Ms. Beckman's Blog

Welcome Back To Preschool Speech!!!

Dear Parents and Students,

Hello!!!  Welcome to Russell and the Preschool Speech and Language Program!  For those of you new to the program, my name is Sarah Beckman, and I am the Preschool Speech and Language Pathologist.  I just wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and let you know a little about me.

This is my sixth year as the Preschool Speech Pathologist at Russell.  I graduated with my Master’s degree from Valdosta State University, and I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia.  I am a diehard Bulldog fan, and I love spending my fall Saturday afternoons watching my alma mater play football.  I have an amazing husband, Aaron, and two fur babies, Indie (dog) and Gavin (cat).  I was born and raised in Powder Springs, GA and attended Cobb County Public Schools throughout my educational career, thus this area and its schools are near and dear to my heart.

I love working with preschool aged children, and I am thoroughly excited about working with both my students and their families throughout this school year.  I know it is going to be a great year of learning and growing for all of us.  Thank you for the opportunity to work with your little ones.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at [email protected].

I look forward to working together!

 

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

August 3, 2015: First Day of School

September 7, 2015: Labor Day Holiday

September 21-25, 2015: Fall Break

“Google Translate” is located on the left side at the bottom of my blog for your convenience.  It is Google's free online language translation service that instantly translates text and web pages. Enjoy!

 

 

August 2015 Peek at Speech: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books

Book: There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books

For the next two weeks in speech, we are reading There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books by Lucille Colandro as part of our back to school theme.  In addition, our song for the next two weeks is The Wheels on the Bus.  Our focus will be on learning the back to school vocabulary, sequencing the objects from our story, using spatial concepts to describe where the objects go (in her mouth), describing the objects in our story, and requesting/commenting using expanded utterance length.  In addition, we will discuss the concepts of Who is in our story, Where our story takes place, and WHAT the character does and makes.  With our theme song for the next two weeks, practice expressing and doing the actions described in the song.  Repetition and practice are key to understanding!  Activities to be completed with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice will be sent home in your child’s speech folder at the end of each week.

Here are the vocabulary words to practice.

Here is a link to our song.  Practice singing it together with your child. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaP8vuaZIf8

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

April 27-May 1, 2015 Peek At Speech: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week in speech we are reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle as part of our bugs theme.  We will spend the week talking about the many different bugs that we can find in our world.  We will work on describing what the bugs look like, where they live, and how they move.  In addition, we will use Braidy as part of our story and literacy time as we work on retelling the story including the character (who?), setting (where?), feelings of characters, and action sequence (what happened?).

Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

Use these activities to practice labeling and identifying the vocabulary from our story.  Color the pictures and practice describing using both number and color.  For example, "I see four strawberries" or "I see red strawberries."  In addition, go grocery shopping or hunting for food in your refrigerator.  Practice labeling the foods seen.

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech.

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

April 6-10, 2015: Spring Break!!!!

Enjoy your Spring Break!!  Here is an activity that you and your child can complete to share about your Spring Break!!!  Rest, relax, and have fun!!

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

March 16-27, 2015 Peek At Speech: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Book: The Three Billy Goats Gruff

This week in speech we are reading The Three Billy-Goats Gruff.  Once again, we will be working on describing using the words big, medium, and small.  We will use Braidy as part of our story and literacy time as we work on retelling the story including the character (WHO?), setting (WHERE?), feelings of characters, and action sequence (WHAT happened?).  In addition, we will work on the spatial concepts ON and UNDER as we talk about WHERE the goats are and WHERE the troll is in our story.  Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

1. Use these characters to retell the story of The Three Billy-Goats Gruff and to complete the sequencing activity.  Ask, “Who crossed the bridge first? Second? Third?

2. Build a bridge with your child with Popsicle sticks.  It does not need to be fancy, but a fun language enriching experience.  Work on spatial concepts such as on, over, under, off when building your bridge.  Once it is built, you can use it to retell the story.

 

3. Practice completing a pattern with vocabulary from our story.  Practice labeling the pictures as you complete the pattern.  Include describing words such as “Big goat, small goat.”

4. Retell the story using the masks provided.  Print them out and pretend to be the characters in our story.

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech.

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

January 26-30, 2015 Peek at Speech: The Jacket I Wear In The Snow

Theme: Winter/Winter Clothes

Book:  The Jacket I Wear In The Snow

This week in speech we are reading The Jacket I Wear in the Snow.  We will be talking about seasons and winter clothing and working on sorting clothing according to seasons.  We will also be identifying “where” we wear the winter clothing items, i.e. “Where do you wear a hat?” and using our spatial words to answer these questions such as “on my head.”  In addition, we will continue to work on using describing words to talk about the clothing we wear.  Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

1. Included is a book called Winter.  The book depicts items that you may see in winter.  Have your child color the pages of the book, and then read the story together.  While you are reading the book, take time to talk about whether or not you have seen the item described on each page, i.e. “We saw snowflakes on Christmas Day.  They were white, and they were falling from the sky.”  In addition, you can go on a scavenger hunt for these items around your house or while going on a walk outside.  Make sure to take the time to discuss why these are items that you see in winter.    
   
   
   
2. Included in your child’s folder is a worksheet that allows your child to sort clothes into summer and winter clothing.  Have your child color the pictures and then cut them out.  Then help your child sort each clothing item into the correct category.  You may even want to go into your child’s closet and have them sort their own summer and winter clothing.  Discuss why you would wear each item for the corresponding season.

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech.

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

January 12-16, 2015 Peek At Speech: The Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow

Theme: Winter/Snowman

Book:  The Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow

This week in speech we are reading The Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow.  We will be talking about the items the lady swallows and how they can be used to make a snowman.  We will be working on identifying and labeling the story vocabulary as well as describing snowmen that we make.  Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

1. Included is a book called Snowman, Snowman, What Do You See?.  The book depicts items that you may wear in winter.  Have your child color the pages of the book, and then read the story together.  While you are reading the book, take time to talk about whether or not you have seen the item described on each page and where you wear the item, i.e. “I see a scarf.  I wear a scarf on my neck.”  In addition, you can go on a scavenger hunt for these items around your house; you could call it a closet hunt.

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech. 

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

December 20, 2014 - January 5, 2014

Happy Winter Break and Merry Christmas!!!

Have a wonderful Winter Break!! I will see you and your little ones in the New Year.  Included are two worksheets that work on December vocabulary and spatial concepts. Complete these, if you want, but please just enjoy the holiday season with your family.  Also included is a Snapshots of Winter Break activity.  Please send this back in with your child in the New Year as we can use it for a therapy activity.  Use this break time to play and incorporate speech and language enhancing activities throughout their winter break experiences.  I look forward to seeing your little ones in January!!

 

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

 

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

 

December 8-19, 2014 Peek at Speech: The Gingerbread Man

Peek At Speech: The Gingerbread Man

Theme: Christmas/Holidays

Book:  The Gingerbread Man

Vocabulary: gingerbread man, snake, river, goose, wet, fox, eat, candy, bake, cat, mouth, tail, nose, back

 

For the next two weeks in speech, we are reading The Gingerbread Man.  We will be talking about action words (verbs) such as run, dance, sing, etc. as the gingerbread man performs many of these actions throughout the story. We will also be working on retelling the story using our sequencing skills.  Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

1. Included below is a book called Off He Ran.  Read the book to your child, and then color the pictures.  After coloring the pictures, read the story again.  When you have finished reading the book, you should take this opportunity to either make or buy pre made gingerbread men cookies.  You can get the ingredients described in the book, and then take the opportunity to make a gingerbread man with your child.  Make sure you talk through what you are doing, as you are doing it, when making the gingerbread man.

 2. Included is a worksheet that will allow your child to create their own gingerbread man.  Print the worksheet and color, cut, and paste the pictures on the gingerbread man.  Practice labeling and describing the gingerbread man as you create it. 

3. Included is a worksheet that will allow your child to practice identifying colors and numbers and following directions. 

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech. 

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

November 24-28, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone has a restful and blessed break. 

Please fill out the following worksheet for homework and return it when we come back!

 

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP

November 3-14, 2014 Peek at Speech: The Little Red Hen

Peek At Speech: The Little Red Hen

Theme: Harvest/Farm

Book:  The Little Red Hen

Vocabulary: pig, duck, flour, little, grain, goose, hen, cat, wheelbarrow, eat, bake, plant

This week in speech we are reading The Little Red Hen as part of our farm animal theme.  We will be talking about farm animals and sorting between farm animals and other(ocean/zoo) animals.  We will be discussing WHERE they live (farm vs. ocean vs. zoo).  In addition, we will continue to discuss the concepts of Who is in our story, Where our story takes place, and How do the characters in our story feel?  We will also talk about What the characters do (events) in our story.  Suggested activities to complete with your child to incorporate both language enhancing strategies and articulation practice include:

1. Here is a sequencing activity about how the hen makes the bread.  Help your child put the pictures in order and work on describing/telling what is in the picture.  Practice using cohesive ties, such as “first, then, next.”  Try to incorporate the story of The Little Red Hen while completing this activity. 

2. Here is a worksheet that provides practice answering wh questions from our story. 

3. Here are some pictures of characters/items from our story.  Please color the pictures as directed.  Practice describing and increasing utterance length, for example, "I see a red hen."

4. Make puppets with the following pictures.  Practice retelling the story using the character puppets. Make sure to practice, "Not I!!"

5.  Here are the vocabulary words for the unit.  Practice expressing and identifying the words.

**Use these activities to practice articulation for target sounds and fluency skills.  If your child says his/her target sound incorrectly, take the opportunity to repeat back what your child said and over emphasize the target sounds.  Talk about how your child can HEAR the sounds produced and can LOOK in a mirror to watch their mouth produce the sounds. If your child has bumpy speech while completing an activity, practice with your child using smooth and slow, easy speech.  Remind them to slow down when expressing their ideas to help increase fluent speech.

It is my pleasure to serve your child, if you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sarah Beckman M.Ed., CCC-SLP