Mark’s Story When our son Mark was 10 years old, he started showing a strong interest in local politics. Because of this, my husband Mike arranged for him to go door to door with us and advocate for a particular congressman we were...
In today’s complex workforce, the worker with a powerful and rich vocabulary will have a major advantage indeed. To me as a mother and speech-language pathologist, vocabulary is one of the very most important skills for our children to develop...
Here is a list of the first 100 words that most children produce. This does depend on their environment, of course, but you can confidently work on these with your child. Remember that they might not pronounce all the sounds in the words...
The Importance of Strong Social Skills in Our High Tech World We all know that in the 21st century, machines and technology have taken over many jobs that people used to do. The use of robots has expanded also. Given this scenario, socioemotional...
The Super Seventy: 70 Activities to Boost Speech and Language Development in 0–5-Year-Old Children **Many of these activities incorporate a sensory element. A lot of young children with speech and language delays have difficulties with sensory...
Here is a lesson I learned the hard way: whenever we allow our children to get away with things at home, they will think it is okay to do those things in outside settings like school. Because I worked full time and was tired when I got home...
I am just so thrilled that children in Ghana, Africa finally received the books we sent in spring, 2022. There is nothing better than knowing that thanks to your generous donations, children in Africa are being exposed to literacy and helped to...
As caregivers, we want to have our children read early and well. Research conclusively shows that strong early reading skills predict later successful academic outcomes for children. We know that reading daily with children is important. There is...
While phonological awareness skills address how words sound, print awareness addresses how words look. Both are important pre-kindergarten skills. Here are some fundamental print awareness skills your children should master before they start...
Phonological Awareness Skills Phonological awareness (PA) skills involve knowledge of sounds and syllables and the sound structure of words. PA skills are essential to good reading, and are the best predictor of spelling success in elementary...
Developing Vocabulary Skills An excellent way to start building your child’s vocabulary is by having her relate past experiences and discussing them with her. Research has shown that caregivers can build children’s narrative (storytelling and...
As school is back in full swing, many of us are thinking about how to set up our young children for success. Even if our children are in preschool and haven’t started their elementary years yet, it’s never too soon to begin working on print...