Spring is here! It's great to see the sun out again. Those dreary winter days are over for this year!
This newsletter focuses on reading. It is vital to read to your children at home. I can't stress this enough! Joint reading is the best way to read to your children at home. Here are some helpful tips into incorporating reading into your family routine: 1. Pick books that your children are interested in reading. This can facilitate more engaging discussions! 2. Pick books that focus on vocabulary. Sometimes children want to read familiar books or preferred books. This is great, but we need to ensure that our children receive a balance of books that are engaging but also teach our children new vocabulary/concepts. 3. Ask open ended questions. Focus more on "when," "why," "how," and "what will happen next" questions when you are reading with your child. These questions are more apt to encourage processing and a higher level of thinking than other questions. 4. Pick a time of day that is convenient for your family. We typically incorporate book reading into our nighttime routine. This may not be feasible for all families. Look at your schedule and determine a time that maximizes your opportunities to read books with your children. I hope that your family has a blessed spring! I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I wanted to pass along a "tip" that allows you to treasure special moments with your children and allows you to work on their communication skills at the same time.
Making an experience book is an excellent activity to work on speech and language skills. You can do this through a scrapbook or through using pictures on your phone. Catalog the events at that "special activity" for you and your family. You can practice sequencing, verb use, questions, and accurate speech production while reviewing the different events in the experience book. Since the book covers special memories for you and your child, it's a great communication motivator for your child! Have a blessed holiday! Hello! I hope everyone has had a smooth transition into a new school year. This is my website, and I will be updating this website about every 2-3 months. Please feel free to review my posts from the last two years for additional information.
This newsletter is geared more toward the "early" or "emerging" verbal communicators. Have you ever wondered if you are doing enough at home? Have you thought "how am I supposed to help my child?" I wanted to encourage you to SING to your child consistently throughout the week. Singing songs, nursery rhymes, and even routine-based songs help teach your child speech sounds, new vocabulary, and varied intonation with the human voice. Songs provide opportunities for your child's language learning and memory skills to increase. If you have any questions about what songs may be appropriate for your child, e-mail me at [email protected]. I'd be happy to help you! I hope everyone has had a great start to spring! Mother Nature can't make up her mind!
Our students are working hard in class and on their tests. I can't believe the school year is almost over! Several families are interested in what they can do over the summer to help provide natural language learning opportunities for their children. Here are a few suggestions of what you can do with your children: 1. Library: The library has different opportunities during the summer for learning, reading, and family time. 2. Zoo: The zoo is always a great place to talk about zoo animals, their nutrition needs, and their habitats. Since animals of different climates are also represented at the zoo, you can discuss season-based vocabulary and activities throughout your zoo trip. 3. Children's Museum: The Children's Museum has different exhibits that promote hands-on learning opportunities. My son loves to go the Children's Museum! 4. Memphis Botanical Garden: This is a great place for your children to learn about nature while viewing the gardens. They also have a section called My Big Backyard for children! 5. Summer Camps: Memphis offers multiple summer camps with different themes (i.e. art, sports, special needs). 6. Parks: Visit your neighborhood park, or even Shelby Farms, for different activities and play areas! Discuss the different activities and actions with your children. Review the sequence of events during your time at the park. 7. Stay at home: Watch new movies, read new books....remember that your home is another language learning environment for your child! To my understanding, MyOn is available throughout the summer. Check with your child's teacher about your child's MyOn access. **Please note that some of these suggestions are fee-based activities** I hope that everyone is staying well!
This month I want to focus on grammar skills. Grammar skills can focus on verb tenses, pronoun usage, word order, etc. Many children with speech and language deficits struggle with using grammar that is appropriate for their age-matched peers. Here are some suggestions for working on grammar skills at home: 1. Model appropriate grammar. Children can pick up correct (or incorrect) grammar patterns from the people in their environment. Make sure that you are using the appropriate verb forms, word order, etc when speaking with (and around) your child. 2. Play sequencing games. This is a way in which you can practice correct grammar while also working on telling stories. 3. Play games that focus on vocabulary development. Some of these games work on adjectives or verbs, which is helpful when you are teaching your child to vary grammar forms. Have a blessed spring break! *Information mainly taken from "Teaching the Fundamentals of Grammar and Syntax at Home." This has been a crazy month! We went from holiday break to snow/ice break! Thankfully I think we are getting back into our rhythm!
Reading to your children is vital for vocabulary and literacy development. We have been reading "winter/snow" books this month. Even though these books are geared to preschool/young elementary school children, you may find benefit in having your children read these books! Here is a list of my favorite winter books: There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow The Mitten The Snowy Day The Jacket I Wear in the Snow Snowball Fight Little Snowflake's BIG Adventure Ten on the Sled The Biggest Snowman Ever When Winter Comes You may find "winter/snow" books that include your child's favorite character (Clifford, Pete the Cat, Curious George). Check the local library or bookstore for more suggestions! Things to keep in mind when reading to your children: -If able, take turns with your child. Joint reading is a great way to connect with others (and the text). -Ask open ended questions (i.e. when, why, what do you think, how). -Define new vocabulary words that your child may not know. Happy Reading! As families transition into the holiday season, their children are home more often than usual. Families ask me "what can I work on at home with my child?"
Here are some brief "helpful hints" about interacting with your children while working on their communication skills. Articulation (Speech Sound Production) 1. Review your child's speech sounds based on the feedback that you have received from your parent communication slips. 2. Modeling of correct speech sounds is always appropriate for children of any age. A slight exaggeration of the correct sound can help your child identify what you are trying to accomplish by repeating (and thereby modeling) the appropriate speech sound. 3. Depending on your child's reading level and current performance in therapy, your child can read a book aloud to you at night. This will provide your child with multiple opportunities to work on oral reading fluency and accurate speech production. Fluency (Stuttering) 1. Allow your child to finish his/her sentence without interruption. 2. Depending on the age of your child, discuss a plan to work on fluency strategies while you are around other family members during the holidays. Since stuttering is a very dynamic speech disorder, collaboration with your child about reviewing strategies may be best. 3. Monitor your own rate of speech in order to model appropriate rate and smoothness of speech. Language 1. Make sure that you are modeling correct grammar for your children. 2. Holiday gatherings can be noisy, so following directions may be difficult for your child. Your child may benefit from short directions or environmental cues. 3. You can practice sequencing by reviewing the different activities that happened within a holiday event. Don't forget to utilize MyOn and the public library for reading materials! Have a blessed holiday season. I hope that everyone had a blessed fall break! Halloween is today, which means many people will be out tonight. Please be safe and have fun!
It's fall even though Mother Nature can't decide what temperature is going to be! Fall is a great time to be outside, play games, rake leaves, visit the pumpkin patch, and go to festivals. Here are some vocabulary terms that you can review as you are doing these "fall" type activities... Nouns: pinecone, acorn, squirrel, leaves, rake, seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer), turkey, scarecrow, hay, hayride, carnival, football, helmet, soccer ball, goal, Halloween, Thanksgiving, costume, candy, pie, corn Verbs (all verb tenses): run, kick, jump, climb, fall, change, ride, throw, skip, turn Adjectives: cool, windy, crisp, crunchy, hard/soft, size concepts (small, medium, large), hot, loud/quiet Have a great week! I can't believe we are almost at fall break! The first two months of school have flown by. I have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things and helping your children become better communicators and learners!
This month's focus is on social communication. Children can have varying levels of difficulty with social interaction. These difficulties can manifest themselves through emotional breakdowns, communication breakdowns, limited communication, or avoidance during conversational opportunities. At times, social skills have to be explicitly taught to children. Here are some activities in which your children can learn social skills: 1. Social stories-create basic stories that help children understand how they are supposed to interact in school (or home) situations. I have worked with families and/or teachers on creating social stories for transitions to and from school, appropriate behavior in the lunchroom, how to start a conversation, etc. Social stories are available for your review, or you can create your own! Contact me if you have questions about what social stories would best fit your children. 2. Have them involved in small group activities-some children just need more opportunities (with some guidance from adults) on how to interact with others. Having your children in school clubs, religious groups, or sports teams can help provide communication opportunities outside of the school and home settings. 3. Read books with your children-at times, children don't interact appropriately because they need to enhance their vocabulary development. Reading books, defining words, and introducing them to new words can help maximize their vocabulary acquisition of age (and grade) appropriate vocabulary terms. 4. Ask open-ended questions with your children in conversation-children need more opportunities to converse utilizing a higher level of thinking. Consistently asking concrete questions (i.e. yes, no, what, where) makes it more challenging for children to engage in multiple conversational turns. 5. Limit technology-social skills are difficult to teach through technology. Our children can utilize technology for a variety of learning opportunities and needs, but it's difficult for children to learn social skills through technology. Social skills are best taught through conversation and interaction. Please contact me at [email protected] with questions! Have a great fall break. Welcome back! I hope everyone has had a blessed summer. We are getting back into the school routine. I loved seeing how your children progressed last year.
I plan to send home therapy notes throughout the year. If you have any questions about your child's progress, please don't hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I'm happy to answer any of your questions. I also have access to educational resources that you may find helpful. At times, I send handouts home. If you want additional education about your child's needs, let me know. I look forward to another great year in speech/language therapy! Mrs. Shores |
AuthorMy name is Lori Shores, and I am a speech-language pathologist that works in the Bartlett City Schools. Archives
April 2018
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