All posts tagged: kids

MUSINGS & MEADERINGS: Why transitions are so hard, and how to ease the pain…plus, a children’s back-to-school book with author interview–hello–Christina Geist!…a fabulous gift idea, more

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By Leslie Lindsay A curated newsletter on the literary life, featuring ‘4 questions,’ reading & listening recommendations, where to submit, more Leslie Lindsay|Always with a Book ~MUSINGS & MEANDERINGS~ Hello, Friends! Let’s talk about transitions for a moment. They can be equal parts exciting and terrifying, right? You can want a change, even go so far as to curate that change, and then when it comes, it’s hard, hard, hard. You get me? What about those changes you didn’t even ask for, but boom–here they are? Yeah, that too. And those other transitions–the ones you know are coming, didn’t really ask for, but you know…the seasons, the school year, a shift in your daily routine. Why the heck are they so hard? And what can we do when we ‘hit a wall?’ How can we embrace them? Clear the slate. For me, I like a little lead time. Maybe a day or two to ‘shift gears,’ mentally and maybe physically, too. The problem is, life happens fast. Sometimes we don’t have the space or time …

THE GRUMPY FRUMPY CROISSANT helps with kids anger management, plus a baking activity, how it might help with apraxia, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  A sip of milk and ten deep breaths: anger management for kids to help calm angry minds and soften misunderstandings. ~Apraxia Monday|Always with a Book~ Spotlight: Children‘s Literature & Emotions Croissant isn’t happy and he’s taking it out on the rest of the breakfast plate! Toast, Scone, and Milk think he’s being mean, but Croissant feels they’re being mean to him! So take a sip of milk, ten deep breaths, and everyone and calm down and be more open.  THE GRUMPY FRUMPY CROISSANT by Mona K. and illustrated by Korey Scott, is a delightful and quirky children’s book with bold, colorful, hand-drawn illustrations easy for any child to grasp. Here, kids learn that simple communication is often the best way to solve problems.  The book even contains a delicious recipe that parents and caregivers can make with their kids, plus full-page coloring activities featuring characters from the book.  Why it might be helpful for kids with apraxia:  It’s frustrating for kids to have ideas they want to communicate, but can’t. They may …

Toe-tappin’ Hip-Hoppin’ Llama Glamarama is all about marching to the beat of your own drummer, celebrating differences, feeling left-out, PRIDE and more

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By Leslie Lindsay  A bright and colorful rhyming story with a powerful message about celebrating differences, LLAMA GLAMARAMA is the perfect Pride picture book for everyone. ~Books on MondaY|Always with a Book~ Spotlight: Children‘s Literature Meet a dazzlin’ dancin’ llama who learns to march to the beat of his own drum by strutting his stuff with Pride (and a funky feather boa)! Larry the llama loves to move and groove! But will his friends all disapprove? Larry lives a slow and quiet life at the barn with all the other llamas, just the way they like it. But at night when everyone has gone to bed, Larry loves to dress up in bright costumes and DANCE! He has to hide this from the others, for fear that they won’t approve of his raucous ways. One day, he stumbles upon the Llama Glamarama, a carnival full of music, laughter, and yes – dancing! Will this vibrant celebration give Larry the pride he needs to bring his dance back home? Kirkus calls LLAMA GLAMARAMA (Scholastic/Orchard Books, June 1, 2021) …

Author/Illustrator Janice Hechter talks about her new children’s book, ADVENTURE GIRL: Dabi Digs in Israel, exploring archaeology as a career, digging up history, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  A little girl visits Israel with her parents and discovers more than she ever realized at her fingertips, but also about her ancestry. ~Writers Interviewing Writers|Always with a Book~ Spotlight: Children‘s Literature Whether digging in the dirt, crafting mud figures, or playing with worms, Dabi loves exploring nature and using it to learn about the world around her. ADVENTURE GIRL: Dabi Digs in Israel is a heartwarming family-centered tale of a visit to Israel to visit grandparents. Her parents insist she dress and ‘act like a lady,’ and Dabi reluctantly agrees, but soon finds a kindred spirit in her aunt, who takes her on a new adventure, at the Beit Guvrin National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where children can join an archaeological dig, crawl through caves, and explore ancient ruins. Dabi relishes in this experience, but soon discovers not everything can be taken home. Written and illustrated by Janice Hechter, this darling book exemplifies curiosity, discovery, science, culture, and more. Plus, it shows that girls can do anything–even if it means getting a little dirty. …

Hands-on, no art skills needed, Claynguage is a multi-sensory approach designed by a semi-retired, school-based SLP, Hinda Rubin, to elicit language development with…clay

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By Leslie Lindsay A multi-sensory clay-based–and evidence-based!–approach to speech-language therapy. ~ApRaXiA MoNdAy|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Special Guest: Hinda Rubin Merging Pottery Skills with Language Development I am so delighted to welcome the lovely and talented Hinda Rubin, CCC-SLP to the Apraxia Monday Series. Hinda first trained as a medical SLP. As a school-based SLP, she provided evidence-based speech and language therapy to help improve articulation, receptive and expressive language skills, pragmatic language skills, auditory processing skills, fluency and voice. But she’s also a ceramicist, Bubby (aka Grandma), loves reading, exercising, and crafting. She believes that children need to see parents balance work and family while making family a priority. Sharing Claynguage with them, as well as with the children in a variety of daycares and preschools, is truly a passion. A bit about Claynguage: Claynguage activities were founded in an art classroom and provide a meaningful, fun, and naturalistic context in which children learn new words and improve speech and language skills. Claynguage® is guided by several evidence-based strategies used by speech-language pathologists to enhance children’s language …

Apraxia MondaY: Keeping kids engaged with speech-language therapy after the therapy session through reading, I-Spy, Scrabble, more, plus tips on apraxia, teletherapy, more.

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By Leslie Lindsay  Speech-language therapy doesn’t stop at the speech clinic. Here are some ways you can enhance & support what your child is working on at home.  ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Spotlight: BETTER SPEECH.COM EXTENDING SPEECH WORK IN EVERYDAY PLAY & GAMES I’m so delighted to welcome this guest piece from the folks at Better Speech, an online portal for speech-language teletherapy, recognized by American Speech-Hearing Association (ASHA). As most you know, I am a big proponent of making speech fun while working it into everyday routines. There is so much that can be expressed and taught in your own home, out-and-about town, and even in nature. That said, we’re all spending much more time at home–not just because of the pandemic, but because it’s winter and the middle of the school year. Here are some great tips and ideas of things you can do right at home, probably with items you already have.  5 Ways to Support Your Child’s Speech Therapy at Home When your child is working with a licensed speech therapist, speech …

Apraxia Monday: TALK YOGA creators Amy Roberts & Kim Hughes, both speech-language pathologists and certified yoga intructors talk about the value of kids, speech, & yoga

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By Leslie Lindsay  Yoga + Kids + Speech = some of my very favorite things.  ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Spotlight: TALK YOGA  I am so delighted to introduce you to two fabulous speech-language pathologists, Kim Hughes and Amy Roberts, both certified yoga instructors and pediatric SLPs. Their practice, TalkYoga is mentioned in the updated, 2nd edition of SPEAKING OF APRAXIA (Woodbine House, 2020) and with good reason—I love yoga! For years, I have practiced, but it wasn’t until the last five years or so that I really became a yogi. Before that, my daughter, Kate, now 15 with resolving CAS, participated in yoga-like poses during her combined ST/OT sessions. Kate is what we might call a ‘sensory seeker’ and so the movement—and the dedication—yoga provided important feedback and stimulation. Here, I ask Kim and Amy a few questions about how yoga practice can help kids with speech development. Please join us! Leslie Lindsay: Kim and Amy—welcome! I am so pumped about your yoga for kids, TalkYoga program. Can you tell us a bit about …

Fun & FAB YOuTUBE DAD, WARREN NASH TALKS ABOUT HIS LEGO PASSION, CREATING WITH KIDS, PROBLEM-SOLVING & CRITCAL THINKING, plus, parent-child bonding in his new book, LEGO DAD

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By Leslie Lindsay  A fabulous resource for anyone–not just dads–who love LEGOs, the little people in their life, and time together inventing and being creative. ~APRAXIA MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Child’s Play + Book  It’s time to break out the bricks–the LEGO bricks, that is! LEGO WITH DAD: Creatively Awesome Brick Projectsfor Parents and Kids to Build Together by Warren Nash (October 2020, Rocky Nook) is a gorgeous, glossy, all-color guide to creating with LEGOs. It’s jam-packed with fabulous fun ideas, hints, tips, and ideas that will have you digging up all of those misplaced LEGOs you have around the house. Seriously, some cool stuff. Nash says you don’t need to run out and purchase sets and build them exactly as the directions say–you can create your own fun designs with just a few basic pieces you may already have at home. For years, LEGO has been an endless source of imagination and joy for kids of all ages–and for many of us, that goes back our own childhood, too. LEGO WITH DAD is a …

Mom and Speech-language pathologist talks about how you can make the most of the morning routine with your kids, speech devlopment, more

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By Leslie Lindsay  Super-cute board book for use with toddlers in a home or clinic setting to help with early language development, plus kids will delight in the lift-the-flap feature. ~Books on Monday, Part 2|Always with a Book~ Last week, we chatted with Dr. T. about her hands-on, practical, and FUN board book for kids–and their caregivers to read and manipulate. Today, she presents some fab ways to use your morning routine to increase your child’s language skills. I love these ideas because they are accessible, plus children will delight in collaborating with you. The key here is to make it feel natural, as if it’s part of your normal day-to-day routine, not a ‘sit and learn’ or another ‘chore’ on your to-do list. Kids are smart, they pick up on this stuff. Best to ‘sneak it in’ in a way that makes it feel like fun and play.  5 ways to use your morning routine to increase your toddler’s language skills by Tinita Kearney, Ph.D., CCC-SLP As a wife, mother of two children under …

Chad Otis talks about his debut children’s book–OLIVER THE CURIOUS OWL–about his artistic process, living in a school bus as a kid, exploring the big wide world, curiosity, imagination, and being an over-caffeinated uncle.

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By Leslie Lindsay  Darling children’s picture book about a little owl who goes on an adventure far from his home, asking more that just whoo-whoo. ~BOOKS ON MONDAY|ALWAYS WITH A BOOK~ Every child–especially those around ages 2-4 love to ask ‘wh-‘ questions: who, what, when, where, and why. Especially why. Here, author/illustrator Chad Otis, brings to life the adorable owl, Oliver, in this charmingly sweet and funny tale of curiosity, OLIVER THE CURIOUS OWL (Little, Brown Young Readers, August 11 2020). Oliver lives in a tree in the woods with his mother and father and siblings…but they only ask ‘who?’ Oliver needs more. He wants to know: who lives in the faraway woods? Where does the river go? Why can’t I leave our tree? So one day, he and his little friend, Bug, go. They leave the safety of their nest and meet new friends–bats and beavers, alligators and seals, too. They try new things and eat new foods and maybe they get a little scared. But it all turns out okay in the end. OLIVER THE CURIOUS OWL is about getting …