Improving Your Child's Writing At Home!

Writing is one of the most essential skills when it comes to successful academics and careers. A lot of the older generation are skilled writers, but I wouldn't expect that from the younger generation. I'm not trying to be blunt, but if you think about it, there's a decline in formal writing. The younger generation is used to typing with barely any grammatical rule over text, Facebook/Twitter. Twitter only allows a small amount of characters, forcing users to abbreviate everything and totally throw grammar out the window. It's obscene! Interest in developing good writing skills begins early on, and as a parent, it can be a great idea aid your child in taking on this interest. You can make a difference, and here are some tips on how to promote writing improvement at home!

• Notes! Leave notes on chairs, pillows, wherever! Make sure the note is written in the form of a question, waiting for a return. Leave some room and a pen close by. Or, be like me, and get a chalkboard for your house to leave each other messages. 
• Letters! Make letter writing a habit for your child. For example, have them write letters to family and friends. 
• "Year and Review" Notebook! Keep a record of your family's life. Every family member can add their own stories to the mix, and on New Years Eve have fun rereading them. 
• Story Gifts! Have your child write stories and give them as gifts. 
• Postcards! Have them write and mail postcards on family vacations or special outings. 
• Thank You! Have them get in the habit of writing "thank you" notes for gifts or whenever appropriate. 
• Journaling! I made that word up. Get them a special journal on their birthday. Encourage them to write in their journal. 
• Make a Menu! Every once in a while, let them write menus for a family dinner. It'll give them something to do while Mommy and Daddy are cooking. If a word is hard, write it on a piece of paper on the side, so they can copy it, like lasagna. 
• Create Writing Prompts! An example of a writing prompt would be: "Pretend you are the first to create a spoon. Write how the world responds."
• Be Creative and Fun! Have a puppet show. Perform skits. Set aside time for creative play. Use some challenging words and make it an educational pursuit for your child. 
• Keep a Travel Log! When you go on vacations, give your child a notebook to record and even draw his/her sights and experiences in.
• Copycatting! If your child like's a song, challenge them to copy the lyrics by ear. Encourage neatness and legibility. 

Remember, it is more important to focus on the content your child writes as opposed to their grammar and other details of their writing. When they begin to write in school, they may receive criticism. It's your job to keep them going. Writing can be both a skill and a habit. Aiding your child in putting his/her thought into words early on give them a great sense of accomplishment, and fostering positive writing experiences will have a positive impact on their writing skills throughout life. Help your child learn to write well, and enjoy doing it too. 

Resources

Prince, Audrey W., M. Ed., Super Duper Publications © Handy Handouts: Put it to Paper: Tips for Parents to Improve a Child's Writing Skills

The Fidgety Learner

A lot of times, teachers will try and make kids sit still, and stop being "fidgety"; but being fidgety can actually help students keep their attention span. Children are always moving. It helps them maintain energy, the natural way. Spend energy to get energy. Scheduled breaks that encourage movement have many positive impacts on children and their alertness during school.

How so? There are many ways movement helps achieve alertness, and a lot of it's physiological. The benefits of movement include the following:

• It increases blood flow, which increases alertness. 
• It decreases stress, which helps us keep our attention. Just like exercise, simple movement is proven to reduce stress. 
• It prepares the brain for learning. When we are less stressed, our brains are open to learning new things and experiencing "the now". 
• It improves motor control. The more children are moving, the more they are practicing with their motor skills, understanding their strengths and their surroundings.
• Breaks improve attitude. When children are able to release energy, they're naturally in a better mood than they would be without movement all day. 

Ways to Encourage Movement in the Classroom

• Toss the Ball - I actually remember this one. Buy a ball each year for your students to decorate and during break time, have them practice their speech and language as they pass the ball back and forth. They can make up sentences as each one says a word and tosses it to the next, or ask each other questions. As long as it's fun or funny, they'll enjoy it. 
• Charades Real Quick - This will get your students up, striking poses and doing gestures, moving around and practicing their language and understanding skills.
• March in Place - Have your students march in place to get the energy out. Tell them they can move about, but only if they march. 
• 

Resources

Kjesbo, Rynette R., M.S., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Publications © Handy Handouts 2011: "Learning In Motion - Using Movement Activities During The School Day"

Helping Your Child Become Independent

When we first become parents, our children rely on us for every need. As children grow, we can watch them cross small yet major developmental milestones, like holding a bottle, sitting up, reaching for things they want to hold, pushing away things they don't, etc. Next is independent travel: scooting around, crawling and eventually, walking. Walking opens up a realm of discovery for children and greatly increases their ability to learn independence and self-care.

It's typical for children to want to become more and more independent when they reach the preschool years. They'll want to do more and more for themselves, and this can be nerve wracking for a lot of parents. You just have to remember that letting children take on certain levels of self-care (use your parental judgement on this) is a crucial benefit to their development, socially, emotionally, and one day, financially!

Around the ages of three and four, most children will display a lot of self-care skills, but mastering them might not occur until around six years of age. For children with special needs and developmental delays, mastery of self-care skills might not occur until later in life.

Self Care Skills

Mastery of self-care skills vary for every child, but with practice and persistence, all children can improve them. If your child is actively resisting attempts at any of these self-care tasks or has no interest in learning them, consult your pediatrician (Spivey 1). 

As toddlers, most children begin:

• Using a fork or spoon to eat, and with some guidance from you, using a plastic knife is possible (although I'm 23 and I still find them flimsy and impossible to eat with)
• Dressing and undressing. Preschoolers should be able to put clothes on and take them off without much trouble. Velcro® is great for young children, and makes for a simple doing and undoing of clothes, but clothes with snaps, buttons, and zippers can give children great practice as well. 
• Brushing their teeth. They might be using the toothbrush, but they also might need help or supervision to ensure that they are getting a thorough and long enough clean in. This is a task that takes great coordination for them. But, it makes them feel grown-up! Make sure you teach your children to only use a pea-sized drop of toothpaste, as ingesting fluoride is not good (don't get me started on all the fluoride in the drinking water). 
• Using the toilet on their own. Most children are toilet trained by age 3, but some may not be able to train until 4. Both boys and girls first learn to urinate while sitting on the toilet. Help your kid get comfortable using the toilet at home and away; this will help them avoid holding it in. Holding it in can lead to accidents and isn't the best for the bladder, as you could imagine. Preschool aged boys might want to copy their fathers by standing when they pee. If your child is not fully potty trained by this age, don't be discouraged. Consult your physician if you do think it may be a problem. 
• Preparing breakfast. Children ages 3-4 are typically able to make cereal for themselves as well as find the utensils and dish-ware they need (they might not want to, but that's irrelevant). Make it easier for them by making these items accessible to them (ie: placing the milk lower in the fridge so they can reach) and prepare for many spills, they are learning. 
• Helping out around the house! Yes you read it. Even though they might not want to pick up clothes, put their toys away, take out the trash ;), children should be able to tidy up around 3-4 years of age. Encourage yard work like pulling weeds or picking up trash and sticks. In the kitchen, let them help mix pudding, muffin mixes, make sandwiches, etc. (Spivey 2). 

Be positive about your child's process of learning and applying self-care and independence, and this will encourage them to keep trying. There will be messes, spills, and accidents here and there, but it's small in comparison to how your child will feel about his/her accomplishments and independence. There's plenty of tasks not appropriate for children (using the oven or microwave, ironing, etc.) and they may not understand why, but they should accept it. 

As years pass by, children learn more and more what independence and self-care truly means. One day they'll be driving their car to work, and all of it will be worth it. Put your own work in during the early years and ensure a solid foundation for a successful, independent future!

Resources

Spivey, Becky L. Super Duper Publications © 2008 Handy Handouts: "Reaching Developmental Milestones of Self-Care and Independence"

Intervention for the Child with Language Difficulties

When a parent expresses that they are concerned about their child's reading/speaking capabilities, or if a teacher confirms a lack of ability in the classroom, an evaluation will take place. A speech-language pathologist will usually take initiative in this evaluation, screening the child using a checklist similar to one developed by Dr. Hugh Catts. Dr. Hugh Catts, the Chair of Speech-Language-Hearing has contributed a great deal of psychological research to help SLPs determine whether or not kindergarteners or first graders have language difficulties. Parents can use this checklist as a means of expressing their concerns with the child's difficulties to teachers and SLPs (Spivey 1).

If your child receives a low score on the checklist, not to worry; this simply means the student is in need of early intervention. And students can't be tested for learning disabilities before going through a structured intervention program. These interventions are intense, individualized and targeted instruction of reading and language skills. This approach guides children in obtaining the particular skills they are lacking. If children display a lot of difficulty with the intervention program, further assessments are taken and it is decided if the child has learning disabilities and requires extra attention and guidance through schooling (Spivey 1).

Children who are identified early on for phonological trouble (kindergarten) or language reading skills (1st grade) have shown a significant gain from the intervention program. Unfortunately, many children aren't recognized as having difficulties until the third grade. The earlier on the better. Developmentally, that's how it goes. And children who display these struggles, when identified early on, stand a much better chance at becoming proficient readers in the future.

So, it might seem silly to pay attention to a kindergarteners "report card", if you will, but it truly isn't. Great strides have been made in the field of speech-language pathology, so much so that phonological disabilities can be determined in a child who's only five years of age. No child builds a foundation for great speaking or reading skills alone; you are their help. In my last post, I went over some great tips to helping our child improve his writing skills at home. These tips can do the same for reading, and they're a great start to helping your child build a foundation for a successful academic future.

Resources

Spivey, Beck L., M.Ed. Super Duper Publications © 2012  Handy Handouts: "Why is My Child Not Learning to Read? The Need for Early Intervention"

How We Talk

Do you ever wonder how much is truly involved in communicating our feelings, our thoughts, our needs and desires? Do you ever kick yourself for saying something in the heat of the moment you didn't mean? I do. I kick myself for writing messages in the heat of the moment. As we grow older, we learn to control what comes out of our mouths. When we're young, all is fair game. We're more focused on expressing a thought correctly than the influence it will have on those who hear it.

Speaking begins with a person's thoughts; the brain formulates the thought and breaks it down into words, then into sentences, and finally, meaning. The act of speaking occurs by air coming up from the lungs, through the vocal folds, and out the mouth. We shape these sounds using our tongue (the tip, blade, front and back), upper and lower lips, upper and lower teeth, and the roof of the mouth in order to produce specific sounds and words. Speech sounds can differ by voice, place (where sounds are made in the mouth) and manner (the type of sound) (Stuckey 1).

How Do We Produce Different Types of Speech Sounds

Several different parts of the body, in fact, are used in the production of speech; not just our mouths. Our stomach muscles, lungs, voice box, tongue, teeth, lips, and even our nose are all used in the production of speech sounds. So, the thought originates in the brain. But where does the sound originate. Believe it or not, it originates in the stomach, with the diaphragm (the upper part of the stomach which controls the lungs). The diaphragm pushes air from the lungs into the voice box, which contains inside it numerous vocal cords that vibrate to produce your particular and distinct voice. Then, the lips, tongue, and teeth form the sounds to make speech, such as phonemes and words. For example, the tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth to produce the "d" sound while air is pushed out. When the tongue moves, the sounds the comes out changes. Over development, our minds create patterns for bodily movements to create specific words, or even phrases, to the point where it becomes second nature. It's quite phenomenal. So, your nose, eh? Don't believe me? Oh it's involved. Are people surrounding you? No? Good. Make the "mmmmmm" sound. You'll feel your throat and mouth vibrating. Now, pinch your nose, and try to make that sound again. Not so easy now, is it? 

What If My Child Has Difficulty Saying Speech Sounds?

Many children experience difficulty when attempting to create intelligible, clear and understandable speech. This can make it difficult for listeners to understand what they are saying. Speech sound production occurs on a developmental basis according to a child's age. By age 2, a child should be able to produce sounds such as p, d m, w, h, and n. By age 3: t, b, k, and g. By age 4-5: f, v, y. By age 5-7: s, z, j, l, r, sh, ch, th, blends (Stuckey 1). If you notice that your child is having trouble producing these sort of speech sounds around these ages, and if you recognize that they are having trouble speaking, as well as their listeners listening, it may be time to consult a speech therapist for a screening/evaluation of your child's speech production. Difficulty with producing intelligible speech is best tackled early on, and only becomes more difficult to treat as the mind tends to stick with its vocal patterns through development. 

Stuckey, Kevin. M.Ed., CCC-SLP. Super Duper Publications © 2009: How Do We Talk?

Grammar and Syntax: Put the Fun in Fundamentals

Formation of language begins at birth, believe it or not. When a baby cries, they're communicating the need for help and attention. Later, babies begin to produce sounds when they want certain objects or even family members; they are naming them: ba ba (bottle), ma ma (mother), da da (father), etc. We don't recognize this as the beginning of the development of grammar and syntax, but it actually is. Children are "speaking" and we are responding, appropriately! When we respond appropriately, we are teaching them (slowly but surely) how to talk. As a child's language is developing, parents can help children learn grammar (classes of words, their forms and functions) and syntax (the arrangement of words and the sequence in which we put them together to create meaning). Children with speech and language difficulties often have problems understanding the even the simplest and smallest units of words (-ed, -ing, -s). So, sometimes their sentences may come off as immature dependent on their age.

Children realize early on that the more words they hear and repeat, the more the world around them is expanding, or rather, their understanding of it. As early as two years old, children are trying to use prepositions, nouns, pronouns and verbs altogether to make meaning; "Me up mama," want my ba," "you go dada." Even though children put together sentences that may lack sense to a parent, they should respond appropriately using correct grammar in order to teach the child appropriate use of language. Responding with baby talk is cute up until a certain age, but there comes a time when it only reinforces inappropriate use of language. You see, when we respond using baby talk, we are telling a child that this type of talk is appropriate (we may not directly see the innate thirst to learn language in our toddlers, but it's there). Use appropriate language and children will follow ("Suzy hitted me!" - "Did Suzy hit you?")

Children with speech and language difficulties often:

• Use words in the wrong order (their sentences don't make sense or are misleading)
• Struggle to use pronouns correctly (identifies self as 'she,' 'her,' or 'me' when 'I' is correct)
• Cannot grasp how to use word endings (-ed, -ing, -s) correctly
• Do not understand how to connect sentences or thoughts using conjunctions (and, but, or, yet)
• Do not understand verb tense (past, present and future)
• Need practical experiences to understand some concepts
• Need to use concrete materials to understand plurals (one doll, two dolls) 

Here are some strategies to use with children at home to help improve their use of grammar and syntax.

• Play sentence games. For example, cut out pictures from a magazine and verbally reenact the scene. This can help a child understand nouns, verbs, adjectives and where they belong (syntax). (Picture of a dog playing catch with his owner - "What is/was the dog/owner doing?" "The dog is/was/will..., His owner is/was..., The ball is/was... " As you can see, this can also helps children understand tenses. And it will be fun!
• Play sentence games. Cut pictures of individual items out of a magazine and paste them on cards. Mix them up, have your child describe the object to you and guess what it is. ("It has icing you can eat and candles that tell how old you are!")
• Scramble! Write words on small notecards, punctuation marks: everything that makes a sentence. Scramble them up and have your child put them together in the right order. Correct them when they're wrong, but in a way that challenges them to correct it themselves. If they're wrong about where a comma goes, ask "should the comma go here, or there?". This will engage them and help them pay more attention. 
• Mad Libs! Word searches, and puzzles galore!
• Use everyday objects around the house to teach plurals. "Jerry, how many spoons am I holding in my hand?"

Resources

Spivey, Becky L., M.Ed. Super Duper Publications © 2009 Handy Handouts. "Teaching the Fundamentals of Grammar and Syntax at Home"

Common Core Curriculum and Its Support of Students with Disabilities

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. I've written about Common Core Curriculum before, and I do tend to believe that it is a step in the right direction. The Core Curriculum that is used in states today stratifies it's standards according to socio-economical standings of each district. It would seem in the right: setting standards based on what is believed to be the academic capacities of each district. But what does this do for our future? It stratifies it as well, offering an uneven playing field for students to play the game of life on. It's simply cause and effect: the students in wealthy districts grow up learning to be leaders while the students in the middle class learn to take on middle class jobs. Do some research into academic stratification and you'll find suggestions of such a slant. Additionally, Core Curriculum standards are set by large corporations and government. The Common Core State standards, on the contrary, are developed by a collaboration of parents, teachers, school administrators, and other experts, providing a clear and concise framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce (Spivey 1). I've written on this distinction before, but I may have left something out.

Common Core Standards do not tell teachers how to teach; rather, they tell students what to teach, giving them the opportunity to create the best lesson plans for their students, focusing individually on how students best learn. This allows teachers air for creativity in the classroom, room to recognize and capitalize on each student's or group of students' learning patterns as opposed to implementing teaching plans handed down by the state. With Common Core Standards, students with disabilities are given special care, more vigorous and in depth, to help them reach these new standards and achieve their highest potentials. In order for students with learning disabilities to meet these academic standards and fully display their skills in math, reading, writing, speaking and listening, their instruction must include and support certain accommodations, including:

• Full support and related services to meet their unique needs in order enable their access to general education curriculum
• An Individualized Education Program (IEP) which includes annual goals aligned with and chosen to facilitate their achievement of grade-level standards
• Specialized instructors prepared and qualified to deliver evidence-based, individualized instruction and support (Spivey 1). 

Students with disabilities may be provided with additional support and services such as:

• Instructional supports for learning based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which fosters student engagement by presenting information in multiple ways and allowing for multiple avenues of action and expression. *The UDL is a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that values diversity through proactive design of an inclusive curriculum, thereby eliminating or reducing barriers to academic success. Initially proposed as a means for including students with disabilities in the general-education classroom, it is now better understood as a general education initiative that improves outcomes for all learners, including students with limited English proficiency.
• Instructional accommodations, or changes in material or procedures which do not change the standards, but allow students to learn within the framework of the Common Core. Children with learning disabilities can sometimes be rephrased for certain children. Some children just tend ot learn differently than most others; it may take them more time, less distraction, a heavier lean on conceptualizing a lesson as a whole rather than a sum of individual parts (in other words, being taught first as opposed to challenged to learn...in some cases this is helpful). Point is, children with learning disabilities will be accommodated for regardless of changes in curricula. Standards are not the same as procedures in school. 
• Assistive technology devices and services, which ensure access to general education curriculum and the Common Core Standards by helping children who have difficulty paying attention, retaining information, etc., take notes in class and learn on a different platform. A friend of mine has a smart pen that records lectures. 

Some students with more severe learning and cognitive disabilities may requires substantial supports and accommodations. These should ensure these students access to multiple means of learning opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and capabilities, and retain the rigor and high expectations of the Common Core State Standards at the same time. The Common Core State Standards attempt is to advantage the disadvantage, to even the playing field which is so crucial in life. One could argue that socio-economical factors could disadvantage some, but it is the aim of the Common Core committee to lesson these direct disadvantages. 

As with every opposing force, a number of advocates determines the outcome. Do you believe the Common Core Curricula can improve our educational systems, leaving no individual behind in its endeavor, or do you believe we should conserve the system as it is now? If your children are in school, this is something you should truly obtain a passionate answer for, through thorough research and a continued awareness of current debate. You can get all of this from Suffolk Speech's Facebook and bloggers, devoted to learning and writing about everything parenthood. 

Resources

Spivey, Beckly L M.Ed., Super Duper Publications © 2010 Handy Handouts, "Students with Disabilities and the Common Core State Standard"