Making marks: The beginnings of writing

• Talk about and let them see you do ordinary writing tasks such as: making a shopping list or writing a birthday card and get them involved.
• Ask them to read their writing to you
• Provide a variety of writing ,materials such as: chalks, crayons, paint and brushes, pencils, felt tips etc
• Make some home made play dough (see older post).  Make marks on it or make shapes
• Make patterns together
• Make a book or play shop or post office
• Give them lots of paper, even old wallpaper and let them make squiggles.  Praise them when they do
• Write with water and washing up bottles, paint rollers, paint brushes - outside
• Let them make mistakes!  It's all part of learning

Sharing books and stories

Enjoying books and stories with your child

• Encourage other family members to share books and stories with your child
• Let your child see you and other family members reading
• Listen to stories on cd's or similar too
• Take a book or cd in the car
• Join the library and make visits part of a regular outing
• Make enjoying a story together a part of your daily routine.  It doesn't have to be just at bedtime
• Make your own books using photos, drawings and cuttings from catalogues and magazines
• Make some home made puppets and use them to tell the story
• Use clothes for dressing up as characters from the story
• Make up new parts to favourite stories or just add / use your child's and / or other peoples names

Talking and playing - Out and about

Shopping

• Save empty packages and labels
• Gather together a variety of shopping bags, e.g. baskets, handbags, purses
• Find clothes for dressing up, e.g. hats and scarves
• Set up a shop and play with the children, taking on different roles
• Greet and use 'shop' phrases, e.g. 'Please can I have?', 'Can I help you?'
• Play games with the labels: recognising labels (early reading skills), take labels to the shop to match / buy in the shop instead of a shopping list
• At home, and on the way to, from and in, the shop, talk about size, shape, letters, colours, number, use, contents, favourites, what you need

Talking and playing in everyday routines

A sense of order

Knowing what will happen next is important to young children:

• It gives them a sense of security and helps them to begin to make choices
• It can help to reduce the feelings of confusion that can lead to tantrums - but there's no guarantee
• A sense of order in daily routines helps children to understand numbers and how they work, e.g. first, next
• Routines can develop around the daily loves of family members, e.g.

      -  Child: dressing, eating, changing, washing, sleeping

      - Family: going out, coming back, appointments

      - Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night

      - Order: in which toys, machines, books work etc

Did you know?

• The earliest months and years are the most important in a child's language development.  The sooner children hear language, the sooner they begin to understand and use words.

• Young children find it much easier than adults to learn more than one language - they don't have the hang ups that we can have as adults.

• By the age of five years, children's spoken language has been acquired through talking, playing, sharing books and stories with you as well as singing songs and rhymes. 

• How you interact with your child, giving them warmth, love and stimulation matters most

Top ten activities for developing and improving your child's speech and language skills

There are many simple activities that you can do with your child to develop their speech and language skills.

1. Be a good model – speak clearly and slowly and face your child when speaking. If your child says a word or sentence incorrectly, rather than correct them or ask them to repeat it, just say the word / sentence back to them correctly to show you have understood. This way your child always hears the correct version. This is how children learn language.

2. Remember your language level – don’t use words or sentences that your child will not understand. Speak to them using language they can understand, and explain any new words.

3. Make time to sit down with your child – even if it is just for a few minutes a day (although the more one-to-one time the better), spend some quiet time with your child, away from distractions. Look at a book together and talk about the pictures.

4. Turn off the TV and take out the dummy – children do not learn language and social skills by watching TV, and new evidence shows that too much TV watching prior to starting school can affect listening and attention skills, which will impact on their learning once they start school.

5. Observe and comment – when you are playing with your child, take a step back, do not feel that you have to fill the silences, just comment on the things your child is doing so they can here (and learn) the new vocabulary.

6. Let your child lead – let your child lead the play, let them be the boss of play. This can build self-confidence and does not put pressure on them to talk and respond to the adult all the time.

7. Books, books, books – books can be used in many ways to develop language and early literacy skills. Evidence shows that children that have more exposure to books prior to schooling often find it develop early literacy skills earlier.

8. Sing songs and nursery rhymes – songs and rhymes contain rhythm and rhyme, skills that help with speech and literacy development.

9. Feed language in, don’t force it out – comment and expand on your child’s words and sentences, rather than asking them to repeat words. If your child says “car”, respond with “big car” or “yellow car” or “fast car”. This is how children learn words, by hearing new vocabulary and linking it to the items or events they are focussing on.

10. Make every opportunity a language learning activity – if it’s a trip to the shops, or bath-time, you can make every activity a language learning activity. Point to things, name them, sing a nursery rhyme, or ask a question. You don’t have to set aside a specific time of day to learn language, every activity is a language learning activity.

(Taken from http://www.icommunicatetherapy.com/child-speech-language/child-speech-language-development/activities-strategies-help-develop-speech-language-skills/)

Just average Jen

I would like to introduce you to a lady I have met through the amazing charity we both support....
Post Pals www.postpals.co.uk.  Click on the link to find out more about this amazing charity that helps to make lots of very sick children smile.

Anyway getting back to Jen......Jen is a pretty amazing, inspiring young lady.  You see Jen has lost an amazing 10 stone through slimming world in 16 months and has become an amazing inspiration to many including me. Because of her I was inspired to loose weight as I was finding it really hard.  Through her support and encouragement and those who follow her on her face book page I have managed to loose two stone.

My point is this.....we all have different personal circumstances that can make our path in life twist and turn, sometimes in ways we have no control over.  However it's how we face them and deal with them that makes the difference and this is one lady who has decided to use her journey to support others. 

Jen has now set up her own blog page....Just average Jen.  http://www.justaveragejen.com
This paragraph is from her page....

'So, I'm Jen, a thirty-something vegetarian, full time mum and average kind of woman! I am a target member of Slimming World and have lost over ten stone in 16 months by healthy eating and no exercise! I cook for myself and my boyfriend on a budget and love experimenting with different foods and flavours in the kitchen! I am not ashamed to admit that I have depression and my son has special needs but he is my world, he is amazing! Blogging about life, food and me!'

If there's one blog I would recommend (apart from mine of course)..it's this one.  I for one am truly grateful that Jen came into my life as I don't think I would have made the change without her support.  A real down to earth girl who gets it and I don't just mean loosing weight....although that's a bonus!  Pop on over, take a look and say hi.

Sarah x x