I tried out some winner toys recently that build language through play and would be good to put on the Christmas list. My toy testers liked them as much as I did:
Toddlers are drawn to running water. Since the best part of bath time is playing with the stream as the tub fills up, imagine the investigating going on with the “Flow ‘n’ Fill Spout” as it keeps the water flowing after the tap is turned off. Submerge the little pump under the water and suction the spout anywhere in the tub for continuous streams of water play. Little ones quickly learn to start and stop the flow by pushing the face, and experiment with the three friendly-faced cups, spinning a propeller, creating a shower and revealing a surprise pop up friend. Teaching the language of empty/full, heavy/light, start/stop, on/off, up/down, and floating/sinking, this joyful distraction makes scrubbing a dirty toddler a little easier.
Yookidoo Flow ‘N’ Fill Spout
Recommended age: 9 months and up
Pull out this puppet show in a box when the kids come over to play and watch it spark their imaginations. Mom or Dad can easily assemble the cloth, hanging theater to suspend in the doorway as kids make puppets, part the curtains and start the story telling. Before the show starts, kids create their own puppet characters with six fuzzy bodies and thirty stick-on ears, faces, tails, noses or outfits. Go traditional in making a prince, princess, lion, puppy, or dragon or combine the features to make an original character. As the story develops, kids can re-figure the puppets, ripping off the reusable features and attaching them to create new characters. Moms were amazed at how well the features stuck on the puppets during active play. My three-year-old puppeteers enjoyed presenting a show and then chased each other with puppets in hand. Language learning begins with selecting a character while devising and assembling the puppets, continues during the creation of the story and dialogue, and extends through open-ended play with flexible props to expand plot possibilities. Take a seat and let your children learn language through play.
International Playthings Playdate Central Puppet Show
Recommended ages 3-6
The new Promenade at the Brick Walk in downtown Fairfiled, Connecticut, keeps popping out original stores that add to the personality of our town.
I’ve been waiting for “Amore Baking Company” to open, since its owner, Patti Jonker, told me to be on the lookout. You see, I have been a follower of her biscotti (yummy flavors like Chocolate Almond, Cranberry White Chocolate, Cinnamon Sugar or Toffee Chocolate) ever since I have stopped in at her house on baking day.
My friend and I have “field trips,” where we scout out new stores and happenings in the area. That day we had visited the new consignment shop in Westport, “Second Time Around,” as well as the gift store, “The Goody Shop.” Needing a cup of coffee and a little sweet lift, we stopped in to this “gem” to find Patti baking and waiting on a steady stream of customers. We chose a sampling of her tempting desserts for our dinner party–one, and two bite cupcakes in chocolate and red velvet, and a “Mixed Fruit Galette,” or “Rustic Torte.” Packed with fruit and surrounded by a yummy crust the galette was a hit. We heated it up slightly per Patti’s instructions and served it with ice cream. Grab one for your next dinner party!
Patti’s cookies and brownies are big sellers but my favorite is the Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin. With a crumbly, crunchy top loaded with chocolate chips, this is a treat.
It’s obvious that “Amore” fills a niche in the market for tasty treats for those on restricted diets. The bakery carries products from Splendid Spoon and Sweet that include items free of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and egg as well as some that are gluten free. I tasted several of these products and couldn’t believe they were baked without the traditional ingredients. This is a mother’s dream for a place to treat her child who has specific food allergies.
So come and spoil yourself with a little love from “Amore.”
I recently heard from a mom who had a question about her child’s ability to learn letters and colors since she is raising her bilingual:
Having worked in the public and private schools for over 20 years, and now in private practice, I still feel like I am going back to school in September. I remember getting all the class lists, schedules, changes in schedules and putting together my caseload list. Next, get my schedule approved by all the teachers and start in right away working with the kids. Whew! Makes me sweat just thinking about it.
As speech therapists know, who work in or outside the schools, one of the critical aspects to progress is child and parent participation outside the classroom. It has been my experience that this is harder to manage as a school clinician versus one in private practice (partly because I work in homes and SEE the parents every time) but I worked very hard to implement carryover when I was a school therapist.
I find that I can set up charts, take home communication books, games and offers of prizes for practice but the key element for carryover outside the therapy session is the parents’ involvement. Something that worked well when I was a therapist in the public and private schools was to invite the parent to observe a therapy session so they could see what and how we were working on their child’s goals. I know some districts have gotten stricter about allowing observations since others might be grouped with their child but it is worth trying to work it out with your administration. When parents see how you are getting the correct speech or language output and how to make it fun for some daily practice, they are more apt to be involved. After an observation, some form of communication book to pass back and forth from school to home helps maintain the carryover.
Let me know in the comments below, what works for you to get the parents involved and kids practicing outside of the therapy room? What excited your kids to practice between sessions?
Little Caroline got her first pretend kitchen this weekend. Her saavy mom bought a Step 2 Kitchen on Craig’s List for a bargain and little chef Caroline has been busy every since.
Mom and Dad have provided some “real” food to make the action more authentic–fish crackers, cheerios and bits of chocolate (oh my, don’t get her started!). Before introducing play food, her mom decided to provide some of the real thing so she could get the idea of cooking up a feast. So far it has worked. Although she did put her pretend donut into the oven and declared it a “cake.”
I have worked with many preschoolers over the years and I can say that a play kitchen is a favorite with boys as well as girls. They can work side by side, imitating the actions of Mom and Dad, preparing a meal. Begin with just a few pretend foods or little cereal boxes to expand the play, and talk about what she is doing as she makes you a delicious meal.
My favorite play kitchens are by Little Tykes and Step 2.
Part of the value of the therapy is that I get the parents involved. I want the fastest progress possible and I know that if I can get the parents on board, talking and using the techniques I do with their child, that we will see improvement and the parents will see their investment of time too!
When I was at 2 1/2 year-old Luke’s house the other day, Dad hadn’t left for work yet. Mom is wonderfully invested in her child’s therapy and gives me an in depth report on Luke’s progress from my last visit. She is my able assistant. She sat down at the table where we were working, looked at her ongoing list of words that Luke is saying and declared to her husband, “You added to my list!” Yes, he had added the new words that he heard Luke say that weren’t on the list. Hooray for Dad–he is listening and attending to Luke’s progress too.
When parents are cued into new words that their child is saying, they can reinforce them by using them and giving their child opportunities to use them. Often when I leave a session, I give parents several words to reinforce–ones where their child mastered a new sound, placement of a sound like ending sounds, or a word to help him make his wants and need known such as “I want.” The practice between sessions is essential to solidify words, sounds, concepts or grammar.
Make sure parents are part of the process from the beginning of your work with their child. I expect parents to be a part of their child’s progress and therefore they are.
As you know, I am a firm believer in hard work as well as vacations. I love working with my little clients but also enjoy a break. Last week I made a trip to California to see my family. After the 6 hour flight, my husband and I found a fun bakery in Palo Alto and had the best mocha—if nothing else, the most visually pleasing one. I knew I was in for a treat when the woman preparing it asked if I would like a home made marshmallow on it! The combination sounded odd until I briefly remembered s’mores. Anyways, marshmallow or not, served in a huge bowl, this mocha made my day!
child holding dad's hand
According to a CNN report, research in the United Kingdom, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council “found that children whose mothers talked to them about people’s feelings, beliefs, wants and intentions developed better social understanding than children whose mothers did not.”
Mothers were given a series of pictures showing people in different situations with the resulting emotional reactions. When mothers explained the mental state of the the people in these situations, researchers found that the children performed better on social understanding tasks, and later showed a better understanding of people’s emotions in response to situations presented by video and hypothetical situations. Interestingly enough, they used episodes of the televisions show, “The Office” to discuss inappropriate social behavior and how certain actions make other characters feel.
Basically, parents are communicating empathy when they observe a situation at the grocery store, at the playground or on a TV show, and discuss how someone feels as a result of that situation. If a child pushes another tot out of the way to get in line at the park, Mom or Dad can use that situation to say, “She’s sad because that boy pushed her out of the way,” or “That boy was impatient or frustrated but he shouldn’t have pushed. That hurts.” Giving your child a vocabulary of feelings not only gives him power to express himself verbally (which may avoid physical expression) but also develops appropriate social skills.
This study continued to look at the children they initially evaluated at 3 years of age, and found that when they were 12 years old, they did as well as their mothers on social understanding tasks.
So take those everyday opportunities to explain emotions that play out in front of your preschooler as he goes through his day. Your input will be lasting.
Well, we are winding up a month of celebrating poetry and I have enjoyed every bit of it! Clever poems teach the rhythm of language, rhyme, humor and condensing ideas into clever language.
I wanted to share some of my favorites for kids:
Dirt on my Shirt by Jeff Foxworthy with illustrations by Steve Bjorkman. Designed for kids from 4-7, this collection of poems gets the younger set giggling. “Dirt on My Shirt,” the poem for which the book is named shows a boy delighting in a shower or mud—just what one would expect from a boy. Using themes that kids can relate to, “Are We There Yet?” “Staring Contest,” “Hide and Seek,” or “Bubbles,” this collection of poems finds the funny in everyday but keeps it simple enough for preschoolers. A special treat is the two-page spread, “What Do You See?” where the listener is invited to find 33 animals in Bjorkman’s lively illustration of life at the lake.
My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson. Kids can’t get enough of Jack Prelutsky’s poems and his newest collection will continue the hilarious fun. His twist of words and imaginative subjects fall into perfect rhyme and cadence while leaving us laughing at his silliness. Some of my favorites are “The Underwater Marching Band,” “never having played a single sound on land.” Who are “disinclined to fret” yet “perennially wet.” I can’t do justice to the genius that Prelutsky employs with words. Manipulating them like a wizard, he makes language fun!
Falling for Rapunzel by Leah Wilcox and illustrated by Lydia Monks.A twist on the old fairy tale, this story is a laugh in rhyme. Each time the prince asks Rapunzel to throw down her “hair” or “curly locks,” she sends down her “underwear” or “dirty socks.” He’s a little too far away for her to pick up what he’s saying but she manages to extrapolate a rhyming word that sets the story on a hilarious path.
Dinothesaurus written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. Just out, this collection combines witty poems about a kids’ top topic with clever collages. Florian’s playfulness with words encourages children to attempt poetry with zest. Modern touches on an ancient subject bring these poems alive: “Gigantosaurus…when it was hungry or got into fights, It opened its jaws and took giga-bites.” Meanwhile, the water colored Gigantosaurus is taking bites of cutout images of cellphones and computers!
What are your favorite children’s poetry books? Share them in the comments below.
Finally,we have a fun way to provide the sensory input that some children need to calm their systems while promoting creative play. Funandfunction.com, provides resources for therapeutic play and education, Children three years old and up can dress up as a fairy princess, ballerina, fireman or policeman in a vest or costume designed with inner pockets to hold optional bean bag weights.
In my many years working as a speech language therapist in the schools, I was often in meetings where weighted vests were recommended for children with sensory issues. Parents were very reluctant to agree to using a garment on their children that would point them out as “different.” I don’t blame them. I knew the benefits a weighted vest could afford but couldn’t push something that the parents were uncomfortable with.
These costumes and vests offer a wonderful inclusive alternative that hopefully all of the kids will get in line to use!
