Homemade "Deluxe" Kitty Condo

Michael has recently developed an obsession with dragging things out of the corner where we tend to pile recyclables until recycling day to use in "projects". As one example, I walked around the corner one morning to find soda can dog (please ignore messy piles of random things behind soda can dog).

As an aside, to alleviate the problem of being buried under huge piles of abandoned art projects I have had to introduce the concept of some projects being practice projects while other projects are keeper projects. The practice projects, we make and then throw away or recycle perhaps taking a picture of it first. The keeper projects are displayed, but only after taking something else down off the wall, or off the table to make room first.

I decided to redirect Michael to a project that might actually be useful. We collected sturdy, decently sized boxes and built a four story, six room, double-wide kitty condo. The boxes are held together with packing tape. Scissors cut openings in the boxes and we used pipe cleaners as toys to tempt the kitties in. I did most of the work while Michael "helped" by enthusiastically bounding around, decorating the condo by taping on scrapbook paper (often covering entrances), and twisting up pipe cleaners into interesting shapes and calling them kitty toys.

The kittens (now a year old - see them when they were tiny) were definitely intrigued and the entire project kept Michael engaged for at least an hour. Hmm. Ignore random messy piles in the background of the picture again. I'd say I'm going to work on that problem with my housekeeping, but I try to be truthful here.

Teaching Children Their Own Personal Information Through Song

When Michael was little (as in still eating in a high chair little) I modified a nursery rhyme to teach him his full name. As he's gotten older I've added verses to teach him his address and his phone number. Song is a fun way to teach and learn and the children will beg to hear the song again and again because it is about them.

The names, addresses, and phone numbers used here are completely made up. Insert your own child's information (or student's information) as appropriate.

I use the tune for "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (click on the link and hit play sample if you don't know the tune).

The original lyrics are:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane?

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane.

Here's the modified version for teaching a child's full name:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, yes I know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
family name, family name,
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their street address:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, yes I know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
House number, house number,
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
It's 44 Westing Estate. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their phone number:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, yes I know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

You could choose to leave out the area code if you live in an area where only one area code is commonly used. I also slow the tune down significantly when singing the 10 digits of the phone number to make sure each number is distinct.

Then put it all together.

And then you can string all three parts together for a "Song About You" - a six verse song that teaches your child's (or student's) full name, street address, and phone number. (You could also add two verses about city and state and another two about zip code if you are so inclined.)

Feel free to click on the image at the top of the post to open a one page printable to save to your computer. If you're using the song in therapy you might want to send home an example of what you're doing for parents to practice.

The Weekly Review: Week 63

SLP Resource of the Week

I found a great group of blog posts describing PROMPT commands for a variety of sounds on a personal website. The best part is that each post has great pictures illustrating the PROMPT command. If you are working with a child who isn't responding to visual cues, you might consider trying these PROMPT style cues which incorporate tactile cues as well.

Blog Post of the Week

I very much enjoyed reading this repost about a less than stellar public parenting adventure from Jessica's archives on Balancing Everything.

Ava this Week

Ava has always adored small stuffed animals - particularly kitties. She's never been interested in baby dolls though. We have several baby dolls along with a stroller (used for the kitties), high chair, and cradle. None of the baby doll toys saw more than transitory interest. This week, Ava started carrying around the smallest of the baby dolls. She's named it Goo Goo Gah Gah. We've never played baby dolls, so I'm not sure where she picked that up, school perhaps? Goo Goo Gah Gah has even taken over the spot of honor cradled in her arms while she falls asleep. I'll admit it. I'm enjoying seeing the dust collecting baby dolls getting a little action.

Weekly Michael

We moved a doormat from just inside the front door to just inside the back door this week. We've been playing in the water all week on the deck and the sand table is out there too so we've been tracking in water and sand and the mat was just more useful in the back.

Michael came up to me begging me to "come see" because, he claimed, he had made me something that was going to make me "so happy." I dutifully got up from whatever I was doing and followed him to the front door. He had taped four pieces of paper to the hardwood floor in front of the door and was so proud that he had made me a new mat for the front door. I thought it was fairly clever and very sweet - if not a very functional doormat.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

Ava's working on /k/ in several incarnations. We're doing initial, medial, and final /k/ as well as /sk/ blends. They're all mixed together. If she's paying attention and taking her time, she successfully makes a /k/ approximation instead of a /t/. If she isn't paying attention, if the utterance length is too long, if it is a front vowel, or if there is a /t/ anywhere in the word or carrier phrase she'll substitute a /t/. Also, she seems to be developing a habit of using a slight /t/ sound as a bridge into the /k/ which has her speech therapist concerned. She wants me to hold down her tongue tip with a tongue depressor to try to reduce her dependence on the /t/ production. I find that using the tongue depressor significantly limits the number of productions we get into a therapy session, doesn't work very well to achieve the stated purpose, and frustrates Ava and I'm inclined not to follow instructions. Any thoughts or suggestions from other SLPs out there?

Michael is still working on /f, v, s, and z/ all randomly mixed together and put into a scene for carryover practice. Our therapist drew a wonderful outdoor/camping scene and wrote in lots of key words all over the page. Michael simply tells me about the picture using the words in sentences of his own creation. After he makes up a sentence I can get him to repeat it 3-4 times by taking dictation and letting him watch me writing his "story" down. Here are a few examples of sentences he's telling about the scene.

1. There are scary bats in the cave.
2. There are five buckets of water to put out the fire at night.
3. Let's go fishing for some fish.
4. Four mosquitos fly off.
5. Put on your life jacket to be safe when you swim.

Weekly Homeschooling

This week's homeschooling was derailed by life. My husband had the week off between jobs. We had a wonderful four day visit with a relative in town. We simply enjoyed lots of family time. That's one of the things that appeals to me about homeschooling. I like the idea that homeschooling allows you to create your own, flexible schedule for learning. Of course, I'm still not committed to continuing to "homeschool" past these preschool years. I'm thinking about it though.