The My PlayHome app can be an excellent tool for expanding language skills. It’s a digital dollhouse where kids can interact with a virtual family and their home. Download the app from the Apple App Store here.
You might hear people say, “listening to audiobooks is not reading.” Kimberly Rues article does a great job explaining the importance of audiobooks for emerging readers. For a child that has difficulty decoding they can easily fatigue due to overexertion of the brain transcribing symbols into meaningful language. The use of audiobooks helps in bridging the gap for emerging readers. Moreover, it can enhance the child’s comprehension because they are being exposed to information auditorily and visually. https://www.edutopia.org/article/audiobooks-help-emerging-readers/
When the school year ends and summer begins, many families take a break from structured routines, including therapy sessions. While summer is a great time for relaxation and fun, it’s also an important opportunity to maintain progress in speech and language development. Here’s why continuing speech therapy over the summer is essential for kids: Prevents Regression: Without consistent practice, children can lose the progress they’ve made during the school year. Speech and language skills require ongoing reinforcement, and a summer break could lead to setbacks that take additional time to regain. Supports Consistency and Routine: Many children thrive on structure, and maintaining therapy sessions provides a sense of continuity. This consistency helps reinforce learned skills and encourages continued growth. Advantage
Re-evaluations in speech therapy are often seen as just another formality, but they play a crucial role in tracking progress and adjusting therapy goals. Therapy isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach, and as clients grow and develop, their needs change. Re-evaluations provide an opportunity to assess how a client has progressed since the last assessment and adjust therapy to ensure it remains effective and aligned with their current goals. For example, a child may have made significant strides in articulation but still need work on social communication, or their expressive language skills may have improved, requiring a shift in focus to comprehension. Without re-evaluations, we’d be making assumptions instead of using data to guide decisions. A re-evaluation typically includes standardized testing, informal
Winter Snowman Craft Materials: Construction paper in winter colors (blue, red, green, orange, black, etc.) Scissors Glue or tape Markers or crayons Cotton balls Small googly eyes Speech Therapy Targets: Articulation: Focus on speech sounds like “s,” “sh,” “ch,” “b,” “p,” and “m” that are common in winter vocabulary (snow, cold, snowman, mittens, boots, ice). Vocabulary: Seasonal vocabulary words (snow, cold, freeze, snowflake, mittens, scarf, hat, snowman, sleet). Sentence Structure: Create simple and complex sentences to describe the snowman (e.g., “The snowman has a red hat” or “The snowman is wearing a blue scarf”). Following Directions: Give step-by-step instructions to assemble the snowman (e.g., “Cut out two circles for the snowman’s body,” “Glue the buttons on the snowman”). How to:
6-12 month+: Piggy Bank: https://a.co/d/cj4IcuR Sorting Shapes: https://a.co/d/c6aO5ej Buckle Toy: https://a.co/d/5bfqGQI Stacking Cups: https://a.co/d/9iDF3NZ Feed the Fish: https://a.co/d/ePFekzO Toddlers/Young: Sequence For Kids: https://a.co/d/5BxINjE Balloon Launcher: https://a.co/d/aZwHCiF Pretend Play Ice Cream: https://a.co/d/gGvhT5b Let’s Go Fishing: https://a.co/d/e8ZS2I2 Dino Launcher: https://a.co/d/6UfnrGD Zingo: https://a.co/d/eM0lS7P Sorting Baskets: https://a.co/d/2gOm1gu Frankie’s Food Truck: https://a.co/d/eTCPotp Elementary Aged: Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza: https://a.co/d/jjRz4bS Gravity Maze: https://a.co/d/hEl5To5 Kanoodle: https://a.co/d/5BmK1yP Code Names: https://a.co/d/69ieiNp Tetris: https://a.co/d/favJNuD Quick Pucks: https://a.co/d/d8jDnAn Traffic Jam: https://a.co/d/1VXnEf7 Connect Four *Spin: https://a.co/d/947j1Vo Left Center Right: https://a.co/d/caAetAB Teens: The Game of Things: https://a.co/d/21TA4BC What Do You Meme?: https://a.co/d/iJT3nAb Catan: https://a.co/d/fgVl4al Wordle Board Game: https://a.co/d/bmxKjas Mind the Gap: https://a.co/d/bFUG1nZ
The leaves are falling! What a great time to read The Leaf Thief By Alice Hemming. Our friend squirrel goes on a fun adventure trying to find the leaf thief. Prior to reading the story, take the time to make predictions as to who the leaf thief is. While reading, use story clues to determine if you guessed correctly. This story is great to talk about prediction, story clues, inferencing, characters’ emotions, and sequencing of events. You can also do a book walk through looking at the pictures or words that your child might not know. Write the words down and create a picture or sentence association. This will help your child recall the meaning of the word
Importance of a weekly routine: A weekly routine is crucial for child development as it provides a structured and predictable environment that helps children feel secure and understand what to expect each day. Consistent routines support the development of time management skills, helping children learn to anticipate and prepare for various activities, which fosters independence and confidence. Regular routines also contribute to emotional stability by reducing anxiety and promoting a sense of order. Additionally, routines can improve behavioral regulation by establishing clear expectations and patterns, making transitions smoother and minimizing conflicts. This does not mean that everyday has to look the exact same, that is not realistic. Although routines might look different day to day, there are some aspects within
Self talk is used to narrate your actions. It is a great strategy to increase your child’s exposure to new words. You can model self-talk when completing daily tasks around your baby or toddler. When narrating, think of your five senses (e.g., smell, touch, sight, taste, hearing) For example, if you are driving in the car with your child you can narrate what you are doing (e.g., turning the car on, putting your seatbelt on). You can also describe what you see while driving (e.g., a person crossing the street, the light is red). Parallel talk is similar to self-talk, the only difference is you are narrating what your child is doing. This helps aid in vocabulary
Symbolic play occurs when a child uses an object to represent or symbolize another object. For example if a child uses a banana as a phone, the child is participating in symbolic play. This is also called pretend play. Children start to expand their use of symbolic play from 3-5 years of age. So why is symbolic play important? The use of symbolic play helps in building cognitive skills. Additionally, symbolic play coincides with language development allowing children to create a rich and meaningful learning experience. Your child is expanding vocabulary, learning new concepts, and creating associations. To learn more about symbolic play and language check the link below! https://www.littlelanguagelab.com/blog/symbolic-play
