Telephone Basics
Learning to use a phone
Month 8 · Activity 24 · Lifeskills
Instructions
- Show a child a telephone and share the basics - where to talk into the phone, how to hold a phone to hear, buttons to push to make a call or numbers to dial on a rotary phone, etc.
- Locate and count the phones in your home - landline and mobile phones
- Ask the child to tell you some of the uses of phone (for example, to keep in contact with family members and friends, to get help in an emergency, to use for work purposes, etc.)
- Play the game "Telephone" when you have three or more players. Everyone sits in a circle and the first person begins by whispering a word in the player's ear to his right. That player then whispers the word he heard to the player on his right. Continue around the circle until everyone has whispered the word. The last person says the word out loud. See if the word is the same that was started by the first player. Talk about how important it is to listen.
Simplify
Have an imaginary phone conversation with the child. The adult can be the caller and asks to speak with the child. Use toy phones or old phones to help with role-playing. Next, let the child initiate the pretend phone call. Encourage the child to lead the phone conversation.
Extend
Write the child's phone number - using area code and the hyphen on a strip of paper. Have a number spinner from 0 to 9 and ten types of markers (pennies, raisins, etc.) Let the child spin and say the number aloud where the arrow stops. If that number is part of his phone number, place a marker on the number. Continue spinning until the phone number is complete with markers.
QUESTIONS FOR CHILD
If you needed to contact your mom or dad and had to use a phone, what number would you call?
How would you get help in an emergency in your home, in a car, on a walk, in the pool, etc?
Materials
- telephone/cell phone
Math & Science Skills
Social Skills
Problem Solving Skills