With summer quickly approaching, it is time to start discussing vacations! Whether you are a teacher taking students on a field trip, or a parent organizing a family getaway, there's a good possibility you'll find yourself at a theme park this summer. If you have visited one recently, you may have noticed several kiddos of all ages passing the time between attractions with a smart phone or tablet of some sort. While electronics often keep kiddos occupied, we want you to reconsider using them at your next theme park visit. These parks are FILLED with communication opportunities and excessive use of technology can limit social interaction in any setting. Let's review some language lessons that can be squeezed into your next trip!
If your kiddos are pulling you in different directions or pointing to desired items or snacks, model some useful phrases for them to imitate to aid requesting. Give positive feedback for appropriately "using words" to ask for things.
Kiddos sometimes have difficulty labeling their own emotions. It can be helpful to identify the feelings of others to provide practice with this skill. Luckily, any theme park is filled with children experiencing a range of emotions. As you pass kiddos, describe how they are feeling and the identifying factors that led to the decision. You can also label your child's emotions for them to help them identify feelings later.
I really liked that rollercoaster, but the fast part was scary! What did you think?
I love the pretty unicorns on the carousel!
The ice cream was delicious! I loved it.
I did not like the loud sounds in that movie. I don't like wearing the 3-D glasses because seeing things come close to my face is weird!
Long lines: Teach counting to ten when frustrated, playing a game like "I Spy" or talking to friends and family members to pass the time.
Attraction closed: Help your child label frustrated or angry feelings. Then have them identify another preferred activity to find.
What theme parks are you visiting this summer? Need specific language suggestions? Comment below!
Happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there! In the spirit of a common gift given on this holiday, we are chatting about ... Flower Candies!! They are also the perfect spring treat! This is a cooking task children can do with less supervision and support than many other kitchen activities. They can also practice following directions and fine motor skills while creating these candies.
As we have done in the past, we are going to list the directions to complete the task first. Then we'll break the post into two sections, based on target language skills. Read the portion that best applies to your child's communication goals.
Place pretzels on the plate.
Place 3-4 white chocolate chips on the center of each pretzel.
Place one yellow M&M in the center of each pretzel.
Place six of the same color M&Ms around each yellow candy to form the flower petals.
Allow a few minutes for the melted chocolate to set!
This refers to kiddos not consistently communicating, or doing so with 1-2 word utterances.
This refers to kiddos communicating with complete sentences, who need to increase their vocabulary, or combine sentences to produce narratives.
Distribute the chocolate chips evenly. Each pretzel should have three.
Press the yellow M&M into the center of the softened chocolate.
Arrange six candies around the center for the petals.
In a few minutes, the chocolate will become firmer and the candies will be ready for serving!
As you are giving the directions, emphasize use of sequencing words (I.e. first, then, next, last) to model narrative skills. After completing the activity, ask your child to describe the process, or to practice telling someone else how to make flower candies. Provide cues to help them retell if necessary!
Love cooking with kiddos? Checkout s'more of our fun food posts! What other treats do your kiddos enjoy creating? Tell us in the comments!
Like the rest of the world, we are obsessed with the new Avengers movie, Infinity War. The plot revolves around possession of extremely powerful gems called the infinity stones. For the folks reading who aren't Marvel fans, (Why aren't you?) we will list the stones. They actually relate to some very important rules for promoting reading with your child.
There are six stones and each one correlates to a different rule. Like the gems, these rules are extremely powerful. The stones are: the time stone, the power stone, the reality stone, the space stone, the soul stone, and the mind stone. Later this week, we will be releasing a freebie related to this topic. We want you to take these rules into consideration when reading with your kiddo. But also, discuss the stones together to get their perspective on each area. Everyone likes control and we should respect children's perspectives about how they learn best whenever possible! The Avengers know they are stronger when they work together. Your child will feel better knowing you are on their side, helping them improve their reading skills! Our freebie will have cards for each stone and discussion points to help you guide the conversation with your child. Now on to our gauntlet guidelines!
When we mention the time stone, we are referring to time spent reading. The gold standard is thirty minutes a day, but many families have difficulty meeting this goal and give up completely. Some time spent reading is better than none! The idea is to spend as much time as possible because more literacy time, means more exposure to new words, which builds both decoding and language skills. To help your child improve, make sure you spend SOME time each day reading together. If this isn't currently in your routine, start with ten minutes a day. If reading is not a preferred activity for your kiddo, then work on extending the time subtly, by adding just a minute or two to each session. You can also try asking your child how much time they would like to spend reading so they know their input matters. Keep in mind that they may be more okay with extending the time once their reading skills start to improve. Letting them pick the time slot when they would prefer to read is also another option.
This is especially important for kiddos who do not enjoy reading time. Set the stage for success! Find a space that will make your child as comfortable as possible. It might be as simple as getting cozy in a favorite chair. Or maybe you can create a reading space with pillows and sheets, like a fort. Or perhaps you bring a special snack to your reading space to make the setting extra welcoming. Again, take your child's input here because the more comfortable they are, the less resistance you'll experience!
Books aren't the only way to expose children to text. Don't forget to provide functional opportunities for reading! Some ideas for practice include working with grocery lists, holiday shopping lists, menus, and cooking directions. Your kiddo could help you compose lists and/or check items off them as you shop. When the activity is done, provide praise for doing a great job reading. This will continue to help them build positive experiences with literacy!
This rule really requires you to focus in on the individual needs of your child here. It's imperative to find what speaks to their little soul and use it to motivate them. If they love animals, read some books about animals. Sometimes that might mean sacrificing high quality literature for some commercialized texts featuring a favorite character. It is okay to make these sacrifices because we have to look at the bigger picture: Your kiddo is having a positive experience with reading! And it isn't the only text they are exposed to because you're using the entire gauntlet to build their skills!
These gauntlet guidelines will help you and your child to take over the universe! Which stone do you think is most important for your child's success? Share in the comments below.
Today we are discussing a festive cooking activity for Cinco de Mayo. Although it can be messy, there are many great reasons to cook with your kiddos. They can learn new vocabulary, measurement skills, sequencing skills, and more! Typically on Cinco de Mayo, people celebrate with foods like tacos, nachos, and quesadillas. We enjoy those foods too, but many kiddos do not. In fact, all of them are a textural nightmare for children with sensory issues, or picky eaters. If your child happens to enjoy tacos, here is a post where we talk about language skills you can target during taco night.
Luckily, you do not need to love salsa to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Dessert tortillas are here to save the day! First, we'll share the recipe. Then, we'll discuss two different levels of language skills and how to make this activity work for your child's specific needs.
Mix the cinnamon and the sugar.
Brush each tortilla with butter on both sides. Then, sprinkle each side with cinnamon/ sugar mixture.
Cut tortillas with a pizza cutter into triangle shapes.
Bake for 15 minutes, at 350 degrees.
The simplicity of this recipe makes it kid friendly and allows for practice of language skills! You could choose to enjoy the tortillas plain, or if you want a dipping component, get some whipped cream, chocolate hummus, or fruit salsa. The possibilities are endless!
- We are going to combine, or mix, the cinnamon and sugar.
- Dredge the brush in butter. That means we will dip the brush and make sure it is coated, or covered, in butter.
- Once we put butter on one side we will flip the tortilla to brush the alternate side. We must disperse, or sprinkle, the cinnamon sugar evenly!
- Slice, or cut, the tortillas into triangular shapes.
Describe the steps necessary for cooking the dessert tortillas as you complete the activity with your child. Make sure you model the appropriate use of sequencing words such as first, then, next, and finally. At the end of the task, ask your child if they can retell how to make the recipe. You may need to provide prompts to help them list all the steps.
How do you celebrate Cinco de Mayo with your kiddos? Share in the comments below!