"M" The Monster Sound

In the month of October, we will be working on the "M" or Monster Sound.  To make the "M" sound we press our lips together and use our voice to say "M".  The visual cue for the "M" sound is to move our pointer finger across our lips while saying "M".

In October, we are going to have a lot of fun with Monster Activities.  We will be reading the book, Go Away, Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley.  We will also be talking about other books by Ed Emberley like If You're A Monster And You Know It, There Was An Old Monster and Glad Monster, Sad Monster.

Some other fun books about monsters are:

Five Little Monsters Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow

Frank Was A Monster Who Wanted to Dance by Keith Graves

My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Luck

Some things you can do at home to practice saying the "M" sound are:

-Have a good treat and practice saying "mmm".

-Ask your child questions that can be answered by using the word "me".  For example:  Who's is (child's name)?  Who is wearing a (color) shirt?

-Share a small snack.  Give the child some but then hold the rest in view.  Encourage your child to use the word "more".

-Play with farm animals, have your child say "moo" for the cows and "meow" for the cats.

-Have your child help you make something. Use the word "mix" as you do it.

October Words of the Month

Our core vocabulary words for the month of October are the words "in" and "on".  

 We will be doing some Large Group activities that focus on these words, as well as concentrating on intentionally providing many opportunities for students use of these words in class.  

You can use both of these words at home when making requests or comments.  When you are playing you can emphasize the word "in" by putting things "in" containers, "in" a castle, "in" a dollhouse or "in" a truck.  You can emphasize the word "on" in play by stacking blocks "on" top or putting a toy doll's clothes "on". You could also emphasize the word "on" by singing the song Ten Little Monkeys Jumping ON the Bed.   You can also give your child commands to put things "in" or "on".  

Some books that you could read together that focus on these words are:

The Mitten

There Was An Old Lady That Swallowed A Fly

King Bidgood's In the Bathtub

The Napping House

Froggy Gets Dressed

What Will Fat Cat Sit On?

Hop On Pop

Bunnies Bouncing on the Bed

This week for Large Group we continued to work on using the "b" sound by playing the game Bunnies Bouncing on the Bed.  This activity helped us work on math because we counted how many "bunnies" (kids in the class) were bouncing on the bed.  We also used math to determine how many bunnies were left after one fell off the bed. We also got to wear some special bunny ears while we played the game. We worked on answering "wh" questions and using "ing" words in phrases.  We also were given opportunities to make choices by choosing what action the bunnies were going to do on the bed.  We didn't just bounce, we jumped, ran in place, marched, clapped, shrugged, skipped, twirled and hopped.  We each had a turn to choose an action.  If we couldn't think of one on our own, we used the GoTalk to help us.  

After we fell off the bed, we got to help the doctors tell Mama,  "No more bunnies jumping on the bed."  If we weren't able to say the whole phrase, we could use the Big Mac switch to help us.

You can play the Bunnies Bouncing on the Bed game at home with family or friends.  The bunnies don't just have to bounce on the bed, they can twirl or hop or skip.  You can take turn choosing the action. You can help your child with math skills by having them count how many bunnies are bouncing and how many are left when one falls off the bed.  You can also help your child use short phrases by having them repeat the words of the game.  

Who Took The Baby From The Baby Bed???

This week for Large Group, we continued to work on recognizing and using our names and our classmate's names.  We also worked on saying the "B" sound in words and phrases and answering yes/no and "wh" questions.

We sang the song Baby Blowing Bubbles.  We learned some actions to do with our hands while we sing the song.

We played the game Who Took the Baby From the Baby Bed?  Teacher Heidi told us that when she came to school today, she noticed that someone had taken her baby from the baby bed.  We played a game where we closed our eyes and teacher Heidi hid the baby behind one of us and when we opened our eyes, we guessed who took the baby.  We tapped our knees to the beat while we chanted...

"Who took the baby from the baby bed?"

We took turns guess who we thought was hiding the baby.  If we couldn't say the name of our classmate or if we forgot, we used our picture board with our class pictures on it and pointed to the person we thought might have the baby.  We then tapped our knees to the beat while we chanted...

"Heidi took the baby from the baby bed."

If we had the baby, we would say "Yes, I have the baby."  If we didn't have the baby, we would say "No, I don't have the baby."  We had a lot of fun guessing who had the baby and at the end of the activity, we finally returned the baby to her bed so she could take her nap.

You can work on asking and answering questions at home by playing the game or a variation of it with your child.  You can also work on answering "wh" and "yes/no" questions by asking your child questions about things they see while on walks, at the store or in pictures when reading books. 

Who's Behind the Door??

This week in Large Group we played Who's Behind the Door?  This game helps us work on learning the names of our school friends, answering "wh" questions, answering yes/no questions and using 2-3 words in a phrase.

Teacher Heidi brought a door that was just the right size for us to hide behind.  We each got a turn to hide behind the door and the class tapped their knees while we sang....

"Who's behind the door?  Who's behind the door?

Who, Who, Who?

Who's behind the door?"

We guessed "who" was behind the door.  The person behind the door would answer yes or no.  If we had guessed right, we said the name of the person behind the door together and then the person behind the door would tell us something about them....like if they were a boy or girl or something about their shirt or shoes.  

Bumble Bee Bumble Bee

Bumblebee Bumblebee Will You Say Your Name to Me?

Last week in Large Group, since it's a new school year, we worked on learning our names and our classmate's names.  We also worked on saying the "B" sound in words and phrases and using our core vocabulary words "me " and "you" in phrases.

We played a game where Teacher Heidi showed us pictures of the friends in our class and asked, "Who is this?".  Whoever was in the picture would answer saying, "That's me.".  The whole class would then say the person's name while tapping out the syllables on our knees.  This activity helped us learn the names of our classmates and helped us practice answering "wh" questions and using the word "me" in phrases.    

We met Teacher Heidi's friend Mr. Bumblebee.  Mr. Bumblebee wanted to learn the names of the kids in the class.  We played a game where we passed Mr. Bumblebee around and tapped our knees while we chanted,   

"Bumblebee, Bumblebee will you say your name to me?"

The person that was holding Mr. Bumblebee would then tell the class what their name was.

We played another name game where we were able to get up and move.  We also took turns choosing how the rest of the class would move.  We sang a song to the tune of If You Are Happy and You Know It, but we used the following words....

If your name is Heidi clap your hands.

If your name is Heidi clap your hands.

If your name is Heidi.

If your name is Heidi.

 If your name is Heidi, clap your hands.

We were given opportunities to choose who in the class we were going to sing about and what action we were going to do.  If we couldn't say or remember the name of our classmate, Teacher Heidi let us point to a picture.  Since we are just learning, we have pictures of all of our friends on a board so we can choose if we forget a name.  We chose to clap, march, twirl, shrug our shoulders, wiggle, run in place, blink our eyes and touch our toes.  

It was fun being able to move our bodies while learning the names of our friends in class. 

To practice saying the "B" sound in words and phrases, we ended our Large Group by singing I'm Bringing Home A Baby Bumblebee.

You can work on the "B" sound at home by singing the song Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee. Have your child show you the actions we use when singing this song.  Try not to get stung!!

You can also help your child learn to recognize and say his name by playing a "Simon Says" game at home with siblings or friends.  Ask a specific child to do an action by saying..."Simon Says Heidi should touch her nose."  You can also have your child be Simon and use the names of siblings or friends to tell them to do an action. 

Me and You

Each month during the school year we are going to focus on two core vocabulary words.  We will be doing activities in Large Group to focus on these words and we will also be intentionally focusing on using these words during play activities in the classroom.  For the month of September, we are focusing on the words "me" and "you".  You can help your child practice using these words by using them in a variety of natural communication opportunities.

Some ways that you can do this is to encourage use of these words when making requests, comments, commands or exclamations.
You can use the words "me" and "you" in transitions by asking, "Do you want to go with me?" or "Will you go with me?".  You can emphasize the word "you" when describing what you see your child doing like, "I see YOU are running, jumping, sitting etc.".  A great book for exposure to the word "me" is the book Just Me and My Mom  by Mercer Mayer. A great book for exposure to "you" is the book Happy Birthday to You  by Dr. Seuss.   Also you can find a great YouTube video that focuses on the word "me" by searching "this is me" which is a song about body parts by Elf Learning.  It's catchy and you will find yourself singing and dancing with your child.  

"B" The Bouncing Sound

The Bouncing Sound

"B" is the Bouncing Sound

This month we are going to be working on the "B" sound or the bouncing sound.  We have practiced saying the "B" sound while moving our arms like bouncing a ball, while moving our knees bouncing up and down and while jumping up and down.  

We have talked about different objects that start with the "B" sound and practiced saying them.  We are going to play some games this month that help us practice saying the "B" sound in words and phrases.  We are also going to sing some songs with the "B" sound in them like, Baby Blowing Bubbles ,  Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee and Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy. 

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.

Welcome to the 2017 School Year!

I'm excited for all of the Speech and Language fun we are going to have in class this year!

If you want to know what language activities we did in class over the week, what sounds we are focusing on over the month or what our core vocabulary words for the month are, this is the place to look!

As always, feel free to email me with any questions!

heidi.owen@canyonsdistrict.org