Free App Friday

This week there are 20 free apps over at Smart Apps for Kids. Remember they are only free until 10 p.m. (CST)! Have a great weekend!

Looking Through the Window

Next week for Large Group we are going to be doing fun things with shapes, while working on pointing to and labeling objects throughout the room.  We will also be working on what-questions and practicing our "w" sound a lot!  Here is our learning card:

Since we have been focusing a lot on vocabulary these last few weeks, our weekly handout is another one from Super Duper.  It gives some great information on vocabulary development and ways to help increase your child's own vocabulary.  They recommend reading and as you read, have your child point out pictures or actions you name.  This will help with receptive language skills as well!

Sound of the Month

I would like to start focusing on a sound of the month during Large Group activities to help a little more with articulation skills during that time.  I wanted to work on some of the early developing sounds, which means that I have to double up for the next 2 months.  So I guess for October and November there will be "sounds" of the month.  ;)  For the months that there is only one sound we will first work on the sound in isolation, consonant-vowel (CV) combinations, then in words, and for the last week, phrases.  I'm planning to just do one post for each sound that includes resources for the sound at each of these levels, so be sure to refer back to that post throughout the month if you would like to work on things at home.  
For the remainder of this month we are going to be talking about "W" or our windy sound. 

Since we only have a week and a bit to work on this sound we will focus on "W" in isolation and CV combinations this week and words and phrases the next week.  At home use these sheets below to practice.  You can make it into a game, put puzzle pieces on each picture and let your little one place the piece into the puzzle after they say the target combo, word, or phrase, try the candy or cereal trick again, drive trucks over each one as you say the sound/word...really just have fun with it!  
Isolation: practice the "W" sound in isolation in front of the mirror.  You can show your little one our windy picture (above) while you work on it. CV combos: use this worksheet from Heather's Speech Therapy to practice (wa, we, wo, etc.).   Words: use this fun board game from Adventures in Speech Pathology for practice at the word level. Phrases:  use this worksheet to make phrases with this worksheet from Mommy Speech Therapy.
Have fun with our "W" sound this month! 

Shadows

Next week for Large Groups we are going to be talking all about Shadows!  It's a great Large Group activity where we will be doing lots of labeling, both objects and actions, imitating our friends actions, answering a variety of wh-questions, and talking about the basic concept terms "big" and "little!"  Here is this weeks learning card:

Our weekly handout is again from Super Duper and gives some great ideas for targeting language naturalistically at home!  The best way for children to learn is through play, and when we work on things in a natural way it helps a child generalize the skill or information.  You can focus on any area of speech or language while playing with your child and they won't even know you are "working" with them!  Since we focused on actions this week, you could do the same at home, using the ideas in our handout.  While playing with your little one, talk about all the things you are doing with your doll, truck, or blocks.  Or label the actions that your kiddo does throughout the day while eating, getting dressed, or cleaning up toys.  

Free App Friday!

This week there are 21 free apps over at Smart Apps for Kids.  Remember that these are only free today until 10 p.m. (CST).  Also, they have a new website Smart Apps for Special Needs!  I've quickly looked around the site and there are some really nice resources there, so check it out!  Happy Friday!

Scholastic Book Orders

This is our final reminder for Scholastic book orders.  They are due this Thursday, September 19, 2013 and can be returned any time before then or placed online at https://orders.scholastic.com/MBQP7 or through the button to the right.   Remember that when you place orders from Scholastic Reading Club, we get FREE books for our classroom that help us teach!  

In addition, the September Book of the Month is "Llama Llama Time to Share," by Anna Dewdney.  We have already had 5 students order the book of the month!  This means our class will get a free copy of the book, fun activities, and a reading sticker for every child! Yay!  

Free App Friday!

It's that time of the week again!  It looks like there are 28 free apps today. So head over to Smart Apps for Kids to get some great apps.  They are free until 10 pm (CST).  Have a great weekend! 

Scholastic Book Orders

Just a reminder that the Scholastic book orders are due next Thursday, September 19, 2013.   Book orders can be returned any time before then or placed online at https://orders.scholastic.com/MBQP7 or through the button to the right.   Remember that when you place orders from Scholastic Reading Club, we get FREE books for our classroom that help us teach!  

In addition, the September Book of the Month is "Llama Llama Time to Share," by Anna Dewdney.  When 5 or more students order the book of the month, our class will get a free copy of the book, fun activities, and a reading sticker for every child! 

 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Next week for Large Group we are focusing on the alphabet.  There are several kiddos in some of the classes that really seem to enjoy playing with the letter toys we have in the classrooms.  Because of that I wanted to plan a large group time around this.  Plus, it's a great way to focus on some articulation as well!  We will read the classic "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" book by Bill Martin Jr and the children will be encouraged to help "read" the book with me, especially during those repeated fun parts!  Here is our learning card for the week:

We will also be doing some fun things with our big coconut tree:

For this week, there are 2 weekly handouts, depending on what your child is working on or what you would like to focus on at home.  The first one is for the kiddos who are working on speech/articulation skills.  Heather over at heatherspeechtherapy.com has created some great! free worksheets.  This link has a huge list of freebies, but just focus on the first section ("Speech Sounds in Syllable Wheel").  If your child has speech goals, just chose one of the first 10 or so sounds (the last ones are later developing sounds).  Play a fun game by placing candy or cereal on each circle and after the consonant-vowel combination (pa, pe, po, etc.) is produced, you can let your little one have their treat.  5-10 min. of practice is plenty!  For more of a language focus, this weekly handout talks about the ways that we follow different types of directions.  You can decide what level your chid is at and focus on those types of directions throughout the week.  

Free App Friday!

It's that time of the week again...Free App Friday!  Head over to Smart Apps for Kids to check out the 26 free apps, worth $66.  Remember that they will be free today only and most of them are free until 10 p.m. (CST).  Enjoy!

September is National Yoga Month

Next week during Large Group we will be focusing on yoga to celebrate National Yoga Month!  We will be reading the book "You are a Lion!: And Other fun Yoga Poses" by Taeeun Yoo (can also be viewed in my Shelfari on the right).  It is a great book for following directions and imitating actions. 

We will also be trying some of the poses from "The Kids' Yoga Deck: 50 Poses and Games.”  While working on following directions and imitating actions, we will be talking about all kinds of body parts as well! It will be a fun Large Group filled with all things yoga and because of that our weekly handout is, of course, on yoga!  It's a great Super Duper Handout again, that talks about the benefits of yoga and how to incorporate it into your daily routines and activities!