"April showers bring May flowers". Is that true where you live? I also think that April showers bring May flowers and flowering trees and flowering bushes and pollen and allergies!!! I heard that the allergy season is horrible this year, so in addition to taking care of yourself, notice if your child is struggling with allergies. If you have allergies, you know how it feels: itchy eyes, burning nose, feeling like you have to sneeze and not sneezing OR sneezing over and over again. You might have junk dripping down the back of your throat which makes you clear your throat over and over....and then your throat feels sore. Plus more fluid in your head may cause ear issues. SO, please monitor your child's health and help them deal with the symptoms that may pop up.
When your child doesn't feel well, they will not be communicating as well....well, honestly they will be communicating but it may be more whining and crying and clinging and just acting miserable. This is not the time to push for new words popping, but it is a good time to interpret and validate the communication that they are giving you. Letting them know you understand should help decrease any frustration that is attached to the communication, but not the frustration attached to health.
May is a time to continue your explorations outside. Taking your child outside and sitting them in the grass or letting them walk barefoot is a great sensory/communication activity. If they like the feel of being barefoot you can talk about how your feet feel (because of course, you are barefoot too). You can talk about all the textures and temperatures that your feet are feeling "cold, hard, prickly, crunchy, soft" and watch their wonder as they walk from one texture to another. It feels very different walking on a sidewalk and then walking in the grass. If your child doesn't like this activity, I would encourage them to try a bit more by distracting them or demonstrating how much fun you are having. You can "jump, walk, skip, run, stop, go". To desensitize your child's feet so that they are more comfortable walking on different textures, you can rub their feet, firmly pat on their feet and then help them "jump" on the grass which won't make it feel so prickly. But remember, take baby steps, if your child REALLY doesn't like the changes in textures then you might want to try in the house, walking from tile to carpet or wood floors to carpet.
May foods: Start looking for seasonal fruits and vegetables....yum. Since I live in the south watermelon, corn on the cob and tomatoes seem to be plentiful. Up north you are far from when gardens are producing anything, but walk around the grocery store and try something new and tasty. Sometimes when you try something new as a family, everyone is more interested in trying. And don't forget dipping....that can really help.
You might want to plant a small "kid" garden and grow a food that they like. How fun would that be to dig in the dirt, throw in some seeds, water it and watch it grow? And the wonder of seeing a tomato or other food they think comes from the grocery store actually growing on their little plant is amazing. (What a fun way to add new words....dirt, seed, grow, sunny, water, more, yuck). And then to eat it when it's ready....we all know how "just picked" food tastes. Enjoy!
Another thought would be to throw an old vinyl tablecloth on the grass and have your snack outside. That might be a really good time to try a messier snack because you can just hose down the tablecloth and slip clothes off and throw them right into the washing machine. Encouraging independence with food decreases anxiety with trying new things and not worrying about mess also decreases anxiety, so this is a win/win situation.
Enjoy the outside, open the windows and listen to the new sounds, and explore the fun of changing from winter clothes to warmer weather clothes. All these are opportunities for your child to develop their communication skills.
As always, I look forward to hearing from you. Let me know what YOU want to chat about!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
April 2011
Hello, happy almost Easter !!
First, a warning that I heard yesterday that I want to share with you. Be careful with the plastic Easter eggs that you can fill with goodies. The firemen in my area said that if a child puts that in their mouth with the pointy end in first, they cannot remove it!!! And another mother shared with me that if a marshmallow gets stuck in a child's throat, the Heimlich method doesn't work. So, please keep these thoughts in mind when you are shopping for your Easter goodies.
So now on to happier thoughts. April is a known for it's "showers" and I would encourage you to use that as a fun, sensory, language filled activity. You can do so many things with rain. You can listen for the thunder ("boom"); you can watch for the lightening ("wow"); and you can play in the rain. I mentioned this before, but if it's a nice, light rain with no thunder or lightening, going for a walk is a magical experience. You can put on your puddle boots, put up umbrellas; wear your rain coats (all lovely new words to learn) and take a walk. Listen to the sound the rain makes; feel the wind on your face; feel your face and hands get wet from the rain and talk about all those things. Walk through puddles and do some splashing. Look at the rain in the drains by the curbs and then look again when the sun is out and the water is gone. Put a bucket outside and catch the rain and bring it inside...play with it, taste it, splash in it. Float things in the water outside and inside "go,go go," "oh, no" "bye bye boat", etc. Float boats, leaves, twigs, let your imagination go. And of course, for the sensory child in your house, put on some old clothes or an old swimming suit and play in the rain and in the gutters. Splash in those puddles with your bare feet. FUN!!!
The other April joy is Easter. Think about including candy like pixie stixs; sour gummy worms; or beef jerkey in all kinds of flavors. There is also a dip candy where the child gets to dip a hard candy stick into a powdery sugar.
All of these are fantastic for oral motor stimulation. Easter egg hunts are great for language development: "egg, bunny, hop, where go?; under; up; down".
Color easter eggs as a family. If you don't like the mess of the dyes you can color them with markers or put stickers on them. Crayons will work too.
Eating hard boiled eggs can be a communication time also. Let your child break the shells (they REALLY like this) and then peel off the shell together. Talk about how the shell is "hard; crack; off; broken" and then you can taste. Lots of children do not like eggs but you could try dipping some of the egg in salad dressings; salsa or whatever. Don't avoid flavors that sound weird, like melted chocolate...how do we know if we like these things if we don't try them (Ok, I see you questioning that one :) Also take the egg apart and find the little, yellow ball inside.
If you have some spring/easter stuffed animals, put them in an easter basket and have it to play with. Model those sound effects "baa for the sheep; peep peep for chicks; quack for the ducks; and with the bunnies I use hop, hop and wiggling my nose for them to imitate". Don't forget to add those gestures/signs!! Find the tails on the animals; talk about the eyes...all of this is wonderful for body parts; and always, always, expanding that expressive and receptive language. You can hide the bunny or sheep and go on a hunt to find them "where go? bunny where are you?"
This is a fun time for art projects also. You can add cotton balls as tails to a premade bunny picture. You can finger paint with bright colors and then cut out big easter egg shapes from the paper. Let them squeeze some glue on them and let them shake glitter or put anything fun on them to stick. Talk about the process while you are doing this...remember, it's not about how it looks, it's how it feels to do it.
I went to a Pediatric Feeding conference that showed us how to address feeding within the DIR model. This is the Greenspan approach where every interaction is relationship based. Let me know if you want any more information about this......it's such a logical and respectful way to work on feeding when a child is anxious about feeding. Here is the new thing I learned that might be helpful. When you are exploring new foods, let the child have a cup to spit the food out in....and you have one too and show them how to spit things out. Once again, I see you all raising your eyebrows. But listen to the reasoning about this. If a child is anxious about putting new foods in their mouths, they are very against trying it. But, if they are allowed to spit it out, they are learning that they can control the food, at least well enough to spit it out. They are not being scolded for doing this activity, so there is less stress about having food in the mouth. And if the parents are doing it too, and let your child tell you to spit it out, the power is shared by the family, so stress is again, decreased. And finally, if a child is playing with a new food in their mouth, the activity is fun, they are tasting new tastes and might even swallow some because no one is demanding that they swallow the food. Plus, the ability to spit works on some oral muscles too. Let me know what you think!!!
Enough for today. Enjoy your holiday time!
First, a warning that I heard yesterday that I want to share with you. Be careful with the plastic Easter eggs that you can fill with goodies. The firemen in my area said that if a child puts that in their mouth with the pointy end in first, they cannot remove it!!! And another mother shared with me that if a marshmallow gets stuck in a child's throat, the Heimlich method doesn't work. So, please keep these thoughts in mind when you are shopping for your Easter goodies.
So now on to happier thoughts. April is a known for it's "showers" and I would encourage you to use that as a fun, sensory, language filled activity. You can do so many things with rain. You can listen for the thunder ("boom"); you can watch for the lightening ("wow"); and you can play in the rain. I mentioned this before, but if it's a nice, light rain with no thunder or lightening, going for a walk is a magical experience. You can put on your puddle boots, put up umbrellas; wear your rain coats (all lovely new words to learn) and take a walk. Listen to the sound the rain makes; feel the wind on your face; feel your face and hands get wet from the rain and talk about all those things. Walk through puddles and do some splashing. Look at the rain in the drains by the curbs and then look again when the sun is out and the water is gone. Put a bucket outside and catch the rain and bring it inside...play with it, taste it, splash in it. Float things in the water outside and inside "go,go go," "oh, no" "bye bye boat", etc. Float boats, leaves, twigs, let your imagination go. And of course, for the sensory child in your house, put on some old clothes or an old swimming suit and play in the rain and in the gutters. Splash in those puddles with your bare feet. FUN!!!
The other April joy is Easter. Think about including candy like pixie stixs; sour gummy worms; or beef jerkey in all kinds of flavors. There is also a dip candy where the child gets to dip a hard candy stick into a powdery sugar.
All of these are fantastic for oral motor stimulation. Easter egg hunts are great for language development: "egg, bunny, hop, where go?; under; up; down".
Color easter eggs as a family. If you don't like the mess of the dyes you can color them with markers or put stickers on them. Crayons will work too.
Eating hard boiled eggs can be a communication time also. Let your child break the shells (they REALLY like this) and then peel off the shell together. Talk about how the shell is "hard; crack; off; broken" and then you can taste. Lots of children do not like eggs but you could try dipping some of the egg in salad dressings; salsa or whatever. Don't avoid flavors that sound weird, like melted chocolate...how do we know if we like these things if we don't try them (Ok, I see you questioning that one :) Also take the egg apart and find the little, yellow ball inside.
If you have some spring/easter stuffed animals, put them in an easter basket and have it to play with. Model those sound effects "baa for the sheep; peep peep for chicks; quack for the ducks; and with the bunnies I use hop, hop and wiggling my nose for them to imitate". Don't forget to add those gestures/signs!! Find the tails on the animals; talk about the eyes...all of this is wonderful for body parts; and always, always, expanding that expressive and receptive language. You can hide the bunny or sheep and go on a hunt to find them "where go? bunny where are you?"
This is a fun time for art projects also. You can add cotton balls as tails to a premade bunny picture. You can finger paint with bright colors and then cut out big easter egg shapes from the paper. Let them squeeze some glue on them and let them shake glitter or put anything fun on them to stick. Talk about the process while you are doing this...remember, it's not about how it looks, it's how it feels to do it.
I went to a Pediatric Feeding conference that showed us how to address feeding within the DIR model. This is the Greenspan approach where every interaction is relationship based. Let me know if you want any more information about this......it's such a logical and respectful way to work on feeding when a child is anxious about feeding. Here is the new thing I learned that might be helpful. When you are exploring new foods, let the child have a cup to spit the food out in....and you have one too and show them how to spit things out. Once again, I see you all raising your eyebrows. But listen to the reasoning about this. If a child is anxious about putting new foods in their mouths, they are very against trying it. But, if they are allowed to spit it out, they are learning that they can control the food, at least well enough to spit it out. They are not being scolded for doing this activity, so there is less stress about having food in the mouth. And if the parents are doing it too, and let your child tell you to spit it out, the power is shared by the family, so stress is again, decreased. And finally, if a child is playing with a new food in their mouth, the activity is fun, they are tasting new tastes and might even swallow some because no one is demanding that they swallow the food. Plus, the ability to spit works on some oral muscles too. Let me know what you think!!!
Enough for today. Enjoy your holiday time!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
March 2011
So here we are, almost done with March. Be sure to take advantage of all the mint, special treats that are offered during March (Shamrock Shakes; Mint Blizzard, etc.) These are perfect for oral motor stimulation and are yummy too.
The weather is heading towards spring in some places and in the south we are having perfect weather. So, it's time to get outside and explore. Look for flowers peaking out of the snow ("pretty"....it might sound like "pity"). You talk about flowers; you can sniff the flowers, you can pick the flowers and put them in a vase in your home. You can find flowers in books and pictures in your house. You can point out pictures that are Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You can find flowers on your clothes........see, just take thinking about one object/thing can expand your child's language. You could get some soil and a pot and plant some seeds and watch them grow.
Go on a listening walk and listen for the birds, listen to the ice melting off the roof, listen for the dogs barking, etc. Explore the puddles, put on old clothes and some rubber boots and splash, touch, float things in the puddles. Bring out a cup or other things to dip in the puddles.
Since the focus is St. Patricks Day and green....think about finding and talking about "green" which will sound like "geen". Paint with green, color cool whip green, eat green food, find green clothes and have a green day. It isn't that important that they understand "green" but just the joy of interacting with green things and you commenting on green will help the child understand "green".
Books: Find books about spring and talk about the pictures; flowers; grass; clouds; blue sky; running; jumping; skipping, etc. Then go out and do those things with your child....enjoy the changing season, the unpredictable weather, and each other.
The weather is heading towards spring in some places and in the south we are having perfect weather. So, it's time to get outside and explore. Look for flowers peaking out of the snow ("pretty"....it might sound like "pity"). You talk about flowers; you can sniff the flowers, you can pick the flowers and put them in a vase in your home. You can find flowers in books and pictures in your house. You can point out pictures that are Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You can find flowers on your clothes........see, just take thinking about one object/thing can expand your child's language. You could get some soil and a pot and plant some seeds and watch them grow.
Go on a listening walk and listen for the birds, listen to the ice melting off the roof, listen for the dogs barking, etc. Explore the puddles, put on old clothes and some rubber boots and splash, touch, float things in the puddles. Bring out a cup or other things to dip in the puddles.
Since the focus is St. Patricks Day and green....think about finding and talking about "green" which will sound like "geen". Paint with green, color cool whip green, eat green food, find green clothes and have a green day. It isn't that important that they understand "green" but just the joy of interacting with green things and you commenting on green will help the child understand "green".
Books: Find books about spring and talk about the pictures; flowers; grass; clouds; blue sky; running; jumping; skipping, etc. Then go out and do those things with your child....enjoy the changing season, the unpredictable weather, and each other.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
February 2011
This entry is all about empowering families!! I am running into so many families that feel that they do not have the skills to make change in their child's life and it bothers me. As the parents/caregivers, you have ALL the power to help your child. Let me expand on this.
When your child is being seen by "specialists" like speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, special teachers, tutors, medical staff and even school teachers, it takes some of your power away. You may feel inadequate or that you do not have the skills to help your child. It is understandable that you will feel that these "professionals" know best for your child and that you need to do what they say. But I want you to realize something else.
You are the person that cares the most about your child; understands your child the best; reads your child the best; enjoys your child the best and loves your child the most. You are the center of your child's universe and that makes you the one with the most power. (even if you don't feel that way).
When you are dealing with professionals, try to remember that. Ask questions, have them explain anything that you don't understand; don't sign anything that you don't agree with; ask them for more time if you need to think things over. It doesn't always feel like it, but you make the decisions about what you think is best for you and your child. It's scary to stand up for yourself with professionals, but you can do it and you will feel so much better if you understand and agree with what is going on.
Also, remember that the things that you do with your child when they are not in school or special programs is the meaningful, fun part of their lives and will help their development as much as the special programs. This will tie again into making your child's life, your family's life, rich in experiences that are joyful which will lend itself to overall development of communication; motor skills; behavior concerns; cognition, etc. etc......it goes on and on.
So, look at your day. Think of including your child in some of your daily activities and don't look at the clock. Just enjoy the process. If it's cooking, let your child help and talk about what you are doing and let them stir and measure and pour and push the button on the blender. Delight in their joy in trying new things. Incorporate the hints on popping language and words. If there are motor issues, get suggestions from your therapist on how to best position them so that they can participate.
Think of all the daily "chores/routine" that you get tired of doing yourself and let your child help once in awhile and make it a language time. Sweeping, turning on the vacuum, letting them help push the vaccum; sorting clothes; bath time; taking a walk, etc. Everything you do during your day can be changed out a bit to incorporate your child.
Remember, you have the power!
When your child is being seen by "specialists" like speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, special teachers, tutors, medical staff and even school teachers, it takes some of your power away. You may feel inadequate or that you do not have the skills to help your child. It is understandable that you will feel that these "professionals" know best for your child and that you need to do what they say. But I want you to realize something else.
You are the person that cares the most about your child; understands your child the best; reads your child the best; enjoys your child the best and loves your child the most. You are the center of your child's universe and that makes you the one with the most power. (even if you don't feel that way).
When you are dealing with professionals, try to remember that. Ask questions, have them explain anything that you don't understand; don't sign anything that you don't agree with; ask them for more time if you need to think things over. It doesn't always feel like it, but you make the decisions about what you think is best for you and your child. It's scary to stand up for yourself with professionals, but you can do it and you will feel so much better if you understand and agree with what is going on.
Also, remember that the things that you do with your child when they are not in school or special programs is the meaningful, fun part of their lives and will help their development as much as the special programs. This will tie again into making your child's life, your family's life, rich in experiences that are joyful which will lend itself to overall development of communication; motor skills; behavior concerns; cognition, etc. etc......it goes on and on.
So, look at your day. Think of including your child in some of your daily activities and don't look at the clock. Just enjoy the process. If it's cooking, let your child help and talk about what you are doing and let them stir and measure and pour and push the button on the blender. Delight in their joy in trying new things. Incorporate the hints on popping language and words. If there are motor issues, get suggestions from your therapist on how to best position them so that they can participate.
Think of all the daily "chores/routine" that you get tired of doing yourself and let your child help once in awhile and make it a language time. Sweeping, turning on the vacuum, letting them help push the vaccum; sorting clothes; bath time; taking a walk, etc. Everything you do during your day can be changed out a bit to incorporate your child.
Remember, you have the power!
Monday, January 3, 2011
January 2011
Happy New Years!!! I hope that you all have a year that is filled with joy and balance and lots of communication :)
I am from the Midwest, so when I think of January, I think of very cold weather and lots of snow. And even in the south we get "colder" days than usual. So, let's think about what we can focus on, to pop language for the month of January.
Words to focus on this month might include:
1. "cold", "brr" continue as good ones to focus on. Include the motion of "shivering" by shivering your arms when you say "cold" or "brr" to make it easier for your child to imitate, as well as make this more fun.
2. You can talk about the extra clothing that you might be wearing "coat, hat, boots, mittens, scarf" and concepts like "on and off" when it comes to that clothing. Remember to mix things up and maybe put the hat on your child's foot and just look expectantly to see if they react to the "mistake". Or give your child a choice..."do you want your hat or your mittens next" and show them each item and let them pick, label, point or say their choice.
3. "snow, snowman, snowflake, shovel, snowplow, snowball, ice, ice skates, etc. etc." Even if you live in the south you should let your child be exposed to these words. It will expand both the vocabulary of words they understand as well as the words they say.
4. Don't forget to add gestures or signs in addition to the words to help your child communicate even quicker.
5. Remember that the words may not sound exact when your child first tries them. But that's OK!! So, cold might sound like ko; and brrr might sound like bu; and snow might sound like no; and coat might sound like tote; and snowball might sound like nobaw, but give your child the credit and get excited about these approximations. Praise them and say, "yes, snowball".
Oral motor and food ideas:
1. So, bring some of that snow inside and taste it, or if you are worried about dirty snow you can crush some ice cubes and make your own snow. You can put flavors on the snow and taste them. Some flavoring might even freeze into a solid piece on top of the snow and would be fun to crunch. Have your child use their tongue to taste (even a snowcone would be great) or use a straw. Let your imagination go.
2. Hot chocolate is a wonderful taste in January. Try hot chocolate with peppermint flavoring or vanilla flavoring. Float some marshmallows in the hot chocolate to taste. If you are worried about it being too hot, make the instant with warm water from the tap. There are even recipes for frozen hot chocolate online. Yum!
3. Soups and stews are common when the weather gets cold so trying tastes of these might be fun too. Don't forget to float some fish crackers or crunch up different flavors to top them off. You can drink soup through a straw if it's creamy and doesn't have chunks. If you have a child that doesn't like vegetables you can always puree a vegetable soup and then add lots of noodles (kids usually like noodles) and there you go. Serve the soup in a cup for a different experience or in a fun snowman mug. Also, don't forget chili for the children that crave a more intense, spicy flavor in their mouths.
4. Speaking of vegetables, try serving frozen peas right from the bag. Most children don't see this as a vegetable, you can talk about the "cold/brr" food and maybe some more vegetables will get into your child's mouth.
5. Buy those snowball Hostess cakes and "make" a snowman by putting three on the plate or just talking about snowballs and then eating them up.
6. If it is snowing, go outside and stick out your tongue and catch snowflakes...this is great fun and good oral motor practice.
Continue including your child in the preparation of the food which makes tasting more tempting.
Creative Ideas:
1. Get outside, in the snow and play. Make snowmen, snow angels, snow mountains to climb, etc. Dress the snowmen with hats and scarves...another opportunity to talk about clothing items. Also talk about the body parts, eyes, nose, mouth, head and tummy too. Put water and food coloring into squirt bottles and "paint" your snow creations. Make a snow animal and let your child sit on it...."on, off" will be practiced over and over.
2. If you are in the south try making snowmen out of sand at the beach or even in your sandbox. They don't have to be big to be fun.
3. Bring a bucket of snow into the house (or make your own) and pour into the sink, put on mittens and play with the snow. Add little figurines or trucks to plow the snow, hide in the snow, etc. Talk about the actions your child is doing "pushing, patting, making; etc." in addition to labeling the creations that they are making.
4. Play "stick the hat on the snowman". Draw a snowman's head on a piece of paper, add eyes, nose, mouth and then make a hat out of black paper. Have your child stick the hat on the snowman's head by putting tape on the back of the hat. More vocabulary practice "hat, up, oh no, pretty, etc".
5. This idea can be under food and creative. Cover your table with a plastic tablecloth or put a protective tablecloth under your child's chair; put a bib on your child or remove their shirt and bring out some coolwhip....yes, it looks just like snow. You can taste it, of course, but you can also drive your cars through it like snowplows, or they can get "stuck" in the snow. You can hide frozen peas in it and find them and eat them. You can make roads through it, or just squish it with your hands or take a lick of it. You can sprinkle pixie stixs powder on it (snowing) and taste that too. Let your imagination go.
Book suggestion: The Snowman is a book that has no words. It would be fun to talk about together. Maybe look for a board book version so you don't have to worry about ripped pages.
Movie night out suggestion for mom and dad: The movie "The King's Speech" is really well done and is about stuttering. My husband loved the movie, so it's not just for people interested in speech therapy :)
I am from the Midwest, so when I think of January, I think of very cold weather and lots of snow. And even in the south we get "colder" days than usual. So, let's think about what we can focus on, to pop language for the month of January.
Words to focus on this month might include:
1. "cold", "brr" continue as good ones to focus on. Include the motion of "shivering" by shivering your arms when you say "cold" or "brr" to make it easier for your child to imitate, as well as make this more fun.
2. You can talk about the extra clothing that you might be wearing "coat, hat, boots, mittens, scarf" and concepts like "on and off" when it comes to that clothing. Remember to mix things up and maybe put the hat on your child's foot and just look expectantly to see if they react to the "mistake". Or give your child a choice..."do you want your hat or your mittens next" and show them each item and let them pick, label, point or say their choice.
3. "snow, snowman, snowflake, shovel, snowplow, snowball, ice, ice skates, etc. etc." Even if you live in the south you should let your child be exposed to these words. It will expand both the vocabulary of words they understand as well as the words they say.
4. Don't forget to add gestures or signs in addition to the words to help your child communicate even quicker.
5. Remember that the words may not sound exact when your child first tries them. But that's OK!! So, cold might sound like ko; and brrr might sound like bu; and snow might sound like no; and coat might sound like tote; and snowball might sound like nobaw, but give your child the credit and get excited about these approximations. Praise them and say, "yes, snowball".
Oral motor and food ideas:
1. So, bring some of that snow inside and taste it, or if you are worried about dirty snow you can crush some ice cubes and make your own snow. You can put flavors on the snow and taste them. Some flavoring might even freeze into a solid piece on top of the snow and would be fun to crunch. Have your child use their tongue to taste (even a snowcone would be great) or use a straw. Let your imagination go.
2. Hot chocolate is a wonderful taste in January. Try hot chocolate with peppermint flavoring or vanilla flavoring. Float some marshmallows in the hot chocolate to taste. If you are worried about it being too hot, make the instant with warm water from the tap. There are even recipes for frozen hot chocolate online. Yum!
3. Soups and stews are common when the weather gets cold so trying tastes of these might be fun too. Don't forget to float some fish crackers or crunch up different flavors to top them off. You can drink soup through a straw if it's creamy and doesn't have chunks. If you have a child that doesn't like vegetables you can always puree a vegetable soup and then add lots of noodles (kids usually like noodles) and there you go. Serve the soup in a cup for a different experience or in a fun snowman mug. Also, don't forget chili for the children that crave a more intense, spicy flavor in their mouths.
4. Speaking of vegetables, try serving frozen peas right from the bag. Most children don't see this as a vegetable, you can talk about the "cold/brr" food and maybe some more vegetables will get into your child's mouth.
5. Buy those snowball Hostess cakes and "make" a snowman by putting three on the plate or just talking about snowballs and then eating them up.
6. If it is snowing, go outside and stick out your tongue and catch snowflakes...this is great fun and good oral motor practice.
Continue including your child in the preparation of the food which makes tasting more tempting.
Creative Ideas:
1. Get outside, in the snow and play. Make snowmen, snow angels, snow mountains to climb, etc. Dress the snowmen with hats and scarves...another opportunity to talk about clothing items. Also talk about the body parts, eyes, nose, mouth, head and tummy too. Put water and food coloring into squirt bottles and "paint" your snow creations. Make a snow animal and let your child sit on it...."on, off" will be practiced over and over.
2. If you are in the south try making snowmen out of sand at the beach or even in your sandbox. They don't have to be big to be fun.
3. Bring a bucket of snow into the house (or make your own) and pour into the sink, put on mittens and play with the snow. Add little figurines or trucks to plow the snow, hide in the snow, etc. Talk about the actions your child is doing "pushing, patting, making; etc." in addition to labeling the creations that they are making.
4. Play "stick the hat on the snowman". Draw a snowman's head on a piece of paper, add eyes, nose, mouth and then make a hat out of black paper. Have your child stick the hat on the snowman's head by putting tape on the back of the hat. More vocabulary practice "hat, up, oh no, pretty, etc".
5. This idea can be under food and creative. Cover your table with a plastic tablecloth or put a protective tablecloth under your child's chair; put a bib on your child or remove their shirt and bring out some coolwhip....yes, it looks just like snow. You can taste it, of course, but you can also drive your cars through it like snowplows, or they can get "stuck" in the snow. You can hide frozen peas in it and find them and eat them. You can make roads through it, or just squish it with your hands or take a lick of it. You can sprinkle pixie stixs powder on it (snowing) and taste that too. Let your imagination go.
Book suggestion: The Snowman is a book that has no words. It would be fun to talk about together. Maybe look for a board book version so you don't have to worry about ripped pages.
Movie night out suggestion for mom and dad: The movie "The King's Speech" is really well done and is about stuttering. My husband loved the movie, so it's not just for people interested in speech therapy :)
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