Crafts and Toddlers and Language

Crafting with toddlers is good for so many reasons!  First, it makes you feel like a good mom/speech teacher.  I like it for that reason alone.  Also - it's fun!  But here are some other reasons why it's a good idea:

1) Making a craft is certainly better than drilling a child with flashcards or boring pictures.  Sometimes that works better for older kids but isn't it best to teach language in a natural way?  The child doesn't feel stressed or under pressure. You can incorporate basically any goal into a craft.  Which leads me to number two.

2) Any goal can be targeted while you work on a craft.  Does the child need to work on answering questions?  Just ask them questions related to the craft:  "What do we need to stick the eyes on?"  "Where does the tail go?" Or even just ask them more abstract "wh" questions and hold off on the required material until they complete the task.  Articulation works too.  "Say 'book' five times, then you can have the next popsicle stick."

3) Crafts lend themselves well to teaching basic concepts such as color, size, shapes, and numbers.  "What color is this feather?" "How many feathers are there?" "What shape do you want next?"

4) Theme-related crafts always add an element of fun, and it makes your therapy session easier to plan.  10 seconds on Pinterest and you can find a craft based on any holiday or any season.  Then you can build around that.  Make a snowman and read a book on snowmen, then sing a snowman song.  Make sure you have a clear idea of how you are targeting their goal, and don't just do those things for fun.

5)  These fun holidays and seasons seem to come and go so fast, it's great to take the opportunity to teach the child the related vocabulary.  Valentine, Jack O Lantern, Turkey, Shamrock, (I could go on and on) are all fun words that are important for the child to learn.  One reason for that is it builds their schema, or their background knowledge that will help them in reading later.  For example, next time they read a book about a turkey, they will form an idea in their mind based on what they have experienced with a turkey.  It leads to better comprehension because they already have a foundation knowledge of what it is, what it looks like, what it does, etc.

6) Sitting down and doing a craft is a good way of lengthening a child's attention and gets them prepared for school, where they will be required to sit down and follow directions given by a teacher.

7) Cutting, taping, pasting, and drawing are all great ways to build those fine motor skills.  Practice practice practice!

8) You can indirectly teach sequencing by structuring the craft in the right way.  Use words like "First, Then, Next, and Last" to teach the child that things have to happen in a certain order.

9) Crafting is a great way to focus on following directions - a crucial skill in the classroom environment.  It's easy to adapt the directions to one step or two steps, depending on the child's level.  You could start by simply saying, "Get the gluestick" and then when the child is older and smarter you can say things like, "First hand me the sticker, then you write your name."
 
10) Take it home and talk about it! Creating something leads to a feeling of ownership and pride, which can lead to great conversation and carry-over when the child proudly presents his new creation to Mom or Dad!

Preschool Matching Activity: Pets

Today I am taking my 3 year old to the pet store.  What a great place to use language!  Pets is always a fun theme for younger children.  Talk about the similarities and differences between each pet.  What do they sound like?  What do they eat?  What do they like to do?  Do you have any pets at home?  Here is a little activity I came up with.  Since most younger children can't read, it ends up being a good listening activity.  It also established the early foundations of defining words, which we talked about in detail a few weeks ago.

Preschool Sorting Activity: Farm and Jungle Animals

Hello reader!  Thank you for stopping by.  Are you a follower?  If you're not would you please become one? I would love some more.

My last sorting activity was pretty popular so I thought I would share another one with you!  Animals are always a fun and easy concept to teach to preschoolers.  It's important for them to start distinguishing that animals live in different places and have different characteristics. You can also use this activity to teach the animal sounds.  This activity could also be a great describing activity.  Instead of cutting the animals out beforehand, show your child the sheet with animals and describe what you're going to cut out next.  See if they can guess what you're talking about!  You can vary the difficulty level.  For example, "I'm going to cut out the animal that says 'Moo'".  Or you could make it more challenging and say, "This animal has a mane, a tail, and you can use a saddle to ride on it."  You can also turn the tables and let your child try to describe an animal.  Kids love being the teacher!  After the animals are cut out you can do the same listening/describing activity again as you glue them onto the animals' home.  Kids love repetition - don't shy away from it!  

Preschool Sorting Activity: Fruits and Vegetables

Here's a fun and simple activity for you moms/teachers of preschoolers. This would even work with K or 1st graders, depending on their language level. Below are two sheets for you to print:  Just click on the picture to go to the link.

Suggestions for Use:
- Cut out the shopping carts and each individual food item.  For added language stimulation, have the child listen to clues given by you on what to cut out next.  For example, "Cut out the fruit that is orange and sweet" or "Cut out the vegetable that is small and round and green."  

- Have the child sort the food by different categories.  Obviously you could do fruits and vegetables - always a great concept to rehearse.  You could also do it by color or size.  You could also sort by whether its crunchy or juicy.  Sort it by whether or not the child likes it.  Sort it by as many ways as you can think of!  

- You could also use this as a compare/contrast activity which is an important pre-writing skill.  Put a pumpkin in one cart and a carrot in the other.  Ask the child, :"How are they the same?" (Both vegetables, both orange with green stem).  How are they different? (One is round and one is long and skinny, one grows underground, one grows above on a vine)

- The possibilities are almost limitless!  It is simple but so much fun!  It also works on cutting skills and gluing skills which are also important for preschoolers.  I hope you like it!

Defining Words: Part 5 Games and Apps

There are lots of fun games to use to reinforce categories and word definitions.  Here are some of my favorites:

Name 5

Just like it sounds.  Each card gives a prompt for you to name 5 items in random categories, such as 'items that make you sneeze' or 'types of dogs.  There is a timer which adds an element of difficulty if you want it.  Great for any speech therapy session if you play for a few minutes at the very end. 

Headbanz

Too bad I didn't patent this when I had the chance, because I totally invented it.  Oh well.  It's a great way to reinforce the concepts of categories and defining words.  Kids will know when they didn't do a great job describing it because the other child will tell them flat-out, "I have no idea what you're talking about."  And they will be rewarded when they used good clues because the child will guess.  The categories are concrete and the vocabulary is familiar.  I like to introduce this game by modeling "bad clues".  Say we're talking about  ice cream.  I say, "It's yummy".  They might have a guess but most likely they will not get it from that one clue.  I then proceed to explain that lots of things are yummy so that is a 'bad clue'.  It's usually quite the 'aha' moment for the kids.  I'm constantly prompting them by asking, "What makes it special or different?"

20 Questions

A great way to teach kids the importance of 'narrowing it down'.  I usually draw a big circle on the board and call it 'animals'.  We talk about how there are many different kinds of animals and we need to 'narrow it down'.  Then I discuss how we can narrow it down by type (mammals, reptiles, amphibians) or habitat (tundra, jungle, forest).  See how great it plays into the curriculum?  20 Questions is a fun way to teach the applicability of

 'narrowing it down'.

APPS

And here are some apps that I know of that you can use to teach sorting, organizing, and defining words:

- Objects: Pro

- What Does Not Belong?

- Clean Up: Category Sorting

- NLConcepts Autism: Sort and Categorize

- Pre-Number Category Sorting Matching Game

- Name that Category

- Let's Name Things

- Autism and PDD Categories

- Category Carousel

I am sure there are lots more!  Leave us a comment if you have one that you particularly enjoy or know about.

Defining Words: Part 4

More fun ways to teach adjectives!

1) Darling activity from "Crazy for First Grade".  Check out her post!

2) Or this is a fun idea from "The Inspired Apple"

3) Here's a list of books that lend themselves to teaching adjectives.

4) And here's a quick list I made of adjectives categorized by size, appearance, shape, what it's made of, and how it feels.  A fun way to use it is to put it in a page protector and hand the student a dry erase marker.  Then, grab a bunch of objects with very salient characteristics from this list.  Show the student the object and talk about it.  Have them circle the applicable adjectives that describe it.  Erase and start again!  Who doesn't love a little dry erase marker activity?

Defining Words: Part 4

When your child has really mastered categories, it's time to move on to the second half of defining words.  This involves teaching attributes/adjectives and functions.  This is the worksheet I use for this.

However - you're probably going to have to spend a few times teaching these things individually before you expect the child to put it all together in one nice, cohesive definition.  Of course it depends on the child, but teaching adjectives is usually a great way to start.

I saw this on Pinterest which is a great way to get the wheels turning:

Isn't that adorable?  Last year I used a frog theme.  How fun would it be to describe a frog?  Slimy.  Green. Loud.  Slippery.  I think kids would love it!  

"Hairy, Scary, Ordinary": A great way to introduce adjectives to students.  Pictures are a riot and fun to talk about at the same time.  Could easily take a half hour with this book!

Since this is such a fun concept, I'm going to do another post on it tomorrow.  Be excited! :)

Summer Activities and Language Suggestions

Hello!  Are you having a fun summer?  Are you taking it easy or are you starting off with a bang, trying to pack in as much fun as you can?  I am having a blast hanging out with my 2 boys.  We are trying to find a good balance between taking it easy together and also doing lots of fun stuff.  I thought I would share with you my list of summer fun activities!  And it wouldn't be a good speech/language blog if I didn't give you some language-enhancing tips!  So here are 5 language skills that can be targeted while enjoying these activities:

1) Vocabulary - Most any activity comes with new vocabulary for a child to learn!  Pick two or three words that may be unfamiliar to them and make a point to use them over and over in different contexts.  Never underestimate the words your child can learn.  For example, on your family hike, point out some plant names.  Discuss trees vs. bushes, talk about the parts of a flower.
2) Sequencing - Most structured activities require that you follow certain steps in a certain order.  Teach your child the words "first, second, then, next, and last" while you make cookies or write letters.  If you're into apps and really want to focus on this concept - check out the Pictello app.
3) Descriptions - I've worked with lots of kids who know plenty of nouns but when it comes to describing them, they would rather not.  :) Discuss words like: sticky, rough, smooth, clean, wet, hot, cold, spicy, sweet, loud, etc.  Make a contest to see how many words you can think of to describe something.
4)  Predicting - An important skill for social language as well as reading.  Ask your child questions about what will happen next: "What is going to happen when I mix these two colors?" or  "What do you think might happen if we didn't put a letter on this stamp?"  or "What if our boat gets really wet?" or "Those two ducks are going for the same piece of bread...what are they going to do?"  Encourage guessing and see if they can start asking you questions in return.
5) Developing Schema - A less-known concept but a very important one for all parents.  'Schema' refers to the child's own database of personal experiences.  It is crucial for reading comprehension, as children need to learn to make personal connections to events or places in books.  If a child encounters a book about fishing, and they just recently went fishing, they will have a much better understanding of what you need to take with you, how to use a fishing pole, and how you have to sit and wait.  Much of those things are not specifically mentioned in books and must then be inferred by the reader.  So basically any activity you do with your child this summer is theoretically helping your child's future reading comprehension abilities.  Good to know, right? :)

So here's my list: I tried to credit the ideas back to the original blogger/website so be sure to check out the links!

-          Swimming

-          Bowling

-          Watergun Fight

-          Water Balloons

-          ScavengerHunt

-           Fishing

-          Fly a Kite

-          Make cookies

-          Read books

-           Go on a picnic

-          Makeplaydough

-          Fingerpainting

-          Go to the zoo

-          Rainbow Volcanoes

-          BalloonTennis

-          Puppet Show for Dad

-          Watercoloring

-          Fun Things with Crayons

-          Write Letters to Family with lots of stickers

-          Geocaching

- Wash the car

-          PopsicleStick Puzzles

-          Giant Bubbles

-          Homemadelava lamps

-          Marshmallows and Toothpicks

-          Bug Hunt (magnifying glass and tube found at Dollar Store)

-          Pillow Fights

-          Run through the sprinklers

-          Paperboats down the river (or even the gutter when it’s full)

-          Archeology Dig (plastic dinosaurs in dirt/sand)

-          MagneticPuzzles

-          CraftStick Letters with Velcro

-          Visit a farm

-          Makeslime

-          Family Hike

- Paper Airplanes

-          FrozenFigures 

-          Learn some new songs with actions

-          Mini Golf

-          Make a Spotting Scope or binoculars

- Edible Bird Nests (and read "Are You My Mother" just because it's so cute)

-          Go to a local splash pad

-          Feed the ducks

-          Play date at the park

-          Get snow cones

-          Cut out pictures from Sunday ads and make a collage

-          Storytime at the library

-  Salt Dough Footprints

- Bike Ride

- Picnic

- Learn some new jokes and teach them to Dad

- Popcorn and Pajama Night

Book Review: We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

This book is such a classic!  There are so many things to love about it.

One of my favorite elements is its repetitiveness.  Younger children will pick up on the 'chorus' quickly and enjoy reading along with you.  (Great auditory memory activity for children with hearing loss!)  I also love how well it lends itself to reading with rhythm, as if you're marching. A great activity that goes along with this book is having the child make their own drum, and then take it on a bear hunt! The child can work on following directions, (a crucial skill and one I always try to incorporate somehow).  Then hide your child's teddy bear around the yard or inside the house while they recite the 'chorus':

"We're Going on a Bear Hunt

We're going to Catch a Big one!

What a beautiful day!

We're not scared!"

Another great thing about this song is how easy it is to add actions.  If you need ideas, watch Michael Rosen himself act out the book.  It's quite entertaining.  What a character that man is.

ALSO - prepositions!  This book really reinforces the concepts of 'over' and 'under' and 'through', which are sometimes hard to grasp for little ones.  Throw in actions for these too!

Charlotte from Make Do & Friend had this darling idea to help reinforce the vocabulary and make it fun!  I'm dying to try it!

This book is also fun to use to teach descriptions.  "Long, wavy grass" or "deep, cold river" are some phrases from it.  Have your child come up with their own descriptors.  No wrong answers!  Well, that's not necessarily true.  But you know what I mean.

Another reason I like it (also good for kids with hearing loss) is it teaches onomatopoeia.  "Swishy, swashy" or "squelch squerch" are really fun to say!  They reinforce the idea that certain things (like mud and grass) make different sounds and how we sometimes try to imitate that in English.

FUN STUFF!  What other ideas do you have for this book?

Summer Language Worksheets

Ahhh....summer.  It's almost here!  Road trips, swimming pools, running through the sprinklers, ice cream and popsicles, it's all great!  I'm assuming you're as excited as I am.  And whether you're a fellow speechie or a fellow mommy, I've got a treat for you.  Summer Language Worksheets!  These are wonderful, short, and fun ways to keep your child's language skills sharp over the long summer break.  They're best for children K-4th grade or so.  Some may be easy, some may be a little more difficult.  You can make them more fun by putting them in a page protector and having your child draw a star or smiley face in  each square as they complete it.  Or you can cut them out and put them in a jar for them to draw from.  Or if you're on a road trip, make it a sort of a game while you're driving!  Be creative! And enjoy!

*I realize my blog needs more pictures.  And finding pictures online is a pain.  So I just used a family picture.  Hope you don't mind. :)

Hearing Journey Website

If you haven't heard of The Listening Room, you need to check it out right now!  Actually, wait until you finish reading this post.  Or go right now.  Either way.  The website is targeted for children with hearing loss, and is provided by Advanced Bionics.  But the activities provided are great for parents and professionals, and for any children with language goals!
There are a few artists, but the main one is Dave Sindrey, who is also a certified auditory verbal therapist and therefore specializes in teaching children with hearing loss how to listen and speak.  And therefore I love him!!!  You have to sign up to enter, but it is free and I never get emails from them.  It's divided into an infant section, kids section (the one I use the most), and an adults/teens section.  In the Kids section, each week there is a new language activity that comes with instructions and a PDF file for you to download.  Most things are not archived so I try to check it frequently and save everything to my computer.  There are also some great informational articles that are great to printout and distribute to parents.  And several activities and articles even come in Spanish which is fabuloso!

Language Activity: Treasure Hunt

Something I'd like to do with this blog is post ideas for games and activities you can do with your child, and also include ideas on how to strengthen language or speech skills with that particular game.  So here's an example:

Activity:  Treasure Hunt
Ages:  2+
Language Skills Targeted: -Directional Vocabulary (left, right, straight, up, down, under, next to, on top, beneath, etc.)

So here's what you do.  You find a treasure box.  Or a shoebox.  Or a leftover container.  Really it doesn't matter.  That's the wonderful thing about kids and their imaginations.  You say, "This is our treasure chest!" with enthusiasm in your voice, and they'll run with it.  I happened to have a little treasure chest I bought at Michael's back in my college days.

Now go ahead and dump your change jar full of pennies into the treasure chest/shoebox/leftover container.  Or you could also find those cheapo bags of chocolate wrapped in gold foil.  Then muster up your inner-child's enthusiasm and say, "This is our GOLD!  Now let's pretend to be pirates! I'm going to hide my treasure where you'll never find it!"

Okay you don't have to use those exact words.  But you get the idea.

Then for the fun part. Take turns hiding the treasure chest.  To really take advantage of the language-learning opportunities, hide it really well.  That way they have to look at you or ask you for help in finding it.  Then you can start using the directional vocabulary.  "Look under the couch.  Look on top of the shelf.  It might be in between the couch and the table.  Look to your left."  


An understanding of these concepts is crucial for academic success in the classroom and in life in general.  It's never too soon to start introducing them.

After you or your child finds it, review by stating where it was hidden.  "It was inside the cupboard!"

It's up to you how much you want to embellish this little activity.  I prefer to lean towards simplicity.  But you could always add an eye patch or a treasure map.  When I played this with my son, we drew a simple map of our house and I'd draw an X in the room where I hid the treasure.  Then I taught him the phrase, "X marks the spot."  Throw in a few "Argh matey's" and "Avast me hearties" and you're GOLDEN.

And just because I think it's hilarious, here's an English to Pirate Translator.

Have fun!