Speechie Tips - Little Lamb Book

Hello everyone!

For those of you just joining in, my name is Kalliopi Mamounas- owner and lead therapist of my private practice-The Little Sound Box. I am so excited for our second collaboration with Wondertivity’s Little Lamb Busy Book!

The Little Lamb is a nursery rhyme themed busy book and is filled with endless Speech and Language opportunities. Nursery rhymes grow your child’s Speech and Language skills and this Little Lamb book makes these nursery rhymes interactive.  Nursery rhymes include tons of vocabulary and repetitive structures, which increases the likelihood of your child producing words, phrases, and sentences, such as ‘The Itsy-Bitsy Spider’. These nursery rhymes include multiple, simple actions and promote multi-modal learning, allowing your child to hear it, see it, and act it out, such as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Additionally, they teach early developing speech sounds, such as animal sounds in ‘Old McDonald Had A Farm,” and hear the sounds multiple vowels and consonants make. Furthermore, they are great way to teach early literacy and numeracy skills (e.g., counting, and rhyming words), such as ‘One Two Three Four Five,’ and ‘Hickory Dickory Dock.’ Parents, as you sing these nursery rhymes with your little ones, it’s important to over-emphasize the key words, act out the song, and most importantly have fun!

For any additional Speech and Language tips, feel free to message me @thelittlesoundbox

Hope you all enjoy my Speech blog!

 

-Kalliopi Mamounas M.S., CCC-SLP/TSSLD

Speech-Language Pathologist

Humpty Dumpty

Targets:

• Following directions
  • Point/Show me/Touch- Humpty’s body parts.
    • g., Point to Humpty’s eyes.
  • Point/Show me/Touch-Humpty’s clothing items
    • g., Point to Humpty’s shirt.
  • Have your child point to his/her own body parts and clothing items
    • g., Point to your eyes.
  • Label body parts
  • Label clothing items
  • Object-function questions- (Naming the object’s function)
    • g., What do we do with a shirt?
      • Wear
    • Categorization skills
      • Name three-five body parts
      • Name three-five clothing items/things we wear
    • Possessive adjectives/pronouns
      • His shirt
      • Her shirt
      • My shirt
      • Your shirt
      • Their shirt
    • Possessive ‘s
      • Humpty’s shirt
      • Child name + shirt (e.g., Adam’s shirt)
    • Plural -s
      • Hands, shoes
    • Verb tense
      • Present progressive: Humpty is sitting on the wall.
      • Regular third-person singular, present tense: Humpty sits on the wall.
      • Irregular past tense: Humpty sat on the wall.
      • Future tense: Humpty will sit on the wall.
    • Opposites
      • On/Off
        • g., Humpty is on the wall./ Humpty is off the wall.

As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.

 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

 

Pause:

Where did he sit?

ON the wall

 

What did he do?

Sat down

 

Have your child follow one-step directions incorporating opposites:

-Stand up

-Sit down

 

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

 

Pause:

Oh no! what happened?

He fell!

 

Where is he?

 

Off the wall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

 

Pause:

What should we do?

Put him back together!

Let’s fix Humpty Dumpty!

Five Little Speckled Frogs

Targets:

• Variety of wh-questions: who, what, where, how
• Yes/No questions: Do they like bugs?
• Plural-s: frogs
• Prepositions: On and In
• Verbs: sit, eat, jump
• Present progressive verb tense: Eating/Swimming
• Expanding sentence length: Eating/Eating bugs/They are eating bugs.
• Size: Big/Small
• Object-function: Frog- eats bugs/jumps/ribbet-ribbet

 

 

As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.

*The following can be used for each verse in the song*

 

Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating some most delicious bugs, yum-yum

 

Pause:

How many frogs:

Five frogs

 

Where are they?

On the log

 

What are they doing?

Depending on your child’s age- the length of the utterance will vary.

Eating/Eating bugs/They are eating bugs.

 

Are the frogs big or small?

I see small frogs.

 

What do frogs eat?

Bugs.

 

Who is eating the bugs?

The frogs.

 

Do they like bugs?

Yes! Yum-yum (rubbing hands on belly).

 

One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Now there are four green speckled frogs, glub, glub

 

Pause:

What did the frog do?

Jump

 

Where did the frog jump?

 In the pool.

 

What is the frog doing in the pool?

 

Depending on your child’s age- the length of the utterance will vary.

Swimming/Swimming in pool/The frog is swimming in the pool.

 

How many are left?

Four frogs.

 

What sound does a frog make?

Ribbit-ribbit

 

What color is the frog?

Green

The Itsy-Bitsy Spider

 

Targets:

• Variety of WH-questions: who, what, where
• Prepositions: up, down, and in
• Opposites: Up and Down
• Verbs: sit, eat, jump
• Present progressive verb tense: Climbing
• Expanding sentence length: Climbing/Climbing up/The spider is climbing up the waterspout.
• Object-function: Spider- makes a spider-web
• Adjectives: color, shape, size, texture, quantity

 

 

As you’re singing the song to your little one, pause and ask the following questions while placing over-emphasize on the responses.

*The following can be used for each verse in the song*

 

The itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the water spout

 

Pause:

What is this?

It’s a spider!

 

What is the spider doing?

Climbing/Climbing up/The spider is climbing up the waterspout.

 

What does a spider do?

Makes spider-webs.

 

Down came the rain and washed the spider out

 

Pause:

 

What happened?

It’s raining!

The rain came down.

 

What did the rain do?

Washed the spider out.

 

Where did the spider go?

Down the waterspout.

 

Out came the sun and dried up all the rain

 

Pause:

What came out?

The sun

 

Describe the sun-

Color- Yellow

Size- Big

Shape- Circle

 

Where is the sun?

In the sky

And the itsy-bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.

 

Pause:

What did the spider do?

It went up again!

 

Speech Sound Production:

The word SPIDER incorporates an S-BLEND in the initial position of words:

 

SP-ider

 

Often little ones will simplify the blend resulting in a production such as:

 

S-ider or P-ider

 

For accurate productions, use the following cues:

1. Make the SNAKE sound- S

Verbal cue- Tight teeth and a big smile!

Visual cue- Provide a model with your mouth.

2. Make the POPCORN sound- P

Verbal cue- Lips together!

Visual cue- Provide a model with your mouth.

 

S-Pider

 

 

Old McDonald Had A Farm

 

Targets:

• Following directions and identifying farm animals
  • Point/Show me/Touch- pig, chicken, farmer, horse, etc.
• Label all farm animals
• Where questions/Prepositions
  • Where is the pig, chicken, farmer, horse, etc.?
    • Behind the fence
    • Behind the bush
    • In the hay
    • In in the mud
    • In the water
    • In the grass
  • Early developing Speech Sound Production
    • Animals sounds
      • Pig: Oink-oink
      • Horse: Neigh-neigh
      • Chicken: Cluck-cluck
      • Cow: Moo-moo
      • Duck: Quack-quack
      • Sheep: Ba-ba
    • Vowels (alternating speech sound movements)
      • E-I-E-I-O
    • WH-questions about the farm
      • Where are all the animals?
        • On the farm
      • Who works on the farm and drives a tractor?
        • The farmer
      • What animals live on the farm?
        • Cows, horses, chickens, etc.
      • Categorization skills: explaining to your child there are various types of animals, and this helps increase their vocabulary skills.
        • Have your child name:
          • 3-4 farm animals
          • 3-4 ocean animals
          • 3-4 zoo animals
          • 3-4 pets

BINGO

 

Targets:

• Following directions
  • Point/Show me/Touch- Bingo’s body parts
    • g., Point to Bingo’s tongue.
  • Have your child point to his/her own body parts
    • g., Point to your tongue
  • Label body parts
  • Label clothing items
  • Label: farmer and dog
  • WH-questions:
    • Who takes care of all the animals on the farm?
      • A farmer
    • What does the farmer have?
      • A dog
    • What is the dog’s name?
      • Bingo
    • What does the dog say?
      • Ruff-ruff
    • What does a dog do?
      • The dog barks.
    • Where does the dog sleep?
      • In the doghouse
    • Possessive ‘s
      • Bingo’s tongue
      • Child name + tongue (e.g., Adam’s shirt)
    • Plural -s
      • ears, paws

 

Throughout the whole song:

Clap your hands, over-emphasize the production of each letter, and point to each letter in the book.

B-I-N-G-O!

 

 

Rain, Rain Go Away

 

Targets:

• WH-questions
  • What is happening?
    • It’s raining
  • What can we tell the rain?
    • Go away
  • Who wants to play?
    • Little Baby, Little Brother, Little Sister, Everybody
  • What does everyone want to do?
    • Play outside
  • Where do we see the clouds and the sun?
    • In the sky
  • What do we need when it rains? (Vocabulary Skills)
    • Umbrella, raincoat, and rainboots
  • Opposites: Rain/Sun, Rainy/Sunny, Dark/Light, Wet/Dry, Open/Close window

Hickory Dickory Dock

 

Targets:

• WH-questions
  • Where did the mouse go?
    • Up the lock
  • What time is it?
    • One, two, three, etc.
  • What sound does the clock make?
    • Tick-tock
  • What does a clock do?
    • Tells time
  • Prepositions/Opposites: Up/Down

 

Continue the rest of the song, with your little ones pretend animals:

• The snake, the cat, the monkey, etc.

I’m A Little Teapot

 

I'm a little teapot

Short and stout.

Here is my handle,

Here is my spout.

When I get all steamed up

Hear me shout:

Tip me over

And pour me out!

I'm a very special pot

This is true.

Here's an example

Of what I can do.

I can change my handle

And my spout.

Tip me over

And pour me out!

 

Targets:

• WH-questions
  • What do we need to drink tea?
    • A teapot and a cup
  • What do we do with teapot?
    • Pour in cup (act-out in the book)
  • What does a teapot have?
    • A handle and spout
  • What do we do with tea?
    • Drink
  • What can we put in our tea?
    • Sugar
  • What do we use to stir?
    • A spoon
  • Opposites: Empty/Full, Hot/Cold
  • Categorization skills: explaining to your child there are various types of drinks and food, and this helps increase their vocabulary skills.
    • Have your child name:
      • 3-4 drinks
      • 3-4 types of food

 

Baa Baa Black Sheep

 

Baa baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full
One for the master, one for the dame
One for the little boy who lives down the lane
Baa baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full

 

Targets:

• WH-questions
  • What sound does a sheep make?
    • Ba-ba
  • Where does a sheep live?
    • On the farm
  • Who takes care of the sheep?
    • A farmer
  • How many bags does the sheep have?
    • Three
  • Following directions
    • One-step directions incorporating the preposition “inside.”
      • “Put it inside the number one, two, three, etc.”
    • Categorization skills: explaining to your child there are various types of animals, and this helps increase their vocabulary skills.
      • Have your child name:
        • 3-4 farm animals
        • 3-4 ocean animals
        • 3-4 zoo animals
        • 3-4 pets

One Two Three Four Five

 

One, two, three, four, five,
Once I caught a fish alive,
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,
Then I let it go again.
Why did you let it go?
Because it bit my finger so.
Which finger did it bite?
This little finger on my right

 

Targets:

• While counting to five, pull the fish off the string.
• WH questions:
  • What did we catch?
    • A fish
  • What does a fish do?
    • Swims
  • Where does a fish swim?
    • In the water
  • Oh no, what happened?
    • The fish bit my finger.
  • What do we need to go fishing?
    • A fishing pole and a bucket
  • Label body parts
    • Pretend the fish is biting various body parts (e.g., arm, leg, knee, etc.)
  • Possessive ‘s
    • Pretend the fish is biting others.
      • Mommy’s finger
      • Daddy’s finger
      • Sister’s finger
    • Following directions
      • One-step directions incorporating the preposition ‘in.”
        • “Put the yellow fish in the bucket, etc.” 

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

 

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream

 

Targets:

• WH questions:
  • What are they doing?
    • Rowing/Rowing boat/They are rowing the boat.
  • Who is rowing the boat?
    • The boy and the girl
  • Where are they?
    • In the boat
  • Who is hiding behind the bush?
    • The alligator
  • Where is the alligator?
    • Behind the bush
  • What other animals do we see in the water? (Categorization skills)
    • Fish
    • Ducks
    • Frog

ABC

• After singing the ABC’s:
  • Point to each letter.
  • Name the letter.
  • Make its sound.
  • Name a word that begins with the letter