Culver's Speech Notes

Read Across America is March 2nd

In 1997 an organization known as the National Education Association (NEA), pushed for a special day to celebrate reading throughout the United States. This idea proved to be a popular one so it was not long before the first Read Across America Day was held on March 2, 1998. This nationwide observance coincides with the birthday of Dr Seuss (Geisel), an American writer best known for writing children’s books. Dr. Seuss epitomizes a love of children and learning. Also, his use of rhyme makes his books an effective tool for teaching young children the basic skills they need to be successful. When we celebrate Dr. Seuss and reading, we send a clear message to America's children that reading is fun and important. Some of his books include Green Eggs and Ham, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, and The Cat in the Hat. You're never too old, too wacky, too wild, to pick up a book and read to a child."

Here are some great books for Valentine’s Day to encourage language developement

Love, Splat by Scotton Splat has made a special valentine for his secret crush, Kitten. A little bashful about giving it to her, he also discovers that his rival, Spike, has eyes for Kitten too. In fact, Spike has a bigger valentine for her than Splat. Losing his nerve Splat drops his valentine for Kitten in the trash. It turns out that Kitten finds it, and prefers Spat over Spike inspite of his rumbling stomach and bendy tail.

*A cute story to use to re-tell, talk about the beginning, middle and end, as well as the problem and solution.

*Extend the story to talk about how children treat each other at school. What makes a friend? What do they appreciate in your child?

Happy Valentine’s Day, Mouse by Numeroff and Bond Mouse is making valentines for his friends and each one celebrates what she likes in that friend–pig is a good dancer and moose is such a good artist.

 Make some valentines for friends. Talk about what your child appreciates in each one and dictate or write a message telling them that.

 Talk about the difference between being good at something like soccer or drawing versus a character trait like generous, kind or helper

I Love You More by Duksta This clever book is divided in half, with one side devoted to a mother telling her son how much she loves him, while you flip the book over and read the other half where the boy declares his love for his mother.

 Talk about the comparatives, “I love you higher than the highest bird ever flew,” or taller than the tallest tree.” Encourage your child to make their own comparatives: bigger than…., wider than……happier than….. and illustrate your words.

Mama, Will You Hold My Hand? by Pignataro Mama promises to hold her little Bear’s hand “to the ends of the earth.” They pass through beautifully water colored landscapes as they hold on to each other’s hands.

 Point out the descriptive words, “swirly skies,” “sneaky shadows” or “wavy waters.” Collect pictures or objects around the room and add a descriptive word to the noun. See how many you can brainstorm.

 Talk about places your child has gone, and add a descriptive word to it.

Tips To Get Your Child to Talk About Their School Day

Don’t we all want to hear about our child’s day–that they were included on the playground, had someone to sit with at lunch, understood what was going on in class, and most importantly had a “good” day?  s a speech language pathologist, I have had to start and keep conversations going with children for over 15 years. So I want to offer some tips for getting your preschool and elementary-aged child to open up about school when they come home:

1. Ask open-ended questions.  Avoid questions that can be answered in one word–especially “yes” or “no.” Rather try some open-ended questions like, “Tell me about the game you played at recess today” or “That’s a beautiful picture of the farm. Tell me about it.” or “I wonder what you had for lunch today.”

2. Use their artwork or take-home papers to start conversations. Take advantage of these masterpieces, asking open ended questions of your little artist and don’t forget to listen. Showing interest in their work can increase their self-esteem as well as link school and home.

3. Know their school schedule so you can start talking about when they go to the media center, music, P.E. or art class. “What did you do in art today?” or “What did you learn in music?”  “Tell me the books you chose at the media center.”  Take the time to sit down and talk with them, affirming their book choice, and encouraging reading.

4. Know what they are working on in school.  Have fun exploring the topics on the internet together, learning new facts to expand on their knowledge and discussing the themes.

5. Model sharing about your day. “I had a great day today. I talked “Aunt Carol and Uncle Bob about…” or “I met a new friend and we had coffee.” It is important to share your interests, friends, challenges and joys with your kids so they see that communication modeled for them.

6. Take time at the dinner table to talk about a good and bad thing that happened that day. Make it a game of thinking of a good and bad, happy and sad, or fun and challenging event that day. By encouraging your child to talk about a hard thing that happened that day, you can provide emotion words to help them express themselves such as, “You must have been disappointed when Ashley didn’t let you join the game.” or “I bet you were frustrated when they were out of your favorite ice cream at lunch.”

7. Use books as conversation starters. Choose a book about school and see what conversation unfolds. A good humorous book to read is “What a Day it was at School!” by Jack Prelutsky. His collection of poems about school–tipping over with a heavy backpack, throwing food in the cafeteria, hopelessly competing with a classmate in gym, or emitting an accidental noise during class–is outrageously silly, getting a child laughing and connecting the stories to her school experience.
 
8. Listen, listen, and listen. Once your child gets started talking about their day, hold off more questions and let them go. As parents, we tend to jump in with more questions, but pausing is important.  A child gains confidence as they relate their day and you affirm them.

Using technology to help Speech and Language

Let your child be a star! Using cell phone videos, webcams, flip cameras, etc. to record your child saying their sounds correctly, retelling a story, or describing an event is a wonderful way to provide feedback.  Seeing and hearing themselves communicate is so powerful.  Give it a try.  What a great way to pass the time waiting in line, riding in the car, or just practicing at home.  

     I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holiday! 

                                      

Interrupting "Politely"

 “Don’t interrupt!” How many times have we heard that from our parents or said it to our children? An interruption is anything that causes us to stop what we are doing. Interruptions are often considered rude, and as a result, we usually teach children that it is bad manners to interrupt others. However, there may be times when an interruption is necessary. Take the following school situation for example—The teacher is teaching the class about the solar system. A student in the back of the room is having difficulty hearing the teacher. Should the student be quiet and miss the lesson? Or should he/she politely interrupt to let the teacher know that he/she is having difficulty hearing?

How to Interrupt Politely

Although the words “polite” and “interrupt” may seem like opposites, these words (and behaviors) go hand in hand! Therefore, it is important to teach children appropriate ways to disrupt a conversation or activity before they ask a question or make a comment. The tips below are helpful ways to teach children the “rules” of interrupting.

• Know when an interruption is necessary – If your comment or question can wait for another time, then wait. Only interrupt if you feel it is important to share your thought or ask your question at that very moment.

• Make eye contact with the person you want to speak to – If you make eye contact with the person you want to speak to, he/she may recognize that you have something to say and may invite you to speak.

• Wait for a break in the conversation – If it is not an emergency, wait until the speaker pauses to allow others to speak.

• Raise your hand – Raising your hand lets the other person know that you have something to say.

• Wait to be recognized – Raising your hand does not give you permission to blurt out your question or comment. Wait until the speaker acknowledges you before sharing your thoughts or ideas.

• Keep your comments short and to the point – Remember that when you have interrupted someone, and are given the chance to share, be sure to say your message clearly and stay on topic.

Improving Speaking, Reading and Writing Skills

We are having a wonderful time in speech using the program The Story Grammar Marker.  The students are learning all about becoming good story tellers.  There are seven stages of retelling.  In the first stage the child uses a descriptive sequence mainly stating the character and the setting.  At the second stage the child provides the character, setting and some of the actions.  By the third stage, the child is providing the character, setting, the actions and the initiating event (we call it the kick-off).  By stage four, the child is providing the character, setting, the actions and the initiating event, the feelings of the main character and a plan to resolve the problem or conflict in the story and a consequence of their actions.  In stage five, the child adds a resolution creating a complex episode. No matter what level they have started at this year, we will work to move them forward in the stages.  The ability to expressively present a story supports the students in the classroom as well.  It ties in to being able to read a story independently and retell it to someone else thereby showing comprehension.  It also helps in improving written expression skills.

 

Language is different from Speech

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Welcome back

 
Dear Parents,

I hope that each of you had a wonderful, relaxing summer and that this school year is a great one for you and your child! I enjoyed working with many of you last year, but I have not had an opportunity to get to know all of you personally.  For those of you who don't know me, I am your child's speech teacher.  I have been a speech therapist for eight years.  Prior to coming to Cobb, I spent two years in Coweta County Schools and one year working with preschool age children in Carroll County.  I also hold a license from the state of Georgia in Speech Pathology. 

I am certainly looking forward to working with you!  

Sincerely,

Donna Culver, Speech-language Pathologist