By admin
There are some specific techniques that parents and teachers can use when trying to help improve the speech and communication skills of their infants and toddlers.
I used baby sign language with my daughter, starting when she was 5 months old. By the time she was 24 months old, she knew 32 individual signs, and we could communicate well with each other. She knew the basics: eat, drink, go, stop, and even some advanced words and ideas: diaper change, airplane, and her home-made sign for swing.
When I was working with children with Autism, and other special-needs children, I learned lots of techniques to help improve communication skills. I can teach you how to use these techniques with your children, and improve their communication with you.
Behavior is communication. The child is trying to say something, express something, or just ask for something. But, before the speech is available, how can very small children express what they need and want?
When I was serving at my church the other day for the Christmas Eve services, I tried a little experiment. I used some of the techniques during the hour and a half I was with the 12-17 month olds. I wanted to see if they would either sign or speak to me, by the end of the 90 minutes. Two children were able to say, “buh-bo” for bubbles, and one child even seemed to sign “fish” after I had signed it each time I handed her the gold-fish crackers snack.
If you’d like some help learning baby signs, or how to improve your child’s speech and communication techniques, give me a call or email, and I can help you.
By admin
The first graders were welcome to shop at their school for gifts for their friends and family members. Envelopes were sent home with categories of names and amounts that parents felt should be spent on each person. Teachers and parent volunteers were available in the school’s set-up “store” for shopping. Most items were between 25 cents and $5. The shopping was held at the school for 2 days.
Samantha was given $40 and her parents told her to buy whatever she wanted. The parents did not take the time to fill in the list, nor give spending limits on the envelope. They felt it was too time consuming. They did not take the time to explain anything about giving gifts to others. They were too busy.
Alexi’s parents sat down and carefully talked with her about each family member. They wrote down the names of the people Alexi said, and decided together the right amount for each person, about $1 each. In the end, Alexi had $13 total, for 10 family members and closest friends.
Samantha came home after the first day and showed her parents all the delightful gifts she purchased – most of them for herself. Her parents went out and bought the gifts for family members “from Samantha” by themselves, because it was just easier.
After the first day, Alexi came home and announced that she “needed more money” because she spent too much on some people, and seemed to forget about the others. Her parents felt sad, and hugged Alexi, saying sometimes it is hard to stick to the limits. They gave her no more money.
- Which child learned about limits? Which child learned about self-control?
- Which child learned about budgets, even if that word wasn’t used?
- Which child learned about giving to others?
Happy Hanukkah!
Hanukkah is the Jewish festival of lights, and a reminder of God’s provision of enough oil for 8 days, when the people thought they only had enough oil for one. It was just enough time to make more olive oil, to burn the lamp used in the temple. Foods celebrated during Hanukkah are usually cooked in oil, preferably olive oil, as a remembrance (typically potato pancakes). Prayers are said and songs of remembrance and thankfulness are sung while viewing the lit candles, and sometimes games are played.
For more information on how to teach the meaning of Hanukkah to your children, visit this step-by-step guide.
Merry Christmas!
If you celebrate Christmas, you can do a few things to slow down, and help your family to focus on the true meaning of Christmas:
- Read the Christmas story. It doesn’t take long, and you can find the story in Luke, chapter 2 in the Bible.
- Be thankful. Before eating, go around the table and say one thing you are grateful for in 2008. This could take just a few seconds per person. Be the example, and go first. This sets the tone, and the time amount
expected.
- Say “thank you.” Have just one person open one gift at a time, and teach your children to say “thank you” to the giver, before the next gift is opened. This teaches self-control and gratitude.
Lots of things can be done to help your children remember the true meaning of Christmas. Write to me some of your ideas and traditions that help you remember the birth of Jesus Christ.
By admin
If you’re anything like me, you’re asking yourself, “When is enough enough?” It could be holiday stress, it could be eating sugary cookies, cakes, pies and the never-ending candy that seems to be available everywhere this time of year. Or it could be shopping for gifts for others.
Enough is enough when you decide it is. Stop listening to the pressure-filled self-talk that is like a slave-driver, ever pushing you forward to do more, have more, be more. You are enough. Breathe.
Enough whining from your kids. Enough spending money on credit. Enough gifts for families and friends. Enough Christmas songs. Enough racing around for the “perfect” gift for my spouse, mother, father, kids, boyfriend, or girlfriend (by the way, there is no such thing as the perfect gift).
Are you tired of running on the treadmill, getting nowhere? Perhaps you need to vent your frustrations with a trusted counselor.
Perhaps I can help you view things in ways you never thought to view them before. Perhaps I can show you techniques that will work. Give me a call, if you’ve had enough!
