“The Wheels on the Bus” is a great way to teach imitation and practice language skills. It combines a fun, repetitive activity with imitation of actions and early vocabulary. Adding visuals to the song can help build vocabulary too! Learn more about imitation and how to use the “Wheels on the Bus” visual below!
What is imitation?
Imitation is one of the foundational skills needed for language learning. It’s when your baby or toddler copies something you do after you show them: a play action, hand movement, facial expression, sound, or eventually a word! Some imitated actions that you might see early on are banging on a table, shaking a rattle, or scooping and pouring sand.
What counts as imitation?
Typically, when we teach imitation, we count it as imitating when the child imitates the adult’s action or sound within a few seconds of their model. For example, if you bang on the table, “Boom, boom!,” the child may watch your hands intensely, pause for a few moments while they’re processing and thinking, then they bang their own hands on the table!
Think about the last time you joined a workout class—you watch the instructor’s movements, process what they’re doing, then join in yourself.
Why is imitation important?
It’s one of the most effective ways we all learn. Even us adults. Think about the last time you joined a workout class—you watch the instructor’s movements, process what they’re doing, then join in yourself. You’re watching and imitating them in order to learn how to perform the skill.
How can you use imitation at home?
Using the imitation hierarchy, popularized by Laura Mize, SLP, can help parents decide where to start when they teach imitation. It focuses on copying easier actions before building to more complex sounds and words. Typically, babies and toddlers will imitate actions before play sounds, and then full words.
So, let’s walk through an example! A 7-month-old has started imitating banging on the coffee table after Dad does, so now we can move up the imitation “ladder” and add some easy sounds! The next time, Dad bangs on the coffee table while saying “Bam bam bam!” Baby might not imitate the sound for a few days or weeks, but we are introducing that next level for her to start processing and eventually do herself! When she does start imitating the sound, it might sound like, “Ah ah ah!” or “Buh buh buh!” Any verbal addition is a great step.
How does the “Wheels on the Bus” song and visual help us with imitation?
It gives us a fun, repetitive activity with visuals to teach imitation of actions, easy sounds, and early words. Here are some ways you can use it at home to build early language:
- Imitation: While making the hand gestures for each part of the bus, see if your child will copy the hand motions. If not, try “hand over hand” support for a few seconds to show them what you want them to do!
- Add a pause: In the middle of the lyrics, pause for 3-5 seconds and look expectantly at your child. See what they do! Do they move their body or grab your hands or make a sound to tell you to keep going? Do they fill in the motions or words?
- Practicing choices: Ask your child, “Which part is next?” and see if they point to or grab a piece. Name it and sing that verse. Repeat after each verse.
- Practicing choices 2.0: Give your child a choice of 2: “Do you want wheels or door?” while showing them each piece. See if they point to, grab, or verbalize which one they want.
- Vocabulary practice: Ask your child to get a piece. “Where’s the door?”
- Advanced vocabulary practice: Ask your child to name the piece. Point to or pick up a piece and ask, “What’s next? What’s this?” If they name it or not, name it yourself too.
Join us!
Families can join us at Playgroup to see these types of imitation activities in action, or print out the “Wheels on the Bus” song visuals & parent guide to teach imitation at home! Songs are a great way to encourage early language development, but please talk to a pediatrician and/or speech language pathologist if you have concerns about your child’s language development.
