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A Project for all ages and skills There is nothing more exciting than opening your mailbox and seeing a beautiful postcard from someplace interesting!  Here are some ways to help your child make post cards to describe their summer while also targeting speech and language skills.  It is a great activity with multimodality learning opportunities including writing, verbal expression, and drawing. Start with large index cards.  On the back instruct your child where the mailing address, return address, and stamps should be located.  Provide lines to write in narrative.  Then start getting creative… Speech:  Have your child determine a preferred activity or event from this summer.  Choose some relevant words incorporating speech targets and have your child draw a picture

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Lip Rounding and Strength: Have a table top soccer game! Use a straw to blow a ping pong ball across a small table into your opponent’s goal (made from any small box in your recycling bin). Language Processing (older clients): Describe the rules of soccer. Discuss game plays using an IF/THEN formant to determine possible outcomes. Don’t know the rules??? Look online and have your child retell the rules. Articulation: Choose some frequently occurring soccer words that include sounds your child is currently targeting to include in your soccer match. Use sandbox buckets or other easily accessible markers to create a goal. Then let the shoot off begin! The parent is the goalie with the child earning a kick for

Did you know that June is National Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Month?  What a great time to plant a few vegetables in a pot!  Gardening is a great language enrichment activity with the added bonus of health eating! When you plant a seed or seedling, you can enhance vocabulary, learn a sequence of events, and practice describing by attribute. Check out this link to the Chicago Botanic Garden for more information: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/gardening_children

Did you know May is Better Speech and Hearing month?  To participate, I encourage you to have Speak Week.  The purpose is to support conversations by decreasing texting, emailing, instant messaging, and facebook.  Instead you are encouraged to have real conversations face to face, on the phone, or via skype.  You may be thinking, WHY??? There are many benefits of having “real” conversations!!!   Socially, so much can be lost and misinterpreted in written messages (even with emoticons).  Think about the look on someone’s face when you share something important.  It’s priceless, right?  Or think about the importance of the tone of voice or casual sign when on the phone with a friend.  It provides you important pragmatic clues about your

  With spring break quickly approaching you may be starting to wonder, “What are we going to do for a whole week?”  Spring break can be complicated to plan for because of the weather.  It may be too cold, wet, or muddy for outdoor activities but not cold enough for the outdoor adventures that winter offers.  The following is a spring mix so you have a plan when the kids say, “I’m bored.” 1. Get in the kitchen Kids love to get in the kitchen and help cook, so let them! Not only will they be more apt to try what you make together, but they also can learn valuable life lessons about feeding themselves.  For younger kids, try making

The use of a cell phone is an integral part of our daily routine, but it’s slowly changing the way people communicate.  We can check emails, make phone calls, send pictures, etc. all in a matter of seconds, but fail sometimes to be present in the moment.   Have you ever sat in a crowded room and observed the number of individuals with their heads bent down looking at their phones possibly getting a neck cramp?  Teaching cell phone etiquette may be an opportunity to slow down for a minute and reconnect with your child at the end of the day.  I came across this article that suggests ideas to teach cell phone etiquette for teenagers, but thought we all may

Do you have a child heading to kindergarten in the fall?  Now is the time to assure he or she is ready!  Your child may be excited or have many questions.  Addressing these questions, supporting academic readiness, and providing emotional support will ease the transition and build a foundation that will foster a love for learning.  The following are some general skills students are expected to have upon entering kindergarten, according to the Illinois Early Learning Project: Hold and use a pencil, crayons, and scissors. Speak well enough for others to understand what she is saying. Say her full name and how she gets to and from school. Handle self-care tasks such as hanging up her coat, going to the

  As we all experience this snowy, bitter winter many thoughts come to mind.  Will my car start?  Will school be cancelled?  What am I going to do with my kids all winter?  Winter can be long, but remember winter is an exciting season.  This year the 2014 Winter Olympics will begin in February!  As the Olympics approach, take this opportunity to learn about the host country as well as all the sports.  What is curling?  What are the different types of skiing?   Yes, we cannot get outside as much, but we can still find activities to keep everybody busy.  Gather the troops and create a list of winter activities to do as a family.  Have each family member contribute

As we gear up for two big sporting events in February, many people will be talking about the super bowl and the winter olympics.  Not everyone is interested in participating in a conversation about sports, so I’ve developed some questions to make talking about sports more interesting. Super Bowl Questions: What is the NFL? What NFL team is from your state? How many teams are in the NFL? Where will the  NFL play offs be held in 2014? When is the super bowl? What two teams will be playing in the super bowl? What states are the two teams from? Winter Olympics: What events are in the winter olympics? In what city will the winter olympics be held? In what