When I work with preschoolers, I always use toys and great books. Recently, I came upon A Frog in the Bog by Karma Wilson (the author of the fun series “A Bear Snores On.”) This is a clever story of a frog who sits on a log in the bog and eats ticks, fleas, flies and slugs as his belly grows. The precious illustrations (who can make a slug look charming?) by Joan Rankin, add a wonderful dimension to the story. The drawings of the gang inside the frog’s belly are hilarious.
I am using this book with preschoolers who have speech goals to include age-appropriate final sounds in words. What a wonderful opportunity to practice final “K” and “G” with the rhyming lines ending in frog, log and bog or tick and stick. Use the story as a counting lesson as the bugs and slugs are swallowed and counted in his belly and all escape at the end.
What books do you use in speech therapy with preschoolers to emphasize early sounds in words? Let me know in the comments below.
One of the tips I share with parents is to have books available to babies and toddlers. Have a basket or bag of books in whatever rooms you spend time. Usually the kitchen is a good spot so your child can explore the books while you get dinner ready. Get down on the floor and see the playroom or kitchen from your child’s perspective. Are her favorite books on a shelf that is just a little too high or can she help herself easily?
As she begins to move around 8 months, she can get to what SHE likes and make choices, taking a book out to explore. At first that might be just mouthing the book so make sure you have plenty of board books and not the special anthology of poems she got for Christmas from Grandma. Later she will turn a few pages, enjoying the pictures and learning that each page has something new and different on it.
Always read with lots of expression, sing-songing through the rhythmic lines
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One of my favorite relatively new brands in kids’ toys is Yookidoo. I was entertained at the International Toy Fair in New York City by the inventor displaying the new bath toys: “Flow and Fill Spout,” “Stack ‘n Stream Fountain,” and “Stack, Flap and Tumble.” The “Stack ‘n Stream Fountain” suctions to the bottom of your filled tub and provides endless fun as streams of water are diverted through three boats and two little people. Keep an eye out for these new toys to the Yookidoo line. Last year the three-in-one snail (examined with interest by Oreo on the left) h proved to be a favorite toy for the toddler set. A child can follow behind the rolling snail or take apart the stacking toy that rotates on the snail’s back. In a world of economic uncertainty, it is great to have a toy that can be played with in more than one way!
Last year, Yookidoo introduced their Discovery Playhouse that I reviewed before
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Tags: educational toys, learning toys
Research shows the value of reading to your baby from day one. Infants are taking in language from books and hearing the rhythm of language as they do from conversation, activating brain cells that lead to eventual understanding and using words learned.
As your child enters the second half of his first year, he is on the move and listening to books of interest. Chose books that are appropriate for his age. Certainly try anything that will hold his interest. Some children will listen to a bit of a story but usually at this age they need catchy rhythm, repetition of words and phrases, simple rhyming lines about babies’ favorite subjects: love, hugs, body parts, toys, daily routines, animals and of course themselves. Clear simple colorful pictures hold their interest and relate to the words being digested.
When I was visiting Caroline, I fell in love with two of her favorite books that
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I realized I am a full-fledged Grandma, known to the kids as Sheshe, when I packed my bag for North Carolina and had only a few items of clothing and the rest of the bag was filled with a baby doll, doll accessories, play diaper bag and doll accessories.
It’s fun to see my toy tester, 10-month-old Caroline, mouthing and exploring all her toys. As much fun as she has playing with her little Fisher Price piano and Learning House, she is just as happy crawling over to the book shelf and helping herself to a nibble of her parents’ books while ripping out the pages.
I am often asked how do you know when your child is saying her first words?
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Recently I seem to be getting calls to test kids from 2 1/2-3 years old who have had a history of speech therapy for about a year. Their original diagnosis had been “apraxic like speech” or apraxia. Now that they have improved their ability to imitate and produce sounds at will, they don’t fall into that diagnosis.
I have also treated children starting at 16 months and older who appear to have motor programming difficulty in that they have trouble coordinating the movements of their body related to speech. They have difficulty imitating or initiating sounds, syllables and words that they want to make. In most cases, after several months of therapy, these children have been able to program the movements needed for speech and start to present as simply “developmentally delayed articulation,” meaning the child follows the typical sequence of sound development but at a slower pace. I say this because I think sometimes as therapists we are quick to label very young children as apraxic or apraxic-like when in reality we have to work with them for several months to determine if they truly are having difficulty with motor programming for speech.
That being said, there is a certain segment of the pediatric population that truly does have childhood apraxia of speech which is defined by The American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) as:
“Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of
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One would think that traveling south from Connecticut for the week would bring a break from the snow but it followed us to North Carolina. Apparently Oreo isn’t a a fan. He’s not quite as excited about the white, fluffy stuff as the kids.
School was cancelled, and kids grabbed their saucers to slide down the 1-2 inches of snow! 2 year-old Will couldn’t go outside without scooping up a handful to taste. We caught snowflakes and made one big snowball that lasted for a whole day. Ironically we got a new book that included a forest full of snow. Now he knows what snow is!
Since much of the country is in a deep freeze or having yet another snowfall, I know parents are looking for indoor activities to keep the little ones busy. Sometimes, in the winter it is fun to pull out a “summer activity.”
I’m spending a week playing with two of my grandchildren while their mom recuperates from being sick. After fun with the cars, castle, pirate ship and play-doh, our 2 year-old and 9 month-old were getting a bit antsy. I spotted the bottle of bubbles on the shelf. While it was freezing rain outside, we re-lived the summer with a little bottle of bubbles.
Wilbur doesn’t get it. He loves fancy clothes. Why do naked mole rats have to miss out on dress up? Who made the rules? Scooped up by his colony of critical mole rats, he is taken before the great portrait of Grand-pa, a revered titan to nakedness. Unconvinced, Wilbur continues to question, “Why not wear clothes?” Frustrated, his fellow naked mole rats appeal to Grand-pa who proclaims to his shocked subjects, “Why not?” Clothes don’t hurt anyone and can actually be fun. Given this new choice, some mole rats begin to sport new fashions and others prefer nakedness, but all are united in fun. This tale of inclusion and questioning the rules is delightfully illustrated by Mo Willem’s trademark lined characters. Simple facial lines change a rat’s expression from a “yuck” to a “Eeeeewwww,” leaving you laughing at his antics.
Use the Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed to start a discussion about rules–rules at home or school. What is the difference between unfair and unnecessary? What makes someone different? How should we treat them? What makes me different?
Parents often ask me for advice on best toys and games for gift giving this time of year.
A wonderful source for top educational materials for kids is the Parents’ Choice 2008 Holiday Gift Guide. This trusted resource is divided by age, price and 20 child interests such as pretend play, bugs, butterflies and backyard fun, family games or dinosaurs and earth science. I just clicked on the age of my nieces and nephews, found a gift matching their interests, a few more clicks and the gifts were on their way! If you are interested in a certain type of media, go to the Awards section and click on DVDs, software, audio, video games, etc. and see reviews of award winners by year. One mom called me and was looking for recommendations for educational video games for her 6 year old. His younger brother has autism and she knew that he would be eventually playing too so she wanted a good educational game. I sent her to the Parents’ Choice winners.
Parent’s Choice Foundation has been a trusted reviewer of children’s media since 1978. I am never disappointed when I get something that they recommend and review.
For my tips and insight on how to build your child’s language through toys and games, see best educational toys for gift giving that build language.
