KristinaHope22, Author at

LET’S DO LAUNDRY!

Laundry. One of my least favorite chores. It has to be done though so why not make it a learning experience while you get the kiddos to help! While it may make the process twice as long, your young children can build vocabulary as you name the clothing you are putting in the washer or dryer, or as you’re folding. If they are helping to load, you can also expand to model word combinations(Pants in! or Go in!). When the clothes are dry, even small children can follow directions to find certain items, learning to sort(All the socks go here). When they begin to match, they can match all the socks for you! You can also attach possession to clothing and help them learn “my” vs “your” or “Daddy’s and Mommy’s”. Labeling colors is also a great way to expand on naming the clothing as they get closer to preschool(Blue shirt). This monotonous activity can be such a great natural learning experience, and they are helping you with chores!

Words/Sounds to include: shirt, pants, socks, shorts, underwear, in, out, wet, dry, my, your, colors, etc.

PUZZLE PLAY

With the holidays coming quickly, the one question I get frequently is what toys will help children learn and increase their speech and language skills. My answer is always “Keep it simple!”. It doesn’t need to have buttons/switches to make it talk or light up. The most important thing is that they are engaging with their child(ren) throughout the day in some way. I’ve already included a few toys that have been around forever that are great ways for children to learn many concepts. Puzzles are another great example. When they are small, children can learn fine motor skills with knob/peg puzzles, cognitive skills as they learn to match the picture to the puzzle piece, as well as problem solving skills when they learn to fit the pieces in the right spot. In addition, they will be building memory while they practice over and over again. How can they learn speech and language? You can label the pieces for them, model certain sounds the pieces may make(Cow-moo, Car-vroom), ask them where a certain piece is so they are identifying, and eventually ask them to label the piece by asking “What’s this?”. You can also model what they are doing when they practice putting it together(dump, in, out, turn, push, etc). Give them choices to pick which piece they want to put in as you hold them up(Do you want car or bus?). If you are holding the pieces, or they are taking them out of a bag you have put them in(since we all know how easy it is for those pieces to go missing😉), ask “Do you want more?” and help them to imitate “more”(sign or word). Even if you don’t have any puzzles, there are great resources out there to make your own! So, during this holiday season, remember KEEP IT SIMPLE!

Sounds/words to include: puzzle, names of pieces in the puzzle, animal/environmental sounds, in, out, dump, turn, push, pull, more, all done

YES OR NO?

If you are a parent/caregiver of a toddler, you already know the majority of your day is spent teaching them there are limits to set for their curious minds! Often the word “no” occurs more than we would like sometimes. When your child begins to use it, it can be overwhelming to teach them whin it is o.k. to use it and when it’s not. Sometimes, children say “no” when they actually mean “yes”. Not only is the word an easier sound combination for some children, but Although hearing “no” from your toddler all day long can be difficult, it is important to remember “no” is an essential word! We have to use it to answer questions and to make choices/decisions all the time. There are many ways to help your child learn to answer “yes” or “no” accurately. For children who are experiencing difficulty expressing themselves, it can be one of the most helpful ways for them to communicate with others. The following are examples to help your child learn to respond “yes” or “no” accurately:

“YES”

Adult: Do you want cheerios or crackers?

Child: Gestures toward cheerios(with or without verbalizing

Adult: You want cheerios?*

Child: Imitates nodding head and makes attempt to imitate the word

*Hold the cheerios up to your face while nodding “yes” before giving them the cheerios while modeling “yes”*

“NO”

Adult: I found your boat!(Playing in the bathtub) Does it go up in the sky?

Child: Giggles or gets frustrated

Adult: No, that’s silly!(Try it in a silly voice while shaking your head)

Child: Laughs and imitate “no”

*Plop it in the water to play*

These strategies can work in almost every routine and activity we engage in with our children! If you have any questions, feel free to message me!

*Important to remember: Give your child time to respond to questions depending on their level of frustration in the moment. Typically it is recommended 3-5 seconds of wait time.*

TIME FOR A PUPPET SHOW!

Since we have moved to a more electronic society, we often forget about a good old-fashioned puppet show! What is the benefit of pretend play using puppets? It can engage and encourage your child to use their imagination to “talk” to you! Whether homemade or store bought, you can teach your child to explore their voice and imitate words while making their puppets talk! Get creative and you can model words you would like to hear your child use to express themselves during everyday routines. For example, if your child is struggling to ask for the food or drink they want, you can use a puppet to model “Milk please”. Then pretend to give the puppet a cup of milk since they “asked”. Using puppets is also a great way to show them turn taking and making choices. Use the puppets to create scenarios that may happen in your daily activities to model language and behaviors you want to see your child utilize. In addition, they may notice that the puppets mouth is moving while they are “using words”(if it is a puppet made that your hands make their mouths move)and be more motivated to use their own mouths! Let’s bring back the imagination and creativity of puppet shows😊 You might be surprised how many words they will begin to use!

**Provide choices so they can learn names of the puppets, model sounds if you use animal puppets, take turns and show them how to share with the puppets, model words to make the puppets “talk”, use your imagination so they are building their own**

BLOCK PLAY!

It may seem simple, but playing blocks can be a great way to teach your child many concepts and words while having fun! Whether they are Legos, classic wooden blocks, or anything in between, the most obvious concept they are learning is “up” and “down”. As they learn to stack, you can model “up-up-up”. For most children, it is often even more fun to knock them “down”. You can count “1, 2, 3, down!” for you child to knock them over. Then you can model “boom!” when they fall. Remember, children LOVE to imitate silly sounds! For older children, you can teach them colors. For example, they can begin to sort them while you model “Let’s find all the red blocks.”, “Can you help me?”. Some blocks have pictures on them. While they stack the blocks, you can name what the picture on them are so they can imitate and build vocabulary. Some have letters and numbers. When they are old enough, you can begin to point them out so they become aware of print. Even more helpful in the preschool years, as you teach letters of the alphabet, give them a word to correspond to the letter(B is for ball). Also, if you get creative, you can begin to label what you or your child build. For example, “I made a house.”, “What did you make?” or “Do you want to make a house or a garage for your cars?”. You can incorporate turn taking as you build, modeling “My turn”, “Now your turn”. Although blocks are a simple, classic toy, there are so many things to learn with them!

Sounds/words to include: blocks, up, down, on top, big, little, tower, house, castle, boom, colors, name of pictures on blocks, etc.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING GO IN THEIR MOUTHS?

As parents, we want what is best for our babies. We want to make sure they are safe, they are healthy, and what goes in their mouths is clean. As soon as they are able to pick up, grasp, and move their hands to their mouths, they will put things in there😊. Inevitably, we then have to make sure it’s not something they will potentially choke on or get sick from. Babies can begin teething as early as 4 months! Although we don’t want them to put EVERYTHING in their mouths, this is a developmental stage and important for both feeding and speech development. As you begin to notice their hands going in their mouths more often, they will begin to try other objects as well, sometimes even your fingers or hands! This is when we as parents, can provide them objects that are appropriate. In this day and age, we can easily look for objects to provide them at a click of a button. Many toys you may already have for them could have different textures on parts of them just for teething so definitely check it out. Let them explore(safely)! As they put things in their mouths, they are learning a hand to mouth connection, important for feeding development. In addition, this gives them the opportunity to build awareness of the structures in their mouths, how they can move them, and different sounds they can produce with these movements. It also helps with the pain of teething and break those teeth through the gums. So, before you take that toy they just put in their mouth out, assess if it’s safe, clean, and appropriate. If it is, let them keep exploring!

*If your baby isn’t going through this stage, struggling with feeding, and not beginning to make more sounds, contact your pediatrician to inquire about you local Early Intervention program.

**Nobody Evert Told Me(or My Mother) That! By: Diane Bahr

UNDERSTANDING HOW WE UNDERSTAND

What is receptive language? Although it means our understanding of language, it is not commonly understood among parents/caregivers. Most of the time the focus is on expressive language, which is how we use language. One of the top questions on the questionnaires we as parents/caregivers fill out during regular pediatrician visits is “How many words is your child saying?”. However, almost more importantly, we should know what our child is understanding! We can attach labels to everything our children see or experience in their environment very early on! From the time they are tiny, we are talking to them; during feedings, diaper changes, and play. This is how they begin to learn that everything has a name! As they begin to sit supported or independently, you can help them learn through all of their senses, then helping them to touch or eventually point to objects/pictures as you name them. Then they begin to walk and you can begin to give simple directions, as well as, make sure they respond to their names. For example, “Joey, get your cup.”. You will also most likely need to point at first to show them where it is or walk with them to show them to pick it up. As you praise them for following through, they will begin to learn names of objects they use or need on a regular basis, as well as, action words. Soon, they will begin to respond to “Where is Daddy?” by waddling over, or remembering where they put their favorite toy as you wonder out loud, “Where did that ball go?”, finding it for you! You can eventually begin to include them in some simple household chores, such as telling them to take out all the socks in the laundry basket for you😊. Children learn best from their parents/caregivers through every day routines/activities. Start early talking to them and they will show you early on how much they take in!

LET’S GET CREATIVE!

Arts and crafts can be a fun way to keep children engaged with learning many different language concepts while their little hands are busy and out of any trouble they may find😊. Even if you only have a few “art” supplies and no “artistic” ability, children will enjoy spending time with you creating, not even realizing they are learning at the same time! Use whatever supplies you have, get creative! Depending on how old your child is, monitor the curiosity of putting the tools you are using in their little mouths. Whatever you are using, crayons, markers, paint, your children can learn through observation, following directions, or through their own imagination. Label the colors you use as you show them making lines or circular motions. This is also a good way to make silly sounds for your child to imitate as you teach them scribbling(wheee while making circles, zoom while scribbling back and forth, or zip while scribbling up and down, dot-dot-dot while making dots). Body parts can be taught while drawing faces or simple sketches of people. Think about objects your child may see around them on a regular basis and provide them with choices of what you can “make” or “draw” for them. If they choose, model a short sentence to tell them what you made after you draw it, “I made a cat!” You can also use choices as a way for your child to choose a color they want, material they want(paint vs markers), or project they want to do(make a mask, draw a picture, etc). Teach them the names of the materials you have to use and incorporate some turn taking if possible. For example, “I have the glue, it’s sticky!” “Do you want some glue?” “My turn with the crayons please”. Use whatever you have, paper plates, paper bags, ingredients you have in the kitchen, shoe boxes, etc. There are a ton of creative ideas at your fingertips in a simple internet search! Your children will be learning ways to gain so many developmental skills and engaging their sensory system at the same time(seeing bright colors, touching different textures, smelling different smells, etc). Most importantly, use a ton of language to describe what you are doing, what your child is doing, and what has been created. Have fun, get messy, and get creative!

Words/sounds to include: names of objects being used, colors, paint, color, rip, draw, cut, dip, wet, sticky, big, little, water, wheeee, dot, zoom, zip, messy, wipe, etc.

TAKE A WALK!

Over the last few months, we have all been spending time outside with our families even more often than before. With Summer ending and Fall right around the corner, Winter will be here before we know it! Let’s get out and take a walk! Whether your kiddo is in a stroller, wagon, or walking with you, this is a great opportunity to teach them new words. Think of all the things they can see and touch outdoors. Label what you see while pointing to it or even helping your child feel all the different textures. For example, “Look a flower!” or “There’s a tree!”. When they are a little older, you can add some descriptive words as well. “The grass is green”, “The plane flies high up in the sky”, “Splash in the puddle”, “All wet!”. Encourage your child to feel the bark on the tree and how rough it is, then how soft the grass is or even the dog you may see! If you have multiple children, make your walk a game so they can find certain objects you tell them to, like an “I spy” game. When your child spots what you asked them to find, model “I see the….” for them to imitate. This builds on the words they may be using to label the objects as a natural expansion. There are so many bright colors right now to point out and describe. Soon, we will be describing all the beautiful Fall colors and the “Fall” objects we will be seeing. Children learn new words so quickly as adults around them teach during regular routines and activities. Let’s take advantage of the outdoors as long as we can to have fun engaging with our children while teaching them in a fun way. Plus, we all get some exercise which will help everyone feel good while soaking up all kinds of information!

Sound/words to include: trees, grass, flowers, birds, bees, butterflies, leaves, house, sun, sky, clouds, rain, snow, hot, cold, wet, dry, big, little, up, down, colors, car, truck, bus, plane, bike, train, vroom, beep, zoom, choo choo, stop, go, names of animals and their sounds, hi, bye, etc.

BATH TIME!

Bath time! It’s one of the first routines we engage our babies in. Even when they are tiny, we teach our young children a lot during this regular routine. Babies are learning about how different textures feel-the water temperature, the feel of the wash cloth, what soap feels like. Some babies love the water, some do not. Talking them through the process of bath time can engage them to learn and distract them if they feel distress. Incorporate some singing during the routine and it will help ease not only your child’s stress but your own as well! Explain what is happening when they are little, ask them questions as they get older about the process. For example, “We turn the water on”, “Brrrr it’s cold!”, “Let’s make it nice and warm.”, “We get some soap for the washcloth and scrub your belly, your arms, now your…..”. Keep going as you name each body part. When they are older, play a game and ask them “Where’s your nose?”, “Where’s Mommy’s nose?”, “Beep, there it is!”. This is a good way to learn body parts. Not only are they in the tub and it’s a little more difficult to move to another activity, but the acoustics in the bathtub are beneficial for children to learn speech and language. Talk about the toys they may play with by labeling them and describing what the toy is doing. This is also a good time to give choices as they play and take turns with the toys with you. For example, “Do you want the boat or the duck?”. Wait for your child to either use the word to ask for it or gesture toward the choice. If you can, hold the toy close to your mouth as you model the word and cue them to try to imitate it. Also, make sounds while playing or even silly faces for your child to eventually imitate. Receptive language skills can also be built during this routine. Provide them simple directions during play, such “Give Daddy the duck please”, or “Put the boat in the water”. The bathtub provides a great opportunity to have fun while your baby learns to communicate with you!

Sounds/words to include: water, soap, washcloth, towel, bubbles, on, off, hot, cold, wet, dry, in, out, splash, plop, dump, pop, names of body parts, names of toys, etc.