Rock a bye baby

http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/Bitty_Baby

What it is: baby doll and accessories. My favorite accessories include pretend bottles, sippy cup, spoon, bowl, soap bottle, wash rag, diaper, and blanket.

Where to get it:  Ok, this is pretty obvious.  You can get baby dolls pretty much anywhere!  At Toys R Us I've found great "baby kits"--little plastic bags already filled with all of the baby accessories.  They also have cool stuff like toy bathtubs, strollers, high chairs, etc.  Your child can be playing Mommy in no time!  This prices aren't too bad either, around $10.00-$15.00.

What to do with it:  Playing with baby is a great receptive language activity.  You can have your child identify items ("Give me the rag, where's the bottle?");  follow directions ("Give baby something to eat; wash baby's face). 

You can also target expressive vocabulary, including action words (wash, eat, drink, sleep, rock, etc), body parts, and clothing items (if your baby doll has clothes). 

You can have two dolls, and have your child tell you what to do with your doll.  This can be done in single words or phrases ("eat" or "baby eat")

Sound imitation can include "wah-wah", mama, dada, baba (bottle), eating noises, drinking noises, "pee-eww" (for a pretend stinky diaper).

Action imitation can include rocking baby, hugging baby, kissing baby, feeding baby, changing baby's diaper, patting her back, etc.

Playing with baby dolls is such a great activity for boys, girls, and parents!  What is your favorite baby accessory?  (Mine is using a real newborn size diaper to put on and off the baby).

Signing Saturday: Cracker

This is a great sign for your child to learn if they are beyond using the sign "more" to request.  Using "cracker" he can become more specific as to what he wants to eat!  To teach the sign, show him a cracker, model the sign, and have him sign it back to you before giving him the cracker.  If you do this enough times, hopefully soon your child will be standing in front of the pantry door, frantically signing cracker! 

Signing Saturday: Baby

 This week's sign is "baby".  Very easy, just like you're rocking a baby!  

Another post will be coming soon on more things you can do when you're playing with baby dolls!  Have a great weekend!

Signing Saturday: Bird

Today's sign is for "bird".  While having your child practice the sign, you can also model saying "t-t-t-t" and see if he can imitate you.  Once they can do that, make it a little harder and model "tee-tee-tee".  And when that is mastered, you can  make it harder still and model "tweet-tweet". 

Hopefully it will be warm enough soon that you can actually go outside and listen to the birds sing!! 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Bath time Babbling: How to Communicate During Daily Routines

One point I press upon the families I work with is that you Do Not need to sit down with your child for an hour of "therapy" per day to teach your child to communicate.  What is more important, and more beneficial to your child's communication, is using your daily routines to teach language.   

Bathtime is a prime example of this, as it is rich with communication opportunities.  Plus, hopefully your  child is taking a bath most days of the week, making it a frequently occuring routine!  Here are 20 ideas for bathtime language learning:

1.  Clothes off
2.  Water on
3.  Water off
4.  Water hot
5.  In tub
6.  Toys please
7.  Bubbles
8.  More bubbles
9.  More toys
10.  Pop!  (bubbles)
11.  Wash face (arms, legs, feet, hands, hair, ears, tummy, etc)
12.  Soap on rag
13.  Get out your stacking cups and the options continue--water in, water out, full cup, empty cup, splash...
14.  Wet hair
15.  Out of tub
16.  Get dry
17.  Diaper on
18.  Pajamas on--head in, arms in, legs in
19.  Dry hair
20.  I was cold, now I'm warm!

Most of these suggestions focus on teaching concepts (in, out, on, off, hot, full, empty, warm, cold), as well as a few sound effects (pop, splash), requests (more, please), and vocabulary words (tub, toys, body parts, rag, diaper, pajamas, bubbles).  One thing I enjoy doing with my little guy who is learning to talk is to babble back and forth with him.  He LOVES bathtime, and vocalizes frequently in the tub.  Plus, he's stuck in a tub, and can't run away for me!  So he babbles "didabidada", and I say, "oh yeah, didadadadi", and he babbles something back at me.  I have no agenda other than having fun "conversing" with him.  It is great practice for him to use speech sounds and take turns in a conversation! 

Happy Splashing this week!   

What is your favorite tip for communicating during bathtime? 

Signing Saturday: Dog

I think 90% of the families I work with own a dog, which is why I chose "dog" as the sign for this week.  Plus, most kids are obsessed with their dog, making it a powerful word as well!  The sign for dog is to pat your leg, and then snap your fingers.  Well, I have yet to meet a 1 or 2 year old who can snap their fingers, so I teach the sign simply by tapping my leg.  Easy-peasy!  While you're at it, have you child imitate a panting noise (much easier than woof-woof), or if they are able, work on "wuh-wuh", or if they are really talking you can do "woof-woof". 

Happy signing! 

(http://freetopwallpaper.com/category/puppy/)

Side note:  I want nothing to do with owning a dog, but this picture is cute enough to almost make me want one! 

Signing Sunday: Bunny

In honor of Easter Sunday I bring you the sign for "bunny" so you can talk about the Easter Bunny with your little one! 

http://www.redgage.com/photos/daycareschool/sign-language-bunny-rabbit.html

While you're at it, sort eggs by color or size, count eggs, and hide eggs.  Practice quesions such as "where's egg?",  "there it is!".  Have you child try to scrunch up his nose like a bunny, or hop around like a bunny.  Have fun and Happy Easter!