April 17, 2020
 
Dear parents,
 
I hope you are doing well and hanging in there. As a parent, my number one tip these days, is to do one thing at a time; be present in the moment.
 
In this letter, I would like to share 3 things:
  1. Strategies to help your child listen to your instructions
  2. Social stories-Simple stories you can read with your child to help him/her learn better understand Covid-19. Simply click on the link and read with your child!
  3. A few activities /games you can do at home to stimulate language in preschoolers
1. Strategies that could help to get your child to hear you and to comply:

  1. Be direct: Make statements instead of asking questions. For example, you can say: “Please sit down for lunch now” as opposed to saying “Are you ready to eat now”?
  2. Be close.  Give instructions when you are near the child, rather than yelling from across the room.
  3. Use clear and specific commands. Instead of “Go ahead,” say, “Please go start your lego playing.”
  4. Give age-appropriate instructions. Keep things simple and use words you know he knows: “Please pick up the ball.”  Use gestures to accompany the instructions.
  5. Give instructions one at a time.  Especially for kids who have attention challenges, try to avoid giving a series of instructions: “Please put on your sneakers, get your lunch off the kitchen counter, and meet me in the front hall.”
  6. Keep explanations simple.    Giving a rationale can increase the likelihood children will listen to a command, but not if the commands gets lost in it. For instance: “Go get your coat on because it’s raining and I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Instead, try: “It’s raining. I don’t want you to catch a cold. Go get your coat on.”
  7. Give kids time to process.   After you give an instruction, wait a few seconds, without repeating what you said. Children then learn to listen to calm  instructions given once rather than learning that they don’t need to listen because the instructions will be repeated. Watching and waiting also helps keep adults from doing what we’ve requested of our kids for them. Use gestures to accompany your instructions.
2. Social stories
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Click the buttons for stories you can read together.  

Social stories for  2-3 year olds

Social story for 4-10 year olds
3. Some fun activities to do with preschoolers to help stimulate communication

Activities with Blanket: This activity is good for your young children who are learning language! Play together!

¨ Find object under blanket
¨ Play Peek-A-Boo
¨ Sit face to face under a blanket and make silly sounds and faces (good for practicing eye contact and increasing attention)
¨ Play Popcorn: put an object on top of the blanket, hold the edges tight and bounce object up and down like popcorn.
¨ Imitate actions (wrap blanket around shoulders or over head, cover face)
¨ Grab opposite ends and pull like a rope, sing Row Row Row Your Boat
¨ Sit on the blanket and have a pretend picnic
¨ Wrap baby or stuffed animal in blanket and say “Night night”
¨ Cover table with blanket to make a fort to play in. Go in/out, play house
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First Words to target and model:
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Things: blanket
People: I, me, my, mine, you
Actions: find, hide, pull, bounce, shake, sleep, eat
Descriptions: dark, light, soft, cozy, sleepy
Concepts: up, down, in, out, off, on, here, there
 

 Read and look at: The Very Hungry Caterpillar (read by the author)
Activities to go with the story:
​You can use the pictures to name the objects or you can try to tell the story together  .
I am sending you many warm wishes and continue doing the best you can. Stay safe and healthy,
 
 Alina Boghen, MSc
Speech-Language Pathologist
OOAQ 1925
Alina.boghen@stepxstep.ca
 
 
Tsiionterihwaienhstahkwa ne Kahwatsirano:ron
Step by Step Child and Family Centre
Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Qc, J0L 1B0
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