Improving Language and Vocabulary at Home!

http://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/bedtime-routine-activities/

The above link takes you to a blog about bedtime routine plans to facilitate speech and language development. But the truth is these activities can be used almost anytime and anywhere to help you help your child. Welcome back to school!

Fun Brain Breaks for Winter Days!

Follow this link for fun videos and active activities for long winter days at home (or classroom)! 

http://kathygriffinteach.blogspot.com/2014/02/brain-breaks-for-winter-days.html

Halloween I Spy

Practice using good speech, language, describing and vocabulary skills while playing this cute I Spy game!

Copy and paste these links for videos of the sounds you are learning.

Practice your speech sounds at home!

Copy and paste the links below to access videos of a speech therapist practicing different sounds.  You can go to mommyspeechtherapy.com for worksheets for all the different sounds

https://youtu.be/kTAtVWsvhNA     Use this if you are practicing /s/ or /z/. 

https://youtu.be/AZCfBnH_GGY     Use this if you are practicing /s/ blends such as "snow"

https://youtu.be/9xAoIxsyj38              Use this if you are practicing /f/.

https://youtu.be/megGv7jH0a0           Use this if you are practicing the /k/ sound

https://youtu.be/9-K3nLUThBE          Use this if you are practicing the /l/ sound

   SEPTEMBER  Child’s name:______________________

FUN ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE GOOD SPEECH AND LANGUAGE SKILLS

This month as you are doing these everyday activities involve your child as described below

ACTIVITY:	Laundry	Set the Table	Get Outside	Read together
WEEK 1:	Have your child help sort the laundry by color (let’s put all the red clothes in this pile and all the white in this pile, etc)	Use pronouns:  Mommy needs a cup.  I like the tall one. Daddy needs a cup.  He likes the green one. (she, he, you, I)	“Let’s go outside and find something you think is beautiful”  Ask your child why they think it is beautiful.	Using the book sent home from school, or your child’s favorite book do a picture walk and name all the pictures for your child then have them point to the picture you name.
WEEK 2:	Have your child help sort the laundry by category  (let’s put all the socks in this pile, all the shirts in this pile, etc)	Work on counting: We need 4 plates, count them as you put them around the table.	Get outside and find 2 things that are hard.  Knock on it, use the word “hard” as you talk about the item.	Using the pictures in a book, ask questions like, “what goes with  a toothbrush”?  “what goes with a sock”
WEEK 3:	Have your child help sort the laundry by size (let’s put all mommy’s big socks in this pile and all your little socks in this pile etc)	Talk about what you do with each item. What do you do with a cup? Which thing do we use to cut?	Get outside and find 2 things that are soft.  Use the word “soft” as you talk about the item.	Using the pictures in a book, ask questions like, “what does a cat do”? or “what do you do with a cup”?
WEEK 4:	As you put laundry away, ask “where” questions.  (where should I put the socks?  Use vocabulary words such as big dresser, closet, etc)	Follow directions: Get all the forks and put them on the table. Get 4 napkins and put them under everyone’s forks.	As you are outside, move in different ways and label how you are moving, “let’s march”, march, march march.” “Let’s tiptoe”	Using the pictures in a book, ask questions like, “what is a cat? Is it an animal or a type of clothing”?  Can you name another animal?

 

Place a check in the boxes as you complete the task. Write any comments you want me to know about how the activity went with your child.

Thanks, and have fun!  Donna Schmelzer, Mandy Bour Speech therapists

Practice Your child's Speech Sounds!

Activity: Speech Sound Bag

Sound bag:  Each week choose a new sound to focus on.  Fill a bag (like a pillow case) or a box with things that have that sound in them.  It is usually easier to start with the initial sound, since that is what kids hear first, but you can also include item that have the target sound at the middle or end.  As your child pulls things out of the bag (or box), you name them, putting a little more emphasis on the target sound.  

Here is how an interaction with the target /b/ might work.

(Child pulls out a ball)

Parent: "Ball, You found a ball." 

Parent: "You have a blue ball.  The blue ball bounces.  It is a big, blue ball.  Let's bounce the ball. Bounce, bounce, bounce."

Then you can take a turn pulling out an object.  All you are looking for is your child to make the target sound, not necessarily the whole word.  Get really excited when he or she does say the sound and even more excited if he or she says the whole word.

I would start with sounds that your child already knows and then progress to early sounds that he or she does not have yet.

Shamrock to go with March calendar