Talking at the Seaside
I love being at the seaside and have brought up my daughter with many visits to the Devon coastline. As I was enjoying the view on my latest visit, my speech and language therapy brain switched on and I began to generate the associated language with waves and sand.
I thought I would write the stream of thoughts as they occurred to me:
Big and small waves.
Wet and dry feet.
Future tense 'it's going to be a big wave...
Verbs such as jump, paddle, step, tip-toe, splash, find, look, watch, swim, float, crash, pull, push, hold, empty, fill, build, dig, cover, hide, fish, drop, scoop, lift, wade, wobble, fall.
Colours of the pebbles and shells.
Counting the crabs that we see in the rock pool.
Vocabulary such as sand, bucket, spade, rake, sieve, hole, tower, feel, squash, channel, ball, kite, shell, pebble, stone, rock, mound, hill, ramp, circle, moat, seaweed, square, castle, flag.
My point is that language opportunities are all around us and the sharing of our observations enriches our conversation with our children. As a speech and language therapist, thinking about communication is second nature and I often find my best therapy ideas come from reflections about why we use language? What motivates a child to talk? What would they like to be saying that they can't easily do right now? What would their families like them to be able to join in that they find tricky at the moment? Once we have decided upon an important and relevant goal, the next question is how do we achieve it?
I hope this Blog will give ideas about how to use everyday and holiday time activities to develop communication. I am also hoping to share my speech and language therapy knowledge to give you insight into how I use games, toys and Apps to encourage children to reach their potential.