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2012 PAL Awards
Play on Words speech and language expert Sherry Artemenko recognizes exceptional toys, games and books that encourage language, spark fun and invite creative play.
all PAL Award winners
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Win a PAL Award for toys, books & games:
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PAL tips
Video reviews of our PAL Award winners with tips on how to advance language through play • see PAL tips... ►
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new reviews
Read our reviews of the latest in toys, games and books • read reviews... ►
sherry in the news
Get the Flash Player to see this player.In this interview, Sherry Artemenko tells News 12 Connecticut about the latest toys that can help children’s development and learning. See more Sherry’s news... ►
- “Sherry, thanks for giving us back our son. We are so grateful for everything you did for Ben and our family. Not seeing you every week makes me feel that something is missing… but we look forward to a summertime walk! We miss you,”
Nicole, mother of 2 year-old boy who was dismissed from therapy
Westport, CT
Category Archives: Preschool
Language Lesson for “Hands Off, Harry!” by Rosemary Wells
I have been using Rosemary Well’s newest book, “Hands Off, Harry!” for language lessons all week with kids who are on the autism spectrum or have language learning disabilities. What a terrific teaching tool! Since summer is a time for … Continue reading
Twisterz’ “Alphabet Matcher” Wins PAL Award, Develops Pre-Reading Skills
Kids are intrigued by this twistable tube of rings, searching to match up pictures that begin with the same letter. The tube holds six rings—the first rotates to select a letter, while the remaining five rings display six pictures each … Continue reading
“Soft Peek-A-Boo Block” Wins a PAL Award
I love when siblings join in and play with a toy together but at different levels of learning These colorful, soft blocks were easy for our 8 month-old tester to grab for exploration by hand or mouth. The moulded pictures … Continue reading
Posted in Birth-3 year-olds, Language, Preschool
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“Dino Constructables” by Tomy is PAL Award Winner
It’s fun to find a quality toy that is easy and fun to make and then use for pretend play. These dinosaurs made with “Dino Constructables” can provide hours of creative fun as a make and play toy. Here is … Continue reading
Baby Toys That Expand to Early Pretend Play
Two new baby toys by Early Years have double play potential as they provide multi-sensory experiences for your baby and later pretend play props for your toddler or preschooler. Here are my reviews: “Baby Tea Party” by Earlyears is a … Continue reading
Summer Lesson for Speech Therapy
As summer rolls in, and we are thinking about the beach, kids in speech therapy gain vocabulary and learn concepts from clever picture books about summer and the beach. Melanie Watt’s “Scaredy Squirrel at the Beach” was such a hit … Continue reading
Speech Therapy Using Stuffed Animals
Effective speech and language therapy is certainly based on knowing how to advance language skills or correct speech sounds, but it is also important to figure out what motivates the child you are working with. There is no “one size … Continue reading
Articulation Activities for Speech Therapy
Today I was working on articulation (k,g) with my 4 year-old friend who loves pirates. After he did his “set up” as he called it–he set up a scene with all my Playmobil pirates and the ship, we moved to … Continue reading
Spring Speech Therapy Lessons, Poetry
Kids l love water so a story about splashing in puddles is the perfect spring book for a speech therapy lesson. Puddles, by Jonathan London is all about having fun exploring after a thunderstorm and definitely NOT staying dry! This … Continue reading
Light ‘N Sounds Vroomin’ Vehicles
Toddler toys are sometimes the hardest to recommend. Often we put adult features or themes on kids’ toys that they don’t even relate to but entices parents to buy them. One feature that I always look for is if there … Continue reading
