The Mitten in the Snow

This week for Large Group, we played a game using a BIG mitten and the animals from the book The Mitten.  We talked about the names of all the animals and we reviewed the sequence of events from the book.  We all took an animal and sang a song as we added each one to the mitten.  When all the animals were inside, we did a BIG sneeze and our mitten came apart and the animals went flying everywhere.  You can sing the song at home with your child while you read the book.  The song is to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell.

The mitten in the snow, the mitten in the snow;

Help us please so we don't freeze, 

The mitten in the snow.

The (name of animal) squeezes in, the (name of animal) squeezes in;

Help us please so we don't freeze,

The (name of animal) squeezes in.

To work on the "t" sound, we met my friend Tiny Tony and sang a song about him.

We sang about his teeth, his tongue, his nose, his tail, his tummy and his toes.

The Mitten

This week for Large Group we read the book The Mitten by Jan Brett.  This is a book about a boy named Nicki who wants his grandma to make him mittens that are as white as snow.  It isn't long before Nicki loses his white mitten in the white snow and it becomes a warm home to some animals.  The story ends with the bear getting tickled by the mouse's whiskers and letting out a HUGE sneeze.  This sneeze sends the animals and the mitten flying through the air.  When Nicki finds his mitten it has been stretched and pulled and is bigger than his other mitten.

We all loved this story.  We learned that if you look on the side of each page, there is a picture that gives us a hint of what will be happening next.  We talked about the animals in the book and used descriptive words to describe them.  We made predictions as to what we thought would happen next and we even drew some conclusions about what happened based on the pictures we were looking at.  We talked about mittens and how they help us.   

We also talked about the "t" or the ticking sound.  We talked about things that start with the "t" sound and practiced saying them.  We talked about how the word mitten has the "t" sound in the middle.  We talked about how when you say the "t" sound, you move your tongue up to the top of your mouth.  We sang a song called tongue tip time where we practiced saying sounds and words by moving our tongue up to the top of our mouths.  

You can read the book The Mitten at home by checking it out from the library or you can watch an online version by going to YouTube and searching Online Storytime: The Mitten.

"T" is the Ticking Sound

This month we are working on the "t" sound or the ticking sound.  We will be practicing using this sound by itself and in words and sentences.  There is a visual cue for this sound that is made by putting your hand in a fist and then flipping your pointer finger up when you say "t".  This visual cue is to remind us that when we say "t" our tongue goes up.

Some things you can do at home to work on the "t" sound are:

-Play the "tip toe game".  Walk around on your "tippy toes" saying "tip toe" as you walk.

-Get some toothbrushes and pretend to brush the teeth of stuffed animals or dolls and practice saying "t" while you brush.

-Make and have an afternoon "tea" with dolls and stuffed animals.

-Build some block towers and repeat the words "my block is on top" as you add new blocks to the tower.

-Count your toes saying "1 toe, 2 toe etc....".

-Talk about and point to body parts that start with "t", like teeth, tummy, toes and tongue.

-Make some art and use tape.  Have your child use the word "tape" to request it.

Popcorn!!

This week in Large Group, we worked on the "p" or popping sound by talking about popcorn.  We talked about how we can hear it popping as it is cooking.  We sang the song Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree.  We read the story Popcorn by Frank Asch.  You can watch an online version of this story if you google "popcorn frank asch".  It is a fun story about a bear who had a party and popped so much popcorn it filled up his whole house.  To clean it up, the bear and all of his friends had to eat and eat and eat the popcorn until it was all gone.  

After we read the story we played a game with the parachute and some big pieces of popcorn made out of scrunched up paper.  We all held onto the parachute and when Teacher Heidi said, "The popper is on", we all shook the parachute until we popped all of the pieces of popcorn off the top.  We had a lot of fun popping the popcorn off the parachute.  

Peas Boiling in A Pot

This week for Large Group, we talked about actions to work on saying words with "ing".  We looked at the book LMNO Peas by Keith Baker.  

We looked at the pictures and looked at all of the things the peas were doing.  We saw that they were riding bikes, building buildings, climbing, camping, swimming and eating.  

We played a game called 10 Peas Boiling in a Pot.  We worked on the actions of swimming and jumping while we were playing the game.  We worked on saying rhymes and sentences as we played the game.  When you play the game, you pretend to be peas and you say, 10 little peas boiling in a pot.  They swam around until they got hot. Then one little pea began to shout.  It's getting hot, I'm jumping out.  As each pea jumped out of the pot, we used our math skills to guess how many were left because now we had one less pea.

You can work on using words with "ing" at home by describing what you and your child are doing or by pointing out what you see others doing when you are driving, when you are at the park or when you are looking at a book.  

Will Little Pea like it???

This week for Large Group we continued to practice the "p" or popping sound.  We sang the song Sing and Eat to the Alphabeat.  We practiced saying the name of different foods that begin with the "p" sound and other sounds too.

We reviewed the story of Little Pea.  We talked about how Little Pea could only eat candy for dinner and how Little Pea hates candy.  We learned that candy is a "sweet" and we talked about other foods that are sweets.  We talked about how Little Pea loved to have spinach for dessert.  We learned that spinach is a "vegetable" and we talked about other foods that are vegetables.

We played a game called Will Little Pea Like It?

To play the game we looked at pictures of different foods.  We had to decide if the food was a sweet or a vegetable.  We had to decide if Little Pea would like it.  If the food was a vegetable, we put the food in the bag with Little Pea's smiling face because we knew that he would like it.  If the food was a sweet, we put the food in the bag with Little Pea's frowning face because we knew that Little Pea would not like it.  

This activity helped us to learn new vocabulary.  It also helped us learn to classify food into groups.  This activity also helped us work on answering yes/no questions and using and understanding the word "not".  We had a lot of fun deciding which foods Little Pea would like and which foods he would not like.  

You could work on yes/no questions and using the word "not" when you take a trip to the grocery store.  You can ask your child if they like certain food that you see.  Have them answer yes or no.  When they answer "no", you can model the use of the word "not" by saying, "I heard you say you did NOT like carrots etc."  

Little Pea

This week for Large Group, we introduced the "p" sound.  We practiced saying it and we named some things that start with the "p" sound.  We talked about different foods that we might eat and we sang a song about different foods, some of them started with the "p" sound, like pizza, popcorn and pickles.  

We read the story Little Pea.  It is about Little Pea and his family.  In the story Little Pea can only eat candy for dinner.  Little Pea hates candy.  If Little Pea eats five pieces of candy, Papa Pea and Mama Pea will let him have dessert.  Little Pea is so excited when he gets a big bowl of spinach for dessert!!  We talked about foods that are vegetables and foods that are sweets.  We worked on answering "wh" questions by asking questions about the book after we read it.  We worked on different vocabulary words like pal, vegetable and hopscotch.  We also worked on emotions by looking at Little Pea's face to help us know if Little Pea liked what he was eating or not.  

You can read this book at home by checking it out from the library or if you search it on YouTube, for a digital version you can watch.  You can ask your child to practice saying the "p" sound in the words "pea", "papa pea", "hopscotch" and "pea pal".  You can work on asking and answering questions by thinking of different foods and asking your child, "Would Little Pea like broccoli?", "Would Little Pea like chocolate?" etc.....

P is the Popping Sound

During the month of November we are going to be working on the "p" sound or the popping sound.  We will be practicing using the "p" sound in words and phrases.  We will be singing songs, playing games, doing finger plays and reading stories that all have the "p" sound in them.

Some of the books we will be reading are Little Pea by Amy Krause Rosenthal, LMNO Peas by Keith Baker and 1-2-3 Peas by Keith Baker.  You can find each of these at the public library or you can also find video readings of these books on YouTube by searching the title.

Listed below are some things you can do to work on the "p" sound at home.

-Read the story of the Three Little Pigs and then act it out.

-Blow bubbles around the room and have your child pop them saying "pop" each time.

-Make popcorn and have your child say "pop" or "popcorn" to request some.

-Play "Peek-A-Boo" with your child.

-Pretend to make soup with your child.  Have them tell you what they "put" in the "pot.

-Pretend to "pet" some stuffed animals saying "pet" as you pet them.

Glad Monster, Sad Monster

This week for Large Group, we read the book Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley and Anne Miranda.  As we read this book, we looked at the pictures and talked about what we saw when we looked at the monsters faces.  We talked about how we can tell how our friends are feeling by looking at their faces.  After we finished reading the story we looked at some monster masks that show many different emotions.  We played a game to see if we could tell how each monster felt by what we saw when we looked at their faces.  We talked about things that make us feel happy, sad, worried, scared, silly or mad.  This activity helped us work on social and emotional development, being able to identify and name the emotions that we feel and recognize that others have feelings that might be the same or different than our own.  It also helped us learn about having empathy for our friends and how they are feeling.

You can work on this at home by describing how you are feeling and recognizing and verbalizing how your child is feeling based on their actions.

5 Little Monsters Hiding Under The Bed

This week for Large Group, we read the story 5 Little Monsters Hiding Under The Bed.  We worked on our counting skills.  We counted the monsters on each page and then,  as each monster "bumped their head, we "took away" a monster from our number so we would know how many were still hiding under the bed.  After we read the story we used a big sheet that the teachers held up to pretend that we were monsters hiding under the bed.  We counted how many monsters, or friends in our class were under the bed and then when we heard our name, we jumped up and "bumped" our head on the sheet.  We worked on our language skills as we all repeated the familiar phrases of the story like..."mommy called the doctor and the doctor said, no more monsters hiding under the bed".  We also used our math skills again to count our friends and as we bumped our heads, we "took away" one friend each time until we had counted down to zero.  

You can do this at home by acting out this story or any other favorite story or nursery rhyme.  This helps develop language comprehension and expression.  It also helps children express what they are thinking and feeling through pretend play.

If You're A Monster and You Know It

This week for large group we read the book If You're A Monster and You Know It by Rebecca and Ed Emberley.  This book is similar to the song If You're Happy and You Know It.  We worked on gross motor skills and identifying body parts as we moved the way the monsters moved in the book.  The monsters in the book snorted and growled, smacked their hands, stomped their paws, twitched their tails, wiggled their noses and gave a ROAR.  We worked on comprehension as we tried to remember some of the ways the monsters moved.  We also worked on using "ing" words as we talked about what the monsters were doing....smacking, stomping, twitching, wiggling, growling and roaring.  We sang and danced to the song If You're a Monster and You Know It. 

You can sing and dance to this song at home by downloading the If You're a Monster and You Know It song.  To download the song for free go to www.scholastic.com/ifyoureamonsterandyouknowit.

Go Away Big Green Monster

This week for Large Group we talked about the "m" sound or the monster sound.  We practiced saying some words that begin with the "m" sound and we learned how to use our pointer finger as a visual cue for the "m" sound.

We read the book Go Away Big Green Monster By: Ed Emberley.  When we were finished reading the book, Big Green Monster came to visit us.  We didn't want him in our class, so we worked together to get him to go away.  We thought hard about what we read in the book and tried to remember the order in which the parts of Big Green Monster's face went away.  We used our words to say "go away purple hair" or "go away sharp teeth".  As we said each one, Teacher Heidi would take that part of Big Green Monster's face off until he was COMPLETELY GONE! This activity helped us work on recalling events from the book, sequencing events, predicting events, answering "wh" questions,  and using 2-3 words to make comments and give directions.  This activity also helped us work on colors and using color words to describe things.

You can work on recalling and sequencing events from stories at home by reading stories together and then talking about what happened.  You can ask your child to tell you what happened first, next and last.  As you read together, you can also work on learning new words by asking your child to name or point to things they see in the pictures.  Have them repeat the names of things they see or point to or have them point to things you name. You can also work on some higher level cognitive skills by asking them to make predictions about what they think might happen based on what they see in the pictures.  Reading books together is a great language enriching activity.

Monster Sound "M"

This month we will be working on the "M" sound or the monster sound.  We make this sound by putting lips our together and using our voice to say "m".  We make the visual cue for this sound by using our pointer finger to move across our lips as we say "m".

This month we will be talking a lot about the "m" sound and practicing it by singing the songs and doing some fun monster activities.  Some of the songs we will be singing are:

Did You Ever See A Monster?, If You're a Monster and You Know It and Who's Behind the Big Monster?  

You can practice by "m" sound at home by doing some of the activities listed below.

-Share a snack with your child and practice saying m-m-m as you eat.

-While you are sharing a snack, give your child a few but hold the rest in view so he/she will have to use the "m" sound to ask for "more".

-Do a puzzle with your child.  Encourage him/her to use the word "more" to ask for more pieces.

-Play with toy cows in a farmyard.  Model and encourage your child to say the word "moo".

-Look through picture books of animals, dinosaurs or people.  Ask your child to find all of their mouths, saying"mouth" for each one.

-Play toy cars or trucks, encourage your child to say "move" each time the cars and trucks move.

-Make a cake or muffins with your child.  Let them "mix" the ingredients while practicing saying the word "mix".

-Hide a treasure and make a "map" of where to find it.

There are many monster books that you can read to your child that will provide many opportunities for them to hear the "m" sound in words.  Some of these books are listed below.  We will be reading some of them in our Large Groups this month.

Go Away Big Green Monster By: Ed Emberley

Sad Monster, Glad Monster By: Ed Emberley

If You're A Monster And You Know It By: Ed and Rebecca Emberley

There's A Monster At The End of This Book By: Jon Stone

Frank Was A Monster That Wanted To Dance By: Keith Graves

My Monster Mama Loves Me So By: Laura Leuck

Monster Munch By: Matt Mitter

He Bear and She Bear

This week during large group we met my friends He Bear and She Bear.  We used He Bear and She Bear to help us learn how to use the pronouns he and she.  We talked about how He Bear is a boy and when we are talking about boys, we can use their name or we can use the word he.  We talked about how She Bear is a girl and when we are talking about girls, we can use their name or the word she.

We played the game "He Bear or She Bear What Should We Do?".  We took turns using He Bear or She Bear to tell the class what action we should do.  We worked on asking questions, answering questions and using pronouns in sentences.  After we did the action He Bear or She Bear told us to do, we told the class what he or she did for example, "He clapped his hands" or "She turned around 3 times".

To practice the "b" sound, or the bouncy sound, we sang the song Bubblegum.  We sang the song fast and we sang the song slow.

You can practice using pronouns in sentences at home by looking at pictures in books and describing what is happening by using the words "he and she" in sentences.

Build A Bear

This week for Large Group, we talked about body parts.  We named some of the parts of our bodies.  We pointed to our eyes, nose, mouth, ears, legs, arms, hands and feet.  We talked about all the things our bodies can do.  We counted how many fingers and toes we have.  We even learned about our elbows, ankles, knees, shoulders, back, neck, chin and wrists.  We played a game to help our friend Brown Bear find his body parts.  We used some dice to help us decide which body part Brown Bear needed next.

We took turns building Brown Bear.  When we were finished, Brown Bear had all of his parts so he could run, hear, talk, smell, play and dance!

We sang the song Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and pointed to each as we sang.  We also sang the Bye Bye Song which helped us practice putting two words that start with the "b" sound together.

You can work on body parts at home by asking your child to identify and name their body parts.  You can play a game where you take turns using parts of your bodies to do an action (march with your feet, wave with your arms, clap with your hands).

Where Are You Brown Bear?

This week for large group we sang the Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? song.  We used the pictures from the book to help us remember what to say as we sang along with the song.  You can download this song to sing at home by searching Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?  on iTunes.

Our friend Brown Bear came back to visit our class.  Brown Bear likes to hide and we had to use our eyes to look for him. We took turns finding Brown Bear.  We practiced saying "wh" questions by asking, "Where are you Brown Bear?" when it was our turn to find him.

Some of our friends that have a hard time putting words together used the Big Mac switch to help them say, "Where are you Brown Bear?"  Everyone wanted a turn to push the Big Mac switch.

We practiced using prepositions by telling the class where we found Brown Bear.  Brown Bear is good at hiding.  We found him under chairs, under tables, next to bookcases, in boxes, in drawers, hanging on the whiteboard, on buckets, behind teachers and even in the marble tree!!

You can practice using "wh" questions and prepositions at home too by hiding a favorite stuffed animal at home and looking for it. 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

This week in large group, I introduced my preschool friends to my friend Brown Bear.  Brown Bear starts with the "b" sound that we have been practicing this month.  We read the story Brown  Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.  We talked about the different animals that Brown Bear saw and we talked about what they looked like.  We practiced answering "wh" questions and putting two words together as the kids told me that Brown Bear saw a "red bird", a "yellow duck" or a "purple horse".  We also worked on our prediction skills as we tried to predict what animal Brown Bear would see next and we practiced recognizing our colors.
  

After we read through the story the first time, we read it again and the students helped me answer the question of what each animal saw.  We used a GoTalk to help some of us that have a hard time putting two words together.

We had a lot of fun reading and talking about Brown Bear and all of his animal friends.
You can read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? at home and talk about it too.  If you don't have it you could check it out from the local library or you can watch a reading of it on YouTube just search Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See read aloud.

After we read the story, we practiced saying the "b" or bouncing sound.  We thought of words that start with that sound and we sang the song Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy.  We learned how to use our hands for sign language for the words "stop" and "wait".  Ask your child to teach you the Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy song.

Bouncing Sound "B"

This month we are working on the "b" sound or the bouncing sound.  We will be practicing saying this sound by itself, in words and in sentences.  When we practice saying the "b" or bouncing sound in preschool, we move our hands like we are bouncing a ball.  We will be singing lots of songs to help us practice the "b" sound.  Some of the songs are; Bouncy  Bouncy Bouncy,  Bus Bike and Boat, Bubblegum, Bye Bye, Baby Fish and Bringing Home A Baby Bumblebee.  When we sing the songs in preschool, we also use our hands to sign some of the words and our bodies to act out some of the words.  

Some activities you can do at home that will give your child many opportunities to practice using the "b" sound are:

-Play with stuffed animals or dolls and have your child say "bye" to each animal or baby.

-Set up a play store by finding objects around home you can "sell".  Ask your child to shop by saying "buy" for each item he or she chooses.

-Roll or toss a ball to your child.  Have him or her say "ball" as they catch it and again as they toss it or roll it back.

-Play toy cars or trucks with your child.  Encourage him or her to say "beep" every time your vehicle gets in the way of his or her car or truck.

-Read the story Goldilocks and The Three Bears or read the book The Wheels on the Bus.  While you are reading talk about what you see, ask your child what he or she thinks will happen as they look at the pictures.  Name the things you see in the pictures emphasizing the "b" sound.

How should we move???

                                                           

This week in Large Group, we talked about different ways we can move our bodies and the parts of our bodies that move.  We moved our hands, our feet, our heads, our arms, our legs and even our stomachs!!  As part of our daily routine, the kids get to choose how the class should move from our group activities to our tables.  This helps the kids think and plan and then use their words to tell us how we should move.  It also gets the kids moving, helps work on gross motor skills and body awareness as well as,  pretend play.  Some of the ways we practiced moving were.....like a dog, a chicken, a pig and a snake.  We also practiced marching, skipping and jumping.  We even used more abstract thinking and language skills to move like the wind, like leaves falling from trees and like raindrops.  To end our activity, we danced to the song "Monkey in the Middle".  We all took turns being the monkey and choosing how we wanted to move our bodies and all of our friends followed.  You can play this game at home too.  Turn on some music and stand in a circle and have the "monkey in the middle" move their body while everyone else follows.

WELCOME TO OUR SPEECH-LANGUAGE PRESCHOOL BLOG

Welcome to my blog!!  I'm so excited for this school year and the opportunity I will have to work with so many cute preschool kiddos!  I'm trying something new this year by starting a blog as a way to share what we are doing in preschool and share some ideas of things you can do at home to help your child with their speech and/or language skills.  Come back soon to check out what's going on in our class!