I Am Hiding!

I recently stumbled across "I Am Hiding" by Mercer Mayer and got a little too excited about how perfect it would be for targeting several language concepts.  Each page is very simple, with repetitive text that could be used for working on the pronoun, "I," the be-auxiliary, "I am," action words, and verb+ing.  It could even be used for targeting other pronouns such as "he" and "she" as you describe what the brother/sister is doing.   

Here are some simple ways to work on each of these targets as you read this book with your child, create a group activity for your class, or work with a student in therapy:

Pronouns: 

• When targeting "I" just have the child repeat the phrase on each page word for word. ("I am sneaking.")
• If the target is he/she, describe what the brother or sister is doing and have the child repeat the phrase.  Or ask them, "What is he doing?"  ("He is resting."  "She is looking.")

Be-Auxiliary ("I am"):

• Have the child repeat each phrase in the book. ("I am hopping")
• After reading each page, have the child act it out and describe what they are doing. ("I am creeping.")

Action words/verb+ing:

• Label each action for the child and have them repeat it.
• If they are at the phrase level, have them repeat each sentence after you read it.
• Again, simply having them act out the action on the page, and then label it is a great way to work on action words.  

Large Group/Small Group:

• Give each child a copy of the book so they can follow along as you read it. 
• Act out the actions on each page and have the children repeat the phrase from the book. 
• Have the children describe what other children are doing to target the pronouns he/she. "What is Sarah doing" "She is jumping."  or "Who is looking" "She is!")
• Play hide-and-go seek at the end and have the child 'seeking' use the phrase, "I am" as they are looking. ("I am looking."  "I am walking."  "I am stretching")
• Once they find the child that was hiding, ask the class, "Who did he find?"  Then have the class repeat either "her" or "him" to target those pronouns.  If you were still working on children's names, you could have them say the child's name. 

For additional activities, Speaking of Speech has a great section on targeting verbs, including "I am." 

Summertime, Booktime!

I know I have been very scarce with posts during this summer break, but as I begin my new job I hope to get back in the swing of things. In the meantime, I had to share some great books I have run into that would be wonderful for both therapy and large groups.  The first one was read at my daughter's story time at the library the other day.  It is called, "Jump" by Scott M. Fischer. 

It is a great story that could target animal names and actions.  Each animal "JUMPS" away from the animal they meet, with repetitive text that would be easy for imitation of words and actions while reading it.  I found this fun song that could even go along with it:

I am already planning a fun large group with this one! The next one is called, "Pepper Picks a Pumpkin" by Linda Bleck.  This one may be a little harder to find, but is a great one for individual therapy focusing on /p/.  Honestly, just reading it word for word provides some great auditory bombardment.  

The last book is another fun one from the library.  It is called "If You See a Kitten" by John Butler.  This is one that could be used for both individual and group therapies.  It has simple text that focuses on simple CV combinations that kids can't help but imitate!  For example, "If you see a snake...say EEEEEEK!"  How cute is that!? After reading this one, you could have the children act out the story and encourage all the children to say the sound/word when they "see" the animal!  

I hope you are all having a relaxing summer!  

Move Like This

Next week we will be doing fun things with our "clicking camera" sound.  Here is our learning card:

We will be reading "The K Book:" 

It's a nice way to do auditory bombardment, something I talk about often in my posts about the sound of the month.  After we read the book, we will practice some words that have our "k" sound it in, especially some actions that have our "clicking camera" sound.  Next, we will play 'move like this.'  We will try to think of actions or animals to move like, but they have to have our "k" sound in it (kick, kangaroo, cough, catch, kitten, etc.).  We will focus on actions and past tense-ed.  Our weekly handout talks about how to teach children past tense.  It is from Speech and Language Kids, again! :) If you need some action cards, try these from Testy Yet Trying.  

Lions

Next week for Large Group we will be having some fun with lions! Below is our learning card:

We will be doing lots of actions related to lions and other animals, as well as focusing on the negation term, "not." Our weekly handout is actually a fun activity you can do at home to work on action terms and counting.  It is from Investigate Prek.  If you don't have large dice at home just use a box and draw the circles on if you want to do the counting section. However, you can easily do it without that dice and just focus on the animal names, their actions, and verb+ing (jumping).  Have fun!

Musical Instruments

Next week for Large Group we will be doing lots of fun things with our musical instruments.  Here is our learning card:

We will also talk a lot about keeping a steady beat, and even try keeping the beat to a metronome.  In addition, we will focus on the concepts "fast" and "slow!"  Our weekly handout is a nice article that gives some simple tips for reading to your little ones.  

Ocean Animals

One of our little guys LOVES ocean animals, so I decided to have a Large Group focused on this!  Here is our learning card:

We will focus on labeling actions and animals.  In addition, we will be playing a fun, fishing match game with these adorable visuals from Wild About Teaching!  While fishing we will be working on labeling the animals, but we will also be focusing on the concept terms, 'same' and 'different!'  Because of this, our weekly handout is one from Super Duper and focuses on teaching basic concepts.  

Pete the Cat

This week for Large Group we will be reading "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" by Eric Litwin.  

We will be focusing on counting, as well as some important language concepts.  Here is our learning card:

Our weekly handout is a great article that lists a few activities that you can do with your little ones to work on body parts!  I hope you all had a safe and happy break!  

Monkey in the Middle

Next week for Large Group we will be doing more fun things with our sound of the month.  Here is our learning card:

We will be doing monkey in the middle, focusing on actions and past tense -ed.  Our weekly handout is a great one that gives some ideas for working on action terms with young children. It is from the Speech, Language and Communication Website for Cambridgeshire.

Happy Halloween!

Next week with Halloween, parties, meetings, and a short week I will not be leading Large Group in either classroom. I usually float on these days and let the teachers do their own Large Groups if time permits.  Because of that there is no learning card this week.  Here is a fun song from Speaking of Speech that we have been singing this month. All the children love it!  We sing a few verses and then encourage the children to think of things that could be in our Halloween House, then they tell us what the object/item does.  (The skeleton goes rattle, rattle, rattle). This works on actions and wh-questions and is a fun way to work on language at home!  Have a Happy Halloween! 

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.  

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!  

"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: