Listening Activity: Free Audiobooks with Hoopla

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A screenshot from the Hoopla app that shows colorful covers of children's books

Lately when I get into the car with my children (currently almost 3 and almost 1), I’ve been wanting an alternative to turning on the radio. My kids aren’t interested in most of the podcasts on my list, although we do listen to them now and then. Recently though I started to wonder–why aren’t we listening to audiobooks? We know … Read More

Breaking Down the Rich Language in Children’s Story Books

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A picture of a yellow book with the title "Curious George Visits a Toy Store." There is a picture of a monkey sitting on a pile of toys.

When was the last time you worked the word “commotion” into a conversation with your toddler? Or “lowered” or “delighted”? Don’t worry, I haven’t either. But, because of a Curious George book we accidentally brought home from my parents’ house, we’ve been reading them. I’ve mentioned before that I love using books in therapy, and we’ve all heard that we … Read More

Working on my LSLS, Cert AVT

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Listening and Spoken Language

Okay, so I know that sounds like a lot of jargony-jargon, so let me explain both my terms and my excitement. What is happening is that I have recently decided to continuing pursuing certification as a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (the LSLS part), Certified Auditory Verbal Therapist (the Cert AVT part). An LSL, Cert AVT is someone who has … Read More

5 Tips I’ve Learned from Having a Child in Therapy

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A blond child with a striped shirt and floral cloth diaper on all 4s with his hand in a dump truck filled with colorful blocks

I’ve mentioned it before in this post, but our baby (who is very quickly approaching 1 and not-a-baby-anymore status) is in physical therapy. He was born with torticollis which is basically tight muscles, and like to use one side (the right) of his body more than the other (the left). Being a therapist and also a mom who is in … Read More

Sea Lions, Giraffes, and Monkey Faced Squirrels, Oh My

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Like so many other parents, I’m always looking for easy and quick ways to provide my kiddos with rich language experiences. I’ve read the research about how the more you talk to your kids, the better their language and vocabulary will be. I want them to be immersed in letters and words and have read the 1,000 books before Kindergarten, … Read More

Make the Call

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Every parent knows that feeling when your intuition tells you something about your kiddo is just “off.” Maybe they ate slightly less at dinner, or woke up an extra time or two last night and you wonder if they’re not feeling well. Maybe it’s something bigger, like a nagging feeling they just aren’t talking as much as you would have … Read More

Don’t Fall Off the Tippy Chairs

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If I’m being honest, there are books I really don’t enjoy reading to my children. I know it’s a sentimental favorite, but I sort of hate “Guess How Much I Love You” and have been known to abbreviate “Little Nutbrown Hare” and “Big Nutbrown Hare” to “Big Rabbit” and “Little Rabbit.” But, you do it because your kids love them. … Read More