Please note: I do not receive any income or gain from products, websites or services which I suggest in this blog. I only suggest things which I use in my own practice or with my own children.
We all have the same thought... right 1, 2, 6 weeks... how do we do this? Manage childcare, while possibly working? Then the realisation that you also have Speech therapy practice to do. Normally it's in your term time routine but trying to fit it in while on school holidays seems like an impossible task. Here are some tips you can use to keep up the practice while not having to put aside time.
Don't put pressure on yourself!
I know how challenging these weeks can be to organise. Equally your child has just been working hard at school for weeks on end and need a little break. Please don't feel guilty.
Little and often practice is the name of the game when it comes to practice. If you can do even a minute of practice once or twice a day then it will make a difference!
Having just been away for a few days camping I found it really challenging to do any reading with my 4 year old which I know we are ideally meant to do daily - lets be honest, with 5 other families around and my toddler in tow I did none. So instead we let E lead us with wanting to spell and sound out words she saw around the campsite. This is something that she is really into doing and enjoys, so rather than sitting her down with her book and making her read we were led by her and did the same sort of thing. We were still practicing the skills, but not doing it exactly how we have been asked to.
Don't get me wrong, I will do reading with her over the holidays, but in that scenario, it just wasn't that plausible as she wanted to be playing with her friends and having fun. I therefore took advantage of what she wanted to do and went with that for a few days.
The same can be true for practicing speech and language therapy activities. Do what you can, when you can. As long as it is related to what you are working on it will make a difference!
When? How?
Simple answer... whenever, wherever! Take advantage of opportunities which are given to you, or plan some activities (whichever works better for you). Here are some ideas for you:
Car journeys or travelling time
Car journeys can be a great time to do a little practice. I'm not expecting you to be on it for an entire journey, just a few minutes can make the world of difference to maintain progress. Try taking some cards or resources with you and have a go saying some new sounds or words your child is learning. Even if you don't have the resources you can practice e.g.
Sounds: can you see any words which start with 'k' outside the window? Play 'I spy'.
Language: model back what your child is saying using appropriate structure or grammar.
Vocab: name different things you are seeing. Ask your child to do the same.
Memory: shopping list game - "I went to the shops and I bought..." take it in turns to add another item to the list. Encourage your child to use strategies they are developing to help them to remember.
Activities at home
Try to make your time at home fun together. While practice is important fun can make it much easier for children to make progress.
Speech Sounds: Play sound searching games - send your child on a hunt for words which start or end with certain sounds. Have a race and see who can find something first.
Language: Look at books together and encourage your child to tell you what they are seeing on the pages. Model back what you have heard back using any appropriate changes. Don't ask them to repeat but just show them you are listening.
Attention and Listening: play turn taking games together, kick a football in the garden counting how many times you have passed to each other, build a tower, make a fort etc. any game which helps your child to sustain attention on the same thing as you will help.
Understanding: Practice following instructions in day to day activities e.g. through pretend play, "can the lego man go on top of the tower?" "shall we put an egg in our cooking" "hmmmm I've lost my red car, can you see it?"
What I am trying to show to you here is that it doesn't matter what you do, as long as you are doing it together and it is vaguely related to your targets then it is practice! And it will help. If you have the time to do some structured practice then great - do it. If you don't find opportunities throughout your day to throw a few bits in, without your child realising what you are doing. It will all help!
If you want resources which you can use on the go, then ask your therapist for some ideas. You can also search on-line as lots of websites have great FREE visual resources available (twinkle is always a good place to start).
If you are worried about working with your child at home and want some more support then please do get in touch and arrange a time for us to chat. I am more than happy to provide support to make things easier for families. We can work together to support your child to reach their full communicative potential, in a way which works for you and for them!
Treetops Speech and Language Therapy
www.treetops-slt.co.uk
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