Speech Therapy fun today with Miss Sharon

Sharon always comes with fun learning activities for Little Miss Macy, but today her bag 'o' tricks was especially full!
It started off with some ball and ramp games (momma didn't have her camera nearby for that).  Then fun with board puzzles.

 Macy is getting better at matching the right piece in the right slot.  She sets it down, but has a hard time "releasing it" from her grasp at times  :-)

 Next was fun with BUBBLES..."inside the house" McKenzie wondered?  yep, just this time.  hehe

 "UP" Sharon says - Macy reaching towards & upwards...notice the nice lip-rounding (mimmick)

 She got one on her finger  :-)

 She was loving it!

 not only are bubbles fun, but they present good learning opportunities as well.  Utilizing various prepositions...UP - DOWN - ON - OFF - GO...and verbs like "whooosh & pop", etc. 

 Macy really likes watching and listening to Miss Sharon, because she is really expressive and engaging.  She speaks at a great pace and enunciated super clearly...It just really captivates Macy's attention, which is good.  I think getting any toddler to pay attention for ANY amount of time is a good thing  :-)

 UP!

"The Bubbles falling DOWN"

When she gets a bit older, we'll work on blowing the bubbles, which is also a very good oral motor activity I have come to learn in recent months.  Learning to hold and control your air flow at a young age can pay huge dividends and have a positive impact on speech later.  Helps strengthen and coordinate facial and tummy muscles...Maybe even allowing Macy to speak longer-winded sentences, etc...anything could help (not hurt) right??

 "Huh?  you want to take me "where" on the parachute?!"

we sang songs and did "row row row your boat" with it.  She just LOVED every second of it.  I think I am going to have to dig our parachute out of the toy closet  (thanks Heather for the thoughtful X-Mas gift a few years back...I now have some more creative ideas of what to do with it...ideas that do NOT include 300 plastic balls, which is a plus...hehe)

 Now it was time to go for a ride around the house.  Learning stop, GO, fast, slow, and good trunk control, etc...

 Just look at how well Macy watches and listens so intently to Sharon.

 here she lifts the parachute UP and signs "more".

 Now McKenzie pays attention and follows instructions intently...which any mother of a four year old would know is not an easy feat.   :-)

 Macy decides she wants to push McKenzie off and have it all to herself..yet again, another "teaching moment".  It looks like Sharon is trying to alleviate the situation.

 "weeeeee"!

 "all-done".   :-(

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There is nothing better than being able to just sit back and observe your kiddos having fun with another adult and learning something productive.  Macy has reached that age, where I can be a little more hands-off during her therapy sessions.  I learn from watching & listening to Sharon.  And she shares with me rationale, ideas and techniques so that we can continue to incorporate into fun "around the house" play for the rest of the week, etc...

Sharon tells me that Macy is making very good vowel and syllable sounds.  

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btw - Macy, now a FULL-FLEDGED WALKER, is SOOO ready and super excited to start pre-school in a couple weeks   :-)  Off she goes!  My baby girl, isn't so much a "baby" anymore...very much more of a "little" girl, than "baby" girl.  :-)

I think it's safe to finally down-size in the toy arena...NO MORE BABY TOYS!  bring on the interactive Toddler stuff!