Top 5 Books for Toddlers

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Reading books is one of the best ways to teach your child new words. Not only do books expose your child to new words but they also show your child how words are used in sentences. Did you know that children learn and retain words better when heard in the SAME book versus different books? I thought this research was quite fascinating and further solidifies why it’s OKAY to read the same book. 

5 MUST HAVE BOOKS for TODDLERS

1. Goodnight Moon: This books is great for teaching animals, preposition words and waving bye. You can find this book here.

2. Little Blue Truck: I love this book because it is perfect for focusing on animal sounds, animal names and exclamatory words. You can find this book here.

3. Where’s Spot?: I love this book because it is interactive and perfect for working on gestures. Animals are hidden behind the flaps. Before you open the flap, you can “knock” on it like you would to a door and say “KNOCK-KNOCK”. Once you open the flap you can wave “hi” and “bye”  to the animals each time. This book is repetitive so it gives your child several opportunities to practice these skills. You can find this book here.

4. From Head to Toe: This book is perfect for teaching the names of the body parts. You can find this book here.

5. Opposites You can find this book here.

When reading books with your child it is okay to read the same book more than once. You can also let your child help you turn the pages in the book. Do you have any of these books? If so, comment below and let me know.

Looking for more tips to help get your toddler talking. Check out my online course, Talking Tips Academy™ that is REOPENING IT’S DOORS SOON by clicking HERE.

10 Snow Day Activities For Kids

Hi, I’m Amanda, a licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Speech Therapist). I am passionate about empowering you with the tools to get your child talking. I love working with parents like you, to take the guess work out of getting your baby, toddler or preschooler talking.

Are you planning for a snow day and looking for some fun and easy activities to do with your kids at home? Snow Days are something I always looked forward to as a kid. Whether you want to play outside in the snow or snuggle up on the couch there are several activities you can do at home. Here are 10 activities you can do at home during your snow day. The best part about all of these activities is that they encourage speech and language development as well as vocabulary.

10 Snow Day Activities

1. Build a Snowman

Making a snowman is a must do activity on a snow day or any Winter day. Channel your inner Elsa in Frozen while making your snowman. You can practice following one-step directions (put the nose on the snowman, make 3 circles etc.) as well as basic concepts (on, under, next to, on top) and descriptive words (cold, frozen, wet.) When you put the hat on the snowman say “ON”. This activity is also great for labeling body parts (eyes, mouth, nose, arms, head, neck), shapes (circle, triangle) and sizes (small, big, large). Another idea is to make two snowman with the same or different clothing and to describe the similarities as well as the differences. Remember to describe what you are doing and what your child is doing. You might also be interested in my digital basic concepts Boom Cards™ targeting same and different with a snowman theme by clicking here.

2. SNOWBALL FIGHT

A snowball fight is a fun activity for kids on a snow day. So while you are out there making a snowman, have a snowball fight too. You can focus on verbs such as roll, throw and block. You can also describe the snow using adjectives such as cold, wet, frozen and slippery. This is also great for fine motor skills too.

3. Bake

I don’t know about you but on a snowy winter day, I love to bake. Whether you decide to bake cookies, cupcakes, a cake or brownies you can’t go wrong. Baking with kids creates many opportunities for learning. You can focus on the following verbs: crack, pour, mix and stir. It is recommended to say the words as you do the action to help make the association between the word and the actions.

4. GO SLEDDING

I hope you have your sled ready for this snow day. No sled, no problem. You can use the top from a garbage can or storage tote container as a substitute. When sledding down the hill, you can say “whee” and ready, set… GO! (pause before saying go). As you walk up the hill you can sing, “Up, up, up we go (to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”)

5. WATCH A MOVIE

Put on your comfy clothes and get ready to snuggle up on the couch for this one. Watch a movie to stay warm on this cold and snowy day. Before watching the movie you can make predictions about what you think the movie is about and during the movie you can talk about different parts. Another option is to discuss your favorite part of the movie after you finish watching the movie. For older children, you can have them draw a picture or write a sentence about their favorite part of the movie. Your child can then describe the picture they drew or read the sentence they wrote.

6. play a board game

A board game is another one of my favorite snow day activities. You may think it is just a board game but it is so much more. When playing board games with your children you are working on social skills, turn-taking, following directions and vocabulary. You can find my recommended games by clicking here.

7. MAKE SNOW ANGELS

Snow angels are another classic for your snow day with your kids. While making the snow angel, you can focus on the words open and close. Prior to going outside you can discuss the clothing you’ll need to wear to stay warm outside (hat, gloves, boots, jacket/coat, scarf, snow pants).

8. MAKE PAPER SNOWFLAKES

Arts n’ Crafts on a snow day is a great option to keep your little ones busy. You can make paper snowflakes by using either paper, a paper plate or a coffee filter. Cut the paper into a circle and fold it in half. Then you can cut different designs to make your snowflake.

9. MAKE HOT CHOCOLATE

After spending a day outside in the cold, you will definitely want some hot chocolate to warm you up. You can make hot chocolate but you can also incorporate language into the activity. Some key words include: open, pour, mix, stir, drink, hot, yum, yummy, mmm. You can work on requesting, describing, following directions, answering questions and sequencing while making hot chocolate.

10. PAINT THE SNOW

You can either paint the snow inside or outside. For this activity, you’ll need water, food coloring, a paint brush and a flat container (this is optional but a take out clear or white plastic container is perfect.) Add the food coloring to the water to make your desired colors (red, green, blue, yellow). You can ask your child what color do you want by holding up the options as you ask. You can use primary colors or experiment with mixing colors. As you drop the food color ing you can say IN and then as you mix the color into the water say MIX. It is helpful to say the word as you complete the action. If painting indoors, get some snow and put in the the container and your child can then pain the snow. If you are painting the show outside, bring your colored water and your paintbrush outside and you are ready to go.

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You can also find additional ideas and tips on my Instagram @abg_speechtherapy. I’d love to connect with you.

I cannot wait to hear from you and hope you enjoy your snow day!

Looking for more tips to help get your child talking. Check out my online course, Talking Tips Academy™ that is reopening it’s doors soon by clicking HERE.

What counts as a word? How many words should my toddler say?

Hi, I’m Amanda, a licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist (Speech Therapist). I am passionate about empowering you with the tools to get your child talking. I love working with parents to take the guesswork out of getting your baby, toddler or preschooler talking.

One of the most common questions I get asked by parents is, “How many words is my child expected to say? ” It’s important to know what counts as a word. When children are learning to talk their words are not expected to sound exactly like the adult version.

What counts as a word?

1. Word Approximations- This is common in very young children. A word approximation is when a child says part of a word versus the entire word. For example, “ba” for ball.

2. Animal Sounds “oink”, “moo”, “woof”, “quack”, “meow” (These are easy for children to say and imitate. This is a great place to start if your child is not talking yet.)

3. Sound Effects: beep-beep , vroom (These are perfect sounds to make while playing with cars.)

4. Exclamatory Words: These words easy for children to imitate and are fun to say. Some examples include “wee”, “yay”, “ow”, “uh-oh”.

5. Sign Language

We count it as a word if your toddler uses the word CONSISTENTLY, INDEPENDENTLY and INTENTIONALLY to refer to someone or something. If your baby or toddler says the word once, it would NOT count as a word. It is important to keep these word types in mind when counting the number of words that your child has. You may find that your child says more words once you refer to this list of what counts.

If you found these tips useful be sure to download your FREE Speech Sound Development Guide with first words tips to learn what sounds to expect and how to encourage those first words!

Looking for more tips to help get your toddler talking. Check out my online course, Talking Tips Academy™ that is now available for preorder by clicking HERE.