The Speech-Language MOMologist: 2014

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Cookie Cutter Art

There are so many crafts that go along with the holiday season. And it's a good thing, because December can be a rough month with the weather limiting activities to the indoors. Last year, I stocked up on holiday craft supplies right after Christmas. Stores like Michael's and A.C. Moore reduce prices of holiday crafts 50-90% off the day after Christmas. I got a bunch of great stuff for super cheap! I threw together a holiday supply box so when we were ready for a craft, everything was in one place. I filled it with red and green paint, glitter, stickers, holiday cut outs, etc. It makes preparation a lot easier!

For this simple craft, you'll need holiday cookie cutters, paper and paint. I used cookie cutters a various sizes so that I could talk to the boys about SMALL, MEDIUM, and LARGE, as well as touch on COMPARATIVES and SUPERLATIVES (big, bigger, biggest).

Each cookie cutter had it's own plate of paint and we rotated the supplies around. The boys dipped their cookie cutter in the paint then on their paper. What's great about this art activity is it comes out pretty no matter what. It could be a set design, like Buddy (4) did - creating Christmas trees, then putting a star on top and finally using his fingertips to make some ornaments OR it would be really abstract like Mikey (2) and Mighty (1) did by just stamping cookie cutters everywhere. It's simple enough for very little hands and you can always help by stamping with them.

We'll be using these works of art as Christmas cards for special family members. I think they're going to love them and I think you will too!

Love & Language,

Marisa

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The 24 Books of Christmas

We started the tradition last year that our Elf on the Shelf would bring 24 wrapped Christmas books. Each night until Christmas, the boys open one book (They take turns opening which is great practice at turn taking!) and we read it together. Then, we each choose a Christmas book that was opened on a previous night. It's a nice addition (actually substitution) to our bed time routine and the whole family gets into it (Hubby and I included). It's also great for children to hear the same books over and over again. By Christmas, they usually know their favorites by heart. It's never too late to start this tradition! There are still 22 days left till Christmas! You could also include Christmas games or movies instead of just books. If you're looking for some Christmas book suggestions, here are some of our favorites:

Hope you get a chance to read some of them with your little one! I would love to hear some of your favorite Christmas stories...

Love & Language,

Marisa

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Elf on the Shelf Ideas

It's hard to believe that the Christmas season is upon us! But, I couldn't be more excited! Each year, the boys are more and more into the holidays and I am just trying to soak up all the magic because I don't know how long it will last! This time of year brings so many activities and experiences that will be beneficial for your little one's speech and language development. First off, a whole new set of holiday vocabulary is to be learned and talked about ~ Santa, sled/sleigh, ornament, snow, dreidel, reindeer, chimney, elf, stocking, present, etc. and action words, like ~ wrapping, prancing, trimming, decorating. If you really listen, there are so many words appearing in our daily conversations during the holiday season that we don't use throughout the year. Take the opportunity, to teach your little one this special vocabulary. There's also plenty of pretend play that goes along with the season ~ pretending to be any Christmas characters (Santa, elves) and acting out their roles, pretending to cut down your own tree, and pretending to work at a Christmas bake shop/restaurant, just to name a few! Holiday songs and carols are another great way to celebrate and tap into the right side of the brain (the right side of the brain is in charge of singing!). There are plenty of new sensory experiences to explore during the holidays ~ the smell of gingerbread, the texture of tree needles, and the sound of jingle bells, to name a few! I'm hoping to share more of how to make the most of this holiday season throughout the month!

Last year, we introduced the Elf on the Shelf to our household and it was a big hit. The boys loved looking for our beloved elf (who they named Woddiey) each morning and my husband and I had fun hiding it each night. The Elf on the Shelf provides lots of fun and hopefully a little better behavior ;) to your home, but also provides a great opportunity to answer questions (where was the elf?), tell stories (Woddiey came back from the North Pole in a snowstorm last night...), tap into higher order thinking and prediction skills (Where do you think he'll be next? How did he get there?)and work on memory skills (Where was he hiding the other day? Tell Grandma what our elf was doing yesterday!). So here's 31 ideas for your Elf on the Shelf! I'm sharing some of our elf from last Christmas, as well as some new ideas found for this year. Enjoy!