ask your child questions about the things they have ‘spied’ to build their language skills; ‘Where was the whale?’, ‘What’s a lighthouse used for?”, ‘Why is the bridge there?’. Remember, exploration and play are fantastic ways for a child to learn and are a great way to keep learning fun.
One last exciting thing, is that six days a week (Tuesday excluded) you can experience the field gun firing! If you can time it to be there at this time, that’s a pretty excellent way to wrap up your historical adventure in Newcastle!
As you can see, getting outside and exploring our own backyard is a great way to work on building your child’s language skills and there are lots of historical places to visit in Newcastle to do just that! Talking to your child, asking them questions and having them telling you about what they are doing and seeing is the perfect way to stimulate their language.
If you’re looking for fun way to get out and explore books as well as our area’s natural and historical sites, you can join us at our ‘Stories’ events which happen once a month at Merewether (Stories on the Sand), Warner’s Bay (Stories Under the Tree) and Williamtown (Stories Under the Hangar). These are free community events where you and your child can enjoy stories, take part in fun craft activities and receive advice from experienced Speech Pathologists!
And remember, if you are ever concerned about your child’s speech and language development, the A Growing Understanding team are here to help. Happy exploring!
