Playing Outside

Hello there friends!

To start my outside blog post, I thought I'd start with sharing what I did over the weekend... which was play OUTSIDE!!! My wonderful in-laws came to visit me and Scottie in Flagstaff. We showed them around the cute town, played in the mountains, and then went to Sedona! It really was a magical time. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend...

Now, for the good stuff that you all want. How on Earth (haha, get it?! Earth? 😉) do I work on speech and language skills outside?! 

To start, I think you should turn on one of my favorite Pandora stations, Ingrid Michaelson, get out a pen and paper, take some notes, write down inspirations, 

then take your radio and notes outside and 

PLAY!!

Okay, it's funny because being outside really brings out the 'littleness' in everyone. I'm proof to that statement. It makes my giddy. 

I'll give the example of going up into the mountains- because that's one of my favorite things to do.

⛰ Describing: The great thing about outside, is that there are so many things you can describe! Look for paw prints, flowers, trees, sticks, fallen logs... Don't force your child to say anything, just let them explore as you tell them loads of information about the goodness of the Earth. This is called 'Self-Talk', and it's a proven method for getting kiddies to talk- the more they hear you, the more the will talk right back.

OR, what about I SPY🔍- who doesn't love this game? Maybe after the 157th time it starts to lose it's charm, but the first 20 rounds seem to be fun. What's more, it's fabulous for describing. Shapes, colors, sizes, categories... these all fit into this kid-friendly game. They are describing and working on increasing their phrase length and vocabularies without even knowing it!


⛰ Categorize- 
As you go around describing all the things you see, collect them as well. At the end of your describing game talk about what items go together. You could categorize things that are alive vs. dead, by color... kids seem to always surprise me to find a commonality between 2 items that I hadn't seemed to think of before.
You can even work on categorizing before you leave the house. What items will we need to enjoy the outdoors? Will it be hot, or cold? Will we need food?


⛰ Art- Other than having to bring art supplies up into the mountains, this is so fun to do. Encourage your child's speech and language by 'playing stupid', "I wonder what color we should make the fire," or, "How are we going to get these sticks to stay on?" Your little one will think you are SO silly, and be delighted that they get to teach you. If they something that's incorrect, be careful not to shoot them down... try it, talk about why it didn't work, then move on to the next thing.

picture and idea from: gluedtomycraftsblog.com

⛰ Reading- For those of you who have read my previous blog posts or follow my Instagram account, you know I love books. LOVE them. And being outdoors is no exception to that. Jenna, at Speech Room News, gave an awesome book idea for outside, Scare a Bear. Bring this lovely book along, give it a read, talk about similarities between your day and the bear's day. Be hypothetical; what kind of things could you do to scare a bear? Or another animal that was near? Would you want to scare all the animals that came by? Why or why not?

What are your favorite things to do outside?! Where are some of your favorite, kid-friendly places to go?! Comment below ↓ and share with the rest of us.

Okay guys, thanks for reading- I'll see you next week!!!

~Kassi, the Speech Therapist in Phoenix

Baking in Language

How was everyone's holiday 🐰🥕🐣🐥 weekend?! Mine was FABULOUS. My husband and I drove up to the Grand Canyon, where we ate at El Tovar restaurant with a BIG huge window where we could see the canyon from. Here are a few of my favorite pictures...

Okay, anyways!

Who doesn't like sweet treats?

🍪🍥🎂🍬🍭🍩🍦🍨🍧 

Although I try to be good, we all know that a delicious something or other is fun to have every now and then.

I LOVE to run speech and language therapy groups in the kitchen. Parents, we all know you spend more time in the kitchen than you would probably like to. So, why not get your kiddies in there every now and then to help out!

Recently, we made Oreo Treats- ya know, instead of Rice Krispie Treats?! They. Were. Delicious.

I'm going to walk you through the steps on how to make this, and how to encourage language and independence with each step.

1. Gather ingredients:

5 cups large marshmallows (or about 3 cups small marshmallows)

4 T. butter

1 package of oreos

Encourage basic concepts- Do they want BIG or little marshmallows?

2. Put the WHOLE package of oreos inside a ziplock bag.

Opposites- Full and Empty; Take turns putting oreos IN the bag; Have your little one tell you PUT IN to put more oreos in the bag.

3. SMASH the oreos into teeny-tiny bits! 

We used a rollin pin for this, but you could use the bottom of a cup, a play hammer...

Have fun with this- you can say SMASH, PUSH, CRUMBLE, each time you hit the oreos.

Talk about how the Oreos were once WHOLE, now they are in PIECES!

4. Now it's time to melt the marshmallows. Cut 4 T. of butter, and put both the marshmallows and butter into a bowl.

Have them help you cut. This encourages independence! Obviously stay right there with them and use a butter knife as well. They can count each tablespoon 1-2-3-4.

Talk about how butter helps marshmallows melt into a creamy mixture. 

5. Put the marshmallows in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

I love to play dumb with this kind of stuff... "hmm, now we need to put this in something that will get hot and help it melt together!" If your kiddo doesn't say OVEN or MICROWAVE, you could say, "I wonder if the microwave would help this melt, or if the refrigerator would, what do you think?"

If they say refrigerator, put it in for a couple seconds, take it out and talk about how instead of warmer, it's colder!

Take advantage of those opportunities that they get something wrong. Be careful to not shut them down.

6. Give the marshmallows one last stir, then pour the Oreos in and stir!

Talk about actions- stirring, pouring; Introduce some new vocabulary- sticky, melt

7. You can either push them into bars, or do what we do at school and just take a big scoop and put it on a plate!

YUM!

🍪 As you're eating this delicious creation, talk about the sequence of what you did; first, next, then, last.

🍪 Ask 'wh' questions- Why did we put the marshmallows and butter in the microwave? 

I hope this gives you some inspiration for more activities in the kitchen. If you follow THIS link, it will take you to where I originally found this recipe, as well as more kid-friendly recipes.

Thanks for reading! I can't wait until next time! 

~Kassi, the Phoenix Speech Therapist

Easter for the Procrastinators...

🐰🥕Easter is hopping right around the corner!

For those parents who haven't yet had the time to do their Easter basket shopping, I have compiled a small list of some awesome toys that I love to help encourage speech and language development!

1. Teeny Weeny Toys

I love Teeny Weeny Toys because there is no one specific purpose for them. They have bath toys, dollhouses, little people, cars... 

2. 'The Carrot Seed'

I love this book! It's perfect for this time of year too- it talks about planting and nurturing seeds. I love to talk about the sequence of planting while I read as well. And hey! You can put in a packet of seeds in their basket too, and act out the story for some added fun!

3. Magnetic Fun House

I love playing house... so do many kids that I see. So why not get a play-house for the go?! This magnetic house has people as well as various house-hold items. Kids increase their imagination by leaps and bounds when playing with dollhouses, and we all know what imagination does for their little minds (and if you've forgotten, or haven't had a chance to read it yet, click HERE)!

4. Tummy Stuffers!

These guys are a little big to fit inside of an Easter basket, but if you're like my family who put toys on the couch too- this could be just for you!

I love Tummy Stuffers to describe things I've found. We take turns grabbing things around the house and putting them inside; then we describe items and have the other person guess which one we have! 

5. Big Crayons by Learning Resources

I've posted about my love for these crayons before. They are a bit more expensive than the rest of the items on this list, however, if you have more than one kiddo you can divvy them up to different kids! I love these because inside each of the large crayons are mini toys that are that color (for example, inside the Orange crayon there is a small carrot, goldfish, pumpkin...).

It's fun to put these into categories- food, animals, objects

It's fun to describe using your 5 senses

It's fun to put inside those Tummy stuffers

There really is no limit on what you can do with these! Plus, Learning Resources has tons of other neat toys!

6. Passes to local outings

We are always looking for something to do with our kiddos that gets us out of the house. Get a pass to the zoo, aquarium, museum, etc. and stuff it in that basket! Your kids will be excited and it also acts as  'Killing two birds with one stone'! You get a fun day AND something to put in the basket!

On the right hand side, you can subscribe to Rollins Speech Therapy's Blog, where you will get access to activities to do at home, as well as have the opportunity to ask questions regarding your child's speech and language development!

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you have a wonderful weekend! ~Kassi, 

Speech therapy in Phoenix, AZ

Wonder Wednesday and Behavior

Hello friends!

Happy Wonder Wednesday! 

First... a little bit about my life right now...

I've just come back from the happiest place on earth... Disneyland! My husband had never been, and so I decided it was a MUST before we have kids! 👍

at 7:45 A.M. we are ready to go!

Obviously, he LOVED it. We also got to spend some time at the beach. It really was a magical weekend. Here are some of my favorite pictures-

And beach time of course!

Pluto

 

We got to meet Mickey... twice!

So now that we've talked about my 💥MaGiCaL💥 weekend, I want to talk to you about something that many parents and caregivers have trouble with.

Behavior.

Almost a couple years ago, I sat and listened to a speaker-Jo Mascorro- and she mesmerized myself and many others in the room. Not only was she funny and a joy to listen to, she is brilliant! If you get a chance to ever go to her conference, 'When Go to Your Room Doesn't Seem Quite Far Enough,' DO. IT.

After the conference I became inspired and wrote out short talking points that I printed for myself, my coworkers, teachers and of course parents. 


Your turn! Become INSPIRED💕

• Kids don't rise to low expectations
• This might be the quote I think about frequently with my students. Think about it, if you give your kids an easy out, they most definitely will take it! Let's give them some expectations that they can be proud of accomplishing!
• True teaching happens all the time
• I tell my teachers this frequently. You can literally teach All. The. Time. Kids are so curious, "why?" "why?" "Why?" "WHY?" 😂 Make a goal to teach your child one new thing each day.
• Behavior IS communication
• If they are pushing the toy away that you've got in front them, it probably means they don't want it!
• If they squeal with delight when a song plays, that probably means they love it!
• Pay attention to how your kiddo reacts to different things around them- You'll learn a WHOLE lot.
• Do not use: Don't, Stop No...→ say what you want!
• "Don't write on that!"→ "Write on the paper"
• "Stop hitting your sister!"→ "Put your hands in your lap"
• When you can't make a behavior go away, give it a time and place
• "You can't hit your friends at school, but I'll tell ya what, you can hit your pillow after school when you get home!"
• Validate their emotions!
• Think about it, when us big people get upset, we just want someone to validate us! Validate that we are sad, mad, happy, frustrated, excited...
• Kids like to hear this too- "I understand your mad that it's bed time, but I need you to sleep so we can have an awesome day tomorrow!"

Want more inspiring bullet points? You can get the list I created by sending me a message HERE.

Also, I found THIS awesome Blog post, created from Jo's lecture! It's quite a long read, but I definitely suggest it.

 Thanks for reading everyone!

ALSO! Hint Hint, Wink Wink... there will be a GIVEAWAY on my Instagram! Follow me for more information!