Learning the Alphabet with Apps

by Jacky G. Language Development
Learning the Alphabet Lunch Bag

Image source: Landofnod.com

The back-to-school season is a great time of year to reassess your child’s progress and evaluate whether he is reaching his developmental milestones. If your little one is heading for kindergarten soon, help him get ready by introducing the alphabet. Children can begin to recognize letters around the age of two, but they are unlikely to master the alphabet for a couple of years.

As well, remember that all children progress at different rates. Ignore the mom in your child’s play group who brags about how she’s already looking into medical schools for her two-year-old. However, if you do believe that your little one might be falling behind in his developmental milestones, it never hurts to have him evaluated by a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for a possible speech and language disorder. You can also look into the resources in Speech Buddies University for parents. And in the meantime, help your child prepare for his academic career by focusing on the basics: the alphabet. Here are some alphabet apps that can help you and your child prep for school.

Continue reading →

More Sight Words Apps

by Jacky G. Language Development
Child Learning to Read

Image source: Media.photobucket.com

As your child heads back to school this year, do your own homework to help keep him on the right track. Network with other parents and teachers at the Open House night and at parent-teacher conferences. Talk to his speech therapist about his progress and what you can do to help him at home. Beginning readers benefit from regular reading at home. As you read with your child, make a note of the words that he typically struggles with. Many of them are likely sight words, also called Dolch words. Sight words are the most frequently used words in English texts, but unfortunately, they can also be tricky for beginning readers to master. This is because many of them cannot be sounded out or visually illustrated. Your child must learn them “on sight.” Here are some apps that can help your beginning reader master sight words, accelerate his language development, and enhance his progress in school this year.

Continue reading →

Apps for Beginning Readers

by Jacky G. Language Development
Children Reading at a Nursery

Image source: Guardian.co.uk

Despite technology having taken over the world, books are undoubtedly the foundation of education. Your child can be inspired by a book about a ballet dancer’s hard work to perfect her craft. Or he could broaden his horizons with a book about conservation efforts in the National Park Services. But it takes a lot of hard work and effort for your child to learn how to read in the first place. And children with a speech or language disorder may need a little extra help. So despite books being the gold standard of education, your child’s efforts to learn to read might benefit from a boost from technology. This back-to-school season, help your child get ready for school with some kid-friendly apps for beginning readers. Encouraging reading as a regular habit early in life can not only bolster his speech and language development, but also accelerate his academic progress.

Continue reading →

Teaching Children Sight Words

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques
Children Learning to Read

Image source: Learn-spanish-online.maxupdates.tv

Reading is crucial for speech and language development. You might notice that your child “picks up” some words easily, while he struggles with others. There is a good chance that the words your child struggles with the most are sight words. Sight words are words that comprise roughly 50% to 70% of most text. Many of them cannot be “sounded out.” Your child will have to learn to recognize them on sight, hence the term “sight words.” You might sometimes hear “sight words” being referred to as “Dolch words.” They are the same thing. In 1948, Edward William Dolch, Ph.D., compiled The Dolch Word List, which lists 220 sight words.

Teachers often focus on sight words in kindergarten through third grade. Work with your child at home to develop his sight words skills to further his academic success. Collaborate with your child’s teacher and his speech-language pathologist (SLP) to determine the most effective learning methods for your child. For example, if he’s a visual learner, he might do best when presented with an image of the sight word.

Continue reading →

Sight Words Apps for Beginning Readers

by Jacky G. Speech Therapy Techniques
Child Using iPad App

Image source: Blogs.collegiateschool.org

As your child learns to read, you’ll probably encourage him to cope with the tricky words by sounding them out. But some words do not have straightforward spelling and they cannot be easily sounded out. These words are called “sight words,” and for better or worse, they are used quite frequently in English. Your child will have to learn to recognize them on sight (hence the term, “sight words”). This collection of words is also referred to as the Dolch word list. Encouraging your child to memorize sight words can greatly improve his written communication skills. Your child’s speech-language pathologist (SLP) can offer advice about improving your child’s reading and writing skills. You can also check out this list of apps that are designed specifically to teach children sight words.

Continue reading →