Free App Friday!

It's Friday again, and my new favorite thing about Friday, other than being the start of the weekend, is Free App Friday!  Today there are 23 free apps worth over $50.  Hurry over to Smart Apps for Kids, as many of these apps will only be free UNTIL 10 P.M. (U.S. CST) today!  I've just skimmed over these, but it looks like there are some good ones. Happy Friday!

Germs!

Next week for Large Group we are talking about a very important topic...GERMS!   If you have young children, you know that germs seem to spread like wildfire once school starts.  So I wanted to focus on wh-questions when talking all about those dirty little things and how to stop them from spreading!  We danced to some fun songs about Henry the Hand as well.  

We also talked about this poster from The Lung Association and then hung it up in each classroom to help remind the children about the steps to washing your hands.  

Because we focused on wh-questions, our weekly handout is again from Super Duper and focuses on ways to work on wh-questions with your child at home.  It includes some fun activities or ideas to target all types of wh-questions.  

Don't Limit Me.

I'm sure many of you have seen this video floating around the internet or social networking sites, but I still had to share it.  I think it is a wonderful reminder as the new school year begins, not only to those working with children who have special needs, but parents and caregivers as well.  We truly do have a great responsibility in helping the children we work with reach their fullest potential.  I love what Megan said about expectations.  I think this is true for all children!  "Don't limit me by having low expectations for me...Set high expectations, not impossible expectations."  It really is a delicate balance trying to set those expectations and goals that are individualized and appropriate for each child.  

Our teachers follow the HighScope curriculum in their classrooms and I truly feel like this educational approach helps to consider, set, and support those expectations that each child needs to develop skills in all areas, even beyond math and reading like Megan says.  Check out the FAQ section for HighScope or go to their website, www.highscope.org if you would like to find out more about this approach.  

Free App Friday!

I have already mentioned on the Apps tab that the website Smart Apps for Kids usually offers several free apps every Friday!  Well, today is Friday and there are 32 apps, $65 worth, free!  Several books and preschool apps are available and many of them are highly rated!  Have a great weekend.

"I Can Day" at Preschool

During our first week of preschool, we will focus on answering What-Questions, naming and imitating action terms, and the initial "k" sound while saying, "I Can!" during  Large Group.  In addition, we will be talking about the concepts small, medium, and large.  Because of that our weekly hand out is a great Super Duper Handout that talks about what basic concepts are, lists of few of them, and gives some ideas for how to work on them with your own children.  Also, here is our Learning Card for the week:   

What is a Speech-Language Pathologist?

All too often I forget that having your child work with a Speech-Language Pathologist may be something completely new to parents.  Because of that I tried to include a little, teeny explanation on the Welcome Newsletter talking about what SLPs do.  This little Super Duper Handout also includes some nice information about what an SLP does and what we treat.  Our scope of practice is really much larger than most people realize, so I love educating others on the many areas of development we focus on!    

September Newsletter

Thanks for visiting!  Here is a copy of the September Newsletter:

Welcome!

Welcome!  I'm so excited for this new school year and even more excited to be starting this blog to help with easy home programming ideas.  I hope you all had a wonderful, fun-filled summer.  Come back soon to check out great activities to encourage speech and language development!