Have conversations with your children. According to All Children's Hospital, research has shown that listening to your children is as important as talking to your children. This means it is not good enough to simply talk to your children about what you are doing, but you must hold conversations and listen to what your children have to say.
Encourage conversations by asking questions and repeating and building upon the things your child says. For example, ask your child, "would you like a peanut butter sandwich or a cheese sandwich?" If the child says, "Cheese!" respond, "Cheese? Do you want a cheese sandwich? I am going to make a cheese sandwich for you and for me!"
Play with wood blocks. A study done by Dimitri A. Christakis, M.D., M.P.H, showed that children in middle to low income families who played with blocks had higher language development skills than those who did not play with blocks. The blocks used in the study were colored Mega Bloks.
Play word games. Word games will help to improve a child's vocabulary while he has fun at the same time. One idea is the rhyming game, where you help your child come up with as many words as he can that rhyme. You can also play house with your child, switching roles so that the child is the parent, and discuss common household activities.
Read with your child. While reading, take time to talk about the pictures and make connections to the child's life. For example, ask your child what color his dog is when reading a book about dogs.