Stream of Consciousness

Topic: Ava
Occasion: Third Birthday

My daughter turned three today. When you're pregnant, it feels all-encompassing. It is difficult to imagine the baby you'll soon be holding, much less the little girl she will become. It is difficult to believe that in a few short years, you'll hardly remember the pregnancy part of things.

Ava is such a wonderful part of our lives. She's the first person to wake up in our home. Through much effort, we've convinced her to stay in her room until a decent hour. When she does come to join us she's happy and cheerful and bubbling over with thoughts to share. She greets every part of her day with enthusiasm and often brings a smile to the face of others.

She's also a fascinating study in contradictions. She'll bound halfway across a room to reclaim a toy she wasn't playing with from her brother because she thinks it is "hers." And yet, most of the time she shares with her brother unthinkingly and with a truly generous spirit. He is never far from her thoughts. At the end of her speech sessions, her SLP gives her a treat and she asks for an extra to bring to her brother. Immediately after telling someone her favorite color she volunteers her brother's favorite. When discussing her birthday party she wants to be reassured that Michael will be there.

After her brother, her family members are close to her heart. She loves to name all the members of her immediate and extended family. Her favorite book is a small photo book with pictures of all her family members. She loves to hear stories about when she was a baby or about when her Daddy or I were babies.

If I ask her for a hug, she'll drop whatever she's doing and wrap herself around me completely. She really does give the best hugs. A hug from my daughter will instantly lift my spirits. A hug from me is the first thing she wants when she is hurt or scared. If I sit in my glider, she'll hop up on my lap and ask to rock with me. She loves to be held, tickled and snuggled and I dread the day when she'll decide she's too old for all that.

I miss the baby, but I adore the little girl who is appearing before me. She loves pink and purple. She has distinct opinions about what she'll wear. She'll put a jacket on only under duress. She still prefers to run around the house half-naked, but loves to wear play shoes. She'll appear before me at random moments asking if she's gotten them on the right feet. She'll let me fix her hair and asks to comb or brush mine. She begs to hear books and songs at naptime and bedtime and is starting to sing songs and tell stories herself. She'll reappear several times after going to bed just so she can be tucked in tight another time or two.

She's not fond of her bike, but she loves to run. She's fast too. She runs with all the speed her little body can conjure. She runs so fast that I worry when she happens to head downhill. When she stops, she'll come to me and place my hand over her heart so that I can feel how strong it is. She begs to race and loves to race Michael on his bike.

She loves to draw, paint, glue, and cut. She loves to play in water. If I give her some toys and let her fill the bathroom sink with water she'll disappear happily for an hour. She likes fast music. She knows how to put the electronic piano in demo mode. She'll slide open the piano, choose a fast song and dance or run to the beat.

There's so much more to say. All of these thoughts are just the ones that swirl to the top of my mind most easily. They are one tiny snapshot of who she is right now. She's my little girl. The privilege of getting to watch her grow and change over the next year is her gift to me.

Card Set Activity: Speech Caterpillar

This idea is super simple. I cut out 8 circles that were 3.75 inches in diameter each. That made the circles just big enough for my free printable speech cards. Then add a slightly bigger head with antennae, eyes and a mouth and laminate (or stick together with contact paper) and you have a speech caterpillar. It is inexpensive, easy to make, travels well, and makes artic drill a little more interesting.

You place a card on each body segment and then one prize per child (treat, sticker, token, etc.) on the last segment. They get the prize when they reach the last word on the caterpillar. You can easily modify difficulty. One child might simply imitate the word while another might say it three times in a row. A third child might use it with a carrier phrase and a fourth child might be using it in a sentence.

It rolls up easily for storage and or transport. You could keep it in a pencil box along with several card decks. You could also make a train, snake, racetrack, chain of boats, etc and keep them rolled up in the same box and then the children can choose the one they want to use that day.

If you liked this activity idea you might also be interested in top-bottom puzzles, or this activity and game list.

L-Blends (/bl/, /pl/, /fl/): Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Description

This articulation picture card set is designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for this set is young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level. No blends (other than the targeted initial blend) or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in this set. All syllable shapes are kept as simple as possible to allow the child to focus as much as possible on producing the initial blend. Syllable shapes are CCV or CCVC only.(Scroll down to preview set.)

Key Features

• This set includes 15 therapy cards with the target word and picture on the front, and the difficulty level and a carrier phrase on the back.
• The words are all CCV or CCVC in syllable shape.
• The words are simple and are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the L-blends with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this card set provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses this card set. Let me know if you find errors or there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Card Set

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

I recommend you print on cardstock and laminate for durability.