Category: Speech and language Tips

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Speech and language Tips

How to use puzzles to build language skills

Does your family enjoy puzzles? Are you looking to help your child build their language skills? In addition to working on fine motor and spatial reasoning skills puzzles are a great way to build language skills.  Increasing joint attention, building vocabulary, practicing speech sounds, improving following direction skills and working on answering wh- questions are all language skills that can be addressed while playing with puzzles!  So take out your favorite puzzle and start working on those skills!! Need a new puzzle? Check out https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams for a few examples (see videos below for more details.)

1. Let’s start with increasing joint attention!  If this is a skill that your child needs to work on start with simple single piece puzzles. Give your child 1 piece to start while you hold onto the rest and help them put that piece in if needed. Bring then next piece next to your face so they can see give you eye contact as you model the word “more”. You can also use hand over hand to teach them to sign “more” as well.  Repeat this with each piece.  This is especially motivating if you child enjoys puzzles.  If they like letters or numbers use a puzzle with letters or numbers and hold onto those pieces as you build joint attention!

2. Building Vocabulary is one of my favorite ways to work on puzzles! Label the pieces as your child puts the puzzle pieces in, talk about the puzzle- is it farm animals or transportation items? Talk about the different things they see and connect to real world experiences. Have them label the pieces as well!

3. Speech practice- Is your child working on a particular sound? Buy a puzzle with pieces with that sound or try and embed sound practice into puzzle play. For example, if the target sound is /k/ use a farm puzzles with a cow and model “cow” and have them say it.  If they are working on the /k/ sound in words have them ask “Can I have ____?” for each puzzle piece. 

4. Following directions- Use those puzzle pieces to give directions with basic concepts embedded. “Put the cow next to the horse.” “Put the puzzle on the table.” For more complex puzzles you can give directions to help complete the puzzle “Put the blue pieces near the top.” These are just a few examples, make it fun at the level your child needs to work on.

5. Answering questions- Ask questions as you build that vocabulary! “What does a cow say?” “Where do cows live?” “How many animals do you see?” “Where does the plane fly?” “Where can we go in the car?” Again there are many opportunities for questions depending upon your child’s skill level.

Are you looking for some new puzzles? 

Check out Tibbar’s Little Hands, Big Smiles: Video:  https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/TinaWilliams/tabs/how-to-play?Sku=PZ046

Link to puzzle set: https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/tinawilliams/tabs/advanced-product-search?W=PZ046

Or Our World Puzzle Set: https://www.simplyfun.com/pws/tinawilliams/tabs/advanced-product-search?W=PZ048

Looking for educational games and additional ways to build language skills? Check out

https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm

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Speech and language Tips

Tips to embed Speech and language practice at Christmas

Are you looking to help your child build their language skills? Building vocabulary, increasing understanding of basic concepts, answering questions and telling stories are all important skills to develop! There are lots of fun things to do at Christmas to embed practice! Let’s explore a few of them!

1. Let’s start with your family traditions! Do you go as a family to cut down a tree? Do you decorate your tree together? Do you get together with family to make gingerbread houses? All of these traditions are great ways to build vocabulary, to work on answering and asking questions or to work on following directions.  Plan your activity and give your child opportunities to learn the vocabulary. As you participate in the activity talk about it and then have them tell other family members what they did!

2. Are you taking your child to see Santa? Or writing a letter? Do you have an Elf in your home? These are all great ways to embed language practice. Before going to see Santa have your child practice asking Santa for what they want. After they go have them tell people about the experience. If they are writing a letter have them practice new vocabulary.  Use that Elf to work on concept development- is he on the fan? Or under the table? Use as many words as possible to describe where he is and work on answering and asking questions as you help find him each day.  Have your child tell people where he was that day.

3. There are so many great Christmas books and as you read with your child you are introducing new vocabulary. Have them point to pictures, repeat words and phrases and answer questions about the book. Reading impacts language development so much and repetitive books are awesome! If you child is working a specific speech sound find words in books so they can practice their sound! 

4. Christmas Carols are such a great way to practice language. Teach your child all your favorite songs and sing in the car or get together with family and friends to go Caroling!

5. When Christmas finally arrives just enjoy the day with family! You can know that you have been practicing for weeks and that you have helped build their language skills!

Bonus tip! Games are a great way to build those language skills!  Check out some fun games from SimplyFun for Christmas gifts!

https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm

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Speech and language Tips

5 Ways to build language skills during Winter

What’s your family’s favorite winter activity? Building a snowman, sledding, or making snow angels? Or do you prefer to stay inside and snuggle with a book, make hot chocolate or play a game?

1. Building a snowman! Use the template below to make a snowman or go outside and build one during the next snowstorm!

You can then build vocabulary as you create your snowman craft! As you work on the project talk about body parts, winter weather, winter clothing. Use the snowman to work on action verbs, concepts, following directions and questions.

2. Sledding! Does your family have a sledding hill nearby? As you have fun sledding you can work on concepts (up, down, fast, slow, cold) and build new vocabulary. If you have more than one child on only one sled you can work on turn taking.

3. There are so many great Winter books and as you read with your child you are introducing new vocabulary. Have them point to pictures, repeat words and phrases and answer questions about the book. Reading impacts language development so much and repetitive books are awesome! If you child is working a specific speech sound find words in books so they can practice their sound! 

4. Does your child enjoy helping you in the kitchen? After outside fun have them help you make hot chocolate or any other winter treat! They can practice following directions and you can build vocabulary as you work together to make your treat. 

5. Games are a great way to build those language skills!  Turn taking, vocabulary,  following directions and answering questions can all be worked on!! Want to check out some games for your family? Check out  SimplyFun!

https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm

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Speech and language Tips

Ways to build Speech and Language during Spring

Are you looking to help your child build their language skills? Building vocabulary, increasing understanding of basic concepts, answering questions and telling stories are all important skills to develop! There are lots of fun things to do in the Spring to increase your child’s skills in this area! Let’s explore 5 of them!

1. Caterpillars to Butterflies Kits – Watching the life cycle close up is so much fun and very educational.  Your child can make observations, build their vocabulary and then tell family members what they have observed!

2. Nature walks – Your child can observe birds, frogs and bugs.  As you walk you can increase their concept vocabulary by giving concrete examples of these words! “Let’s go over the rocks”, “Let’s sit under the tree”. The possibilities are endless to increase your child’s vocabulary.

3. Weather Observations – During the Spring in New England we experience a variety of weather- beautiful sunny days, rainy days, and cloudy days. Track the weather with a chart, build weather vocabulary, discuss how the weather affects what you can do that day.  Increasing your child’s language skills is easy to embed when you use the weather theme!

4. Plant a garden – Flowers and plants offer lots of ways to build language skills. Work on answering and asking questions, following directions, sequencing stories and building your child’s vocabulary.

5. Spring Inspired board Games – The weather can still be iffy in the Spring so on those days that you are stuck indoors you can choose from a variety of SimplyFun games to build vocabulary, to increase your child’s ability to follow directions and to learn new concepts!

Looking for more information or want to add any of these games to your collection?  Check out 

https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm

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Speech and language Tips

Language and Literacy Games

Does your child need to build their communication skills?  Or are they working on their literacy skills? SimplyFun Games may be just what you need! As a School Based Speech Language Pathologist I love games that work on language skills and when they add in building literacy skills that’s even more of a bonus! Below 8 games are highlighted with tips on how to work on both language and literacy! 

https://www.simplyfun.com/Pws/tinawilliams/eventstore35439/AM/default

1. Rooby’s ABCs: This game is all about those early literacy skills. If your child already knows their ABCs have them come up with other words for each letter sound. Does your child need to work on speech? Model saying the sounds and have them imitate the words for you!  

2. Lily Pond: This fun game works on spelling and learning to read simple words. Reading and spelling games can also be used to work on articulation.  Your child will have the opportunity to practice saying words clearly, if they are not at the word level they can practice the sounds in isolation- just model the correct way to say it for them!

3. Pass the Rooby Roo: Literacy skills are worked on as your child comes up with words starting with a certain letter. They are also building their vocabulary as they come up with words in each category. What a great way to work on language skills!

4. Pickles’ Pig Tales: Story telling is an important skill that builds both literacy and language. Your child will have to remember and then add onto the story! This is such a fun game to improve those communication skills.

5. The Reel Script: This is another great story telling game for children who are a little bit older. Creating a script is a great way to build those communication skills!

6. Gumball Words:  Your child will collect the letters and build words to work on both spelling and improving their vocabulary during this fun filled game!

7. Do you know Shakespeare:  This game is great for teens and adults! Your teen will learn about the works of Shakespeare as they work on the language skill of answering questions.

8. Bid-A-Letter:  A great game for teens working on spelling and creating words to build their vocabulary.  

Bonus! A few of these are available for a discounted price in May!!

Looking for more information or want to add any of these games to your collection?  Check out 

https://www.simplyfun.com/TinaWilliams

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm

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Speech and language Tips

5 Tips for Summer Speech Practice

Does your child make errors on speech sounds? Do family and friends have trouble understanding what they are saying? Do they get frustrated when they aren’t understood? Are you looking to help your child work on Speech over the summer?  

Let’s explore 5 Fun things to do to build those Speech skills!

1. Bubbles, horns and whistles- are all great for oral motor practice. Build mouth strength, control and coordination in a fun way! Your local dollar store will have a variety of fun choice that come in multi-packs so the whole family can join in! Take it outside and have parades or just have fun blowing and popping bubbles! Reminder the best bubbles are the ones they are blowing.  An extra tips, popsicles and ice cream cones are also fun ways to work on oral motor skills-get those little tongues moving with control!!

2. Books and Reading- have your child repeat words and phrases form their favorite story. Repetitive books are great especially if you want to focus on certain sound or words!  Some of my favorites for speech practice include “Moo, Baa, La La La” by Sandra Boynton, “Old McDino had a Farm” by Becky Davies, and “Hi Pizza Man!” by Virginia Walter, but any book that your child loves will work! Bonus tip, if your child is working on a certain sound find a book that has a lot of words containing that sound, listening to it will provide auditory bombardment (hearing the sound a bunch of times) and then they can practice it!

3. Nursery Rhymes and Songs- practice those simple words in a fun way! Pause to give your child time to say the word on their own! There are so many songs and rhymes to use while practicing speech- Old McDonald, Wheels on the Bus, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, 5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed,  and the ABC’s! Teach them your childhood favorites and give them lots of opportunities to practice speech. 

4. Verbal Routines -say the same thing each time you play something. Does your child like playing with cars? Practice “Ready, Set, Go” as the car goes down ramps or as you push it back and forth or set up a tower and use “crash” as the car knocks it down. This can also be done with balls, on the slide, or as they jump into a pool! Counting is another great way to practice words- count as you go upstairs or downstairs, count houses or rocks as you take a walk,  or count pushes on a swing. There are so many opportunities to practice sounds and words!

5. Narrate Life- Talk about routines as you are doing them. “We are going outside!”, “Let’s make lunch.”, “Yum, we are eating goldfish crackers”,  “Let’s take a bath.”,  “Washing your toes.” -the possibilities are endless! You can also comment on what your child says by using modifiers. For example, if they say “ball” respond “Oh you want the big ball” or “Here’s the blue ball”.  The more you model, the more they learn!

Bonus Tip-  Have Fun!! Playing and spending time together is the best way to practice Speech!

Want to connect? I would love to help you find more games to Laugh and Learn Through Play with your family!  https://www.facebook.com/TinaWilliamsSimplyFunIndependentConsultant/

or join my group https://www.facebook.com/groups/3311410002281605/

Looking for additional ideas on how to embed skills development into everyday activities? Join my email list for my monthly newsletter!    

https://forms.aweber.com/form/67/1854092667.htm