How Go Away, Big Green Monster! Can Help Your Toddler Talk
Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly is an engaging book that I LOVE to use during my speech therapy sessions. (Amazon affiliate links are included.)
As a speech therapist, I typically use it with children who are late to talk or have language delays. In this post, I’ll share two reasons why I like to incorporate it into my sessions.
1. First, Go Away, Big Green Monster! provides an interactive experience to playfully target the identification and naming of various facial features - eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, and hair. As you read the book, you’ll see that these features are not only repeated but the features are carefully emphasized on die-cut pages. Words like nose, eyes, and ears emerge fairly early on and appear on the list of commonly spoken first words (please see my list) – making them appropriate first words to target.
2. Secondly, and what I want to spend the most time writing about, the phrase “GO AWAY” repeats throughout the book. We are telling the monster and the various parts of his face to “GO AWAY”. We are verbally asserting ourselves. We are saying - you’re not going to scare me! We’re using our words to say, “Go away!!” and this is EMPOWERING!! “Go away!” may not be the nicest phrase but it’s very useful especially to toddlers who may be late talkers or have language delays because it helps them to regulate their environment. As I share in My Toddler’s First Words, “When children do not have words to escape, avoid, or reject undesired objects, activities, food, certain people, or social interactions, they can act out in frustration by hitting, biting, pinching, shoving, or pushing aside undesired items and people (Sigafoos, et al., 2004). Targeting first words to replace these behaviors is most important. To learn more about words that are used to reject or protest something or someone, please see page 23 in My Toddler’s First Words.
Now, let’s apply this concept of saying or trying to say “Go Away!” in real life. Imagine you have a toddler and your toddler’s not really talking. He’s playing in the family room surrounded by his favorite trucks and he’s having a good old time. His older sister comes home from school. She walks over to her little brother and snatches away the toy! What does this toddler do? If he doesn’t have words to use in his defense, he’s probably going to scream and potentially even hit, push, or bite. Imagine something like this happens on a daily basis – whether at home with a sibling or at the park or daycare with other children. What can we do? We can target words so this child can appropriately use words to protect and defend himself. Reading books like “Go Away, Big Green Monster!” can help your child learn how to use words to reject or protest an undesirable action, an event, or a person.
Reading Tips:
· Use gestures to accompany the phrase “Go Away!” I like to gently swat my hand in the direction of the monster while telling it to “Go Away!” On the last page of the book, it reads, “and DON’T COME BACK! Until I say so.” While reading this line, I playfully wag my finger at the vanished monster. More and more research is supporting that gestures increase learning and language acquisition.
· Re-read the book as often as your toddler likes. Research supports that re-reading books to toddlers and preschoolers helps them acquire more new words at a faster rate.
· If the phrase “Go Away” is too hard, you can also teach the toddler to say, “No! “Mine! “Stop!” Once again, for more support on how to teach words to reject and protest, please see my book, My Toddler’s First Words.
Extension Idea - Make Big Green Monster in a Cup:
Extension activities reinforce skills and can boost confidence. Cooking, baking, or preparing food with your child is also a hands-on and practical way to target a variety of language skills.
I had a blast making Big Green Monster in a Cup with my clients and children. First, we made a sweet Big Green Monster using lime jello and purple Good and Plenty candy. Then, we made a healthier version with spinach and sliced red onions. Can you guess which one they liked better? Grab the visual, step-by-step instructions in my free resource library. Scroll to the bottom and download. Please make sure to subscribe to my newsletter. I share LOTS of helpful information!
Enjoy!
Grab the instructions in my incredible FREE resource Library! It’s perfect to share with families.
