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

Hiding Phil

                                                    

For the past few weeks in Large Group, we have been doing activities centered around the book Hiding Phil  By Eric Barclay.  It's a story about some kids who want to take a pet elephant home, but then realize that maybe their parents won't be too happy about it.

The first time we talked about Phil, we focused on the words "look" and "under".  As we read the story, we used our eyes to look at the things Phil was hiding under.  We then went and hid UNDER things in our classroom and teacher Heidi found us and took a picture of us with her iPad.  We then looked at all of the pictures and used our words to tell the class what we were hiding UNDER.

The next week we met Little Phil who is a stuffed elephant friend of Teacher Heidi.  We remembered that Big Phil liked to hide under things, but Little Phil liked to hid in, behind or under things.  We hid our eyes while Teacher Heidi hid Little Phil IN a box, UNDER a blanket or BEHIND a chair.  When we opened our eyes, we took turns using our words to say where we thought Phil was hiding.

This week we are playing Hide and Seek.  While teacher Heidi counts to 20, we go and hide in our classroom.  After she finds us, we go back to the rug and wait until everyone is found.  When all of the class has been found we use our words to say where we were hiding.  Some of us are hiding under the table, under a blanket, in the pretend stove, under the pretend sink, behind a bookcase or behind a poster.  We are having a lot of fun playing hide and seek and thinking of places to hide.

"H" The Panting Dog Sound

"H" The Panting Dog Sound

 

For the month of May, we are going to be talking about, singing about and practicing saying the "H" or panting dog sound.

 In order to produce this sound, you just have to open your mouth and breathe!!  This sound is unvoiced, which means what you hear comes from the movement of air through your throat and mouth.

To practice this sound at home, you can do any of the activities listed below:

-Go on a walk and say "hi" to objects, people and animals you see.

-Pretend to be bunnies and hop across a room or the yard. Say "hop" each time you hop.

-Pretend to cook something with your child and talk about the food being "hot".

-During a game or activity where your child needs assistance, model using the word "help".