It's the Little Things...

Hi everyone! Now that Thanksgiving is over, it feels like Christmas is in full swing! I wanted to write and suggest a few songs on YouTube for Christmas. We love having some new songs to listen to, especially because it means introducing C to Christmas! 1. S-A-N-T-A by Super Simple Songs A fun, holiday take on “B-I-N-G-O,” this little song is sure to be a favorite! It’s a great introduction to colors (red, white) and letters! 2. Little Snowflake by Super Simple Songs This is a sweet, original song that my preschool students have loved for years! It offers a simple introduction to body parts (head, nose, hand) as well as opportunities to talk about verbs like skating. My preschool students have debated for years if the girl at the end is the snowman’s mom, sister or girlfriend! :) 3. What Do You Want For Christmas? By Super Simple Songs This song was a new discovery this year, but I really love it! It reminds me of the “Knock Knock, Trick or Treat” songs

Hi there! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to reflect on all of the blessings in your life! Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas is in full swing! I’m here today to give you some ideas for gifts that can help promote or improve speech/language skills. I’ll share a few toys for younger children and games for older children, too! Lately, I’ve been reviewing toys and giving ideas for how to use them to help with your child’s speech/language skills. If you’ve missed those, you can find the posts (as well as amazon affiliate links to buy the toys that I’ve reviewed) on the farm , slide , books and the kitchen/grocery store . I still think each of those toys are GREAT for working on speech/language skills. But if you needed a few more ideas, keep reading! Here is a wonderful handout from the University of Texas at Dallas explaining different types of play and how to help as a parent. Now… onto the toys! Blocks Blocks are a simp

Hi, everyone! Hope you are all having a great week getting ready for Thanksgiving! My school district is off all week, so I am enjoying extra time, snuggles and play with sweet C. Later this week, we will be traveling to see my father-in-law! I know many people will be swarming to grocery stores to buy last minute Thanksgiving food.  The grocery store and kitchen are both great places to teach children new vocabulary words. Playing little games/having children notice things in the store can also keep them entertained and engaged in the activity (buying you time at a busy store :)).You can also use toy kitchens and grocery sets to work on similar skills. Below are several of my favorite toys to target these skills and 8 ways to improve your child’s speech/language skills in the kitchen! At the Grocery Store: Describe the foods One way to improve your child’s speech and language skills is to expose them to new vocabulary and teach them to add descriptors to things they

  Raise your hand if you have an active toddler at your house! My hand is definitely in the air! At one of our well checks, our pediatrician asked us if C was able to complete a 3-part puzzle. I remember thinking "my chid can't sit for 1 minute... much less problem solve a difficult task!" As I try to work on speech and language skills with C, I grow frustrated at times that his attention span isn't as long as mine. But then I remember that he is an active boy, and that any skills I try to work with him on will mean more to him if I bring an activity that is engaging to him. Enter... the slide! We have one of these guys in our playroom and C LOVES it! These are skills you could also target on a playground, swing set or any other slide you come across. Here are some of the ways that we sneak speech and language skills into this fun activity. 1. Teach Prepositions Up, down, around... these are great prepositional words to highlight while your child plays on the

Hi there! I hope everyone has recovered from Halloween and has moved smoothly into the Thanksgiving season. We were a little nervous about the transition for C, but he seems to have accepted that Halloween is over. Thank goodness we can still have pumpkins out until Thanksgiving! Haha! Thanksgiving is coming up quickly, especially since it is so early this year! I only have 10 more days of school until Thanksgiving break, so I realized that I need to get moving on Thanksgiving. I feel like Thanksgiving is overlooked in the book and YouTube worlds, which makes me sad! I feel Thanksgiving is such a missed opportunity to foster a grateful heart for all we have been blessed with. Even though C is still little, we are trying to have a gratitude jar and engage in conversations around him about what we are thankful for. We are also moving into the Thanksgiving spirit with these sweet books and songs. Bear Says Thanks I read this sweet book to my kindergarten and 1st