Central Missouri Therapy SPOT
Central Missouri Therapy SPOT
Our Most Recent Blog
Our Most Recent Blog
It is that time of year again...School is over, the sun is shining, and kids are anxiously awaiting the days of sleeping in, fun in the sun, vacations, and more.
We all love these days too right!? But we also know the importance of keeping our minds engaged and working. There is no better way to do this than through reading!
Reading can be an engaging activity for you and your clients. Some ways to encourage your child/client to participate is by:
- take turns reading with them
- make predictions based on the pictures alone
- read books in silly voices
- read outside, in a tent, by the pool, on a hike
- create a book club with friends and family
- choose books that are funny and engaging
- keep the books simple- we aren't trying to meet a reading goal!
- read the same book multiple times
- visit the local library and encourage your client/child to pick out their own book
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss
Whether this is for your own kiddos at home or for the clients you serve, here is a summer reading list of some of my favorites.
Silly Sally
The Bear's Song
The Book with No Pictures
This is a Moose
Outside Inside
The Pout Pout Fish
I am Every Good Thing
Cat Kid Comic Club
Cat Ninja
Real Pigeons Fight Crime
Dragon Sitter
It's the End of the World and I'm in my Bathing Suit
Trubble Town
It Began With Lemonade
The Lemonade War
Memory Jars
What are your favorite books to read with your children and clients? We would love to know!
Happy Reading and Happy Summer!
-Jessie Monda
Quality Control and Project Facilitator
Blog #2
Blog #2
Music
Music
Let's talk about music.
The love for music starts at a young age. I'm sure you have seen the videos of babies bouncing to the music before they are even walking and WAY before they have words! It is innate... in our bones.
Music offers a fun way for our kiddos and clients to engage in many skills. As a teacher, I often used music for not only "brain breaks," but to also observe my students ability to follow directions, their ability to develop language/speech, and social skills. I even use it with my own kiddos (see video). My youngest may not be saying the words correctly, but he is able to mimic the sounds. This is the first step in language development!
If you are reading this as a parent or as a provider, I encourage you to use these videos below to incorporate a little music in your day. Plus the kids LOVE it!
Freeze Dance:
Floor is Lava:
Bear Hunt
Tootie Ta
Simon Says
Our Latest Blog Entry
Our Latest Blog Entry
Milestones
Milestones
March 15, 2022
As a mom, I have often sat in the doctor's office while the doctor is rattling off questions about my child's development. "Are they sitting?" "Do they say 2-3 word phrases?" "Do they play with others." "Do you have any concerns?"
When my son was 6 months old, he began doing what we called, "the scoot." Instead of crawling, he would just scoot on his butt. I had PT friends reaching out to me to ask if they could study him for school, the doctors were giving us tips and tricks, people were recommending that he be evaluated, and all I kept thinking was, "I am so thankful I know about child development." All the advice and concern, could have sent me into a tail spin but having my educational background, a little knowledge of developmental norms, and just knowing my kiddo, I knew this was just him. A smart and oh so cute boy, that just liked to "crawl" a little differently.
Below you will find links to speech and language milestones, cognitive milestones, and fine and gross motor milestones. These are great tools and resources to visit and pass on to others, but also remember every child is different. A team approach including parents, medical professionals, therapists, and educators can decide the best way to move forward in ensuring the needs of the child are met!
"This is a collective resource of norms and milestones for speech-language development. SLPs are often asked questions regarding typical age of sound acquisition and development of language. This information will help to answer those questions and provides resources to share with parents and colleagues."
https://www.asha.org/slp/schools/prof-consult/norms/
"It is important to keep in mind that all children develop differently based upon their experiences and that all milestones have an appropriate “window” of time that the milestone is expected to occur. Each life experience helps to build gross motor, fine motor, and speech production milestones. Knowing what to expect can help you prepare and facilitate their development. Not every baby will roll at 3 months, sit independently at 6 months, crawl at 9 months, and walk at 12 months. What is important is the time frame developmentally when they begin to achieve these goals and looking at other skills that may be missing that would help them to develop independent mobility."
" This lesson will help you understand typical cognitive development, or how infants and toddlers develop thinking skills. You will learn about developmental milestones and what to do if you are concerned about a child’s development."
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/infant-toddler/cognitive-development/lesson-2
-Jessie Monda
Quality Control and Project Facilitator