The Importance of Play

[Gwenn]

A really great blog post talking about how play skills impact early learning and literacy.

Article here: http://blog.asha.org/2013/02/28/my-b...otes-literacy/

And parent tip sheets for enhancing spoken language through play (linked in the above article) here: http://www.thespeechstop.com/sub.php?page=planguage

[pumpkinseed2011]

Thanks! I am the neurotic mom of an ever so slight speech delayed daughter. EI did the eval yesterday and she is on track but we will do a re-check at 24 months. I need to learn to play and use words better and these 2 sites are very time appropriate! Thanks.

[Suja]

It seems like we may have been doing all that, without knowing all the proper terminology for it.

[Bridget]

AMEN to that article! Thanks for sharing, Gwenn.

Suja, that's just it. Parents need just do what comes naturally when you're sitting on the bedroom floor with your child. We have instincts just like other mammals. We KNOW how to teach our children.

[tanyachap]

Thanks for sharing. I loved them. I am very much pro play and talking and reading and pretending and talking. My dh is all about tech stuff and cool programs about letters and math. I have fought with him on that years ago, he caved in at the time. I wish I had all these articles at the time

[Scarlett]

Thanks for posting this, DD was evaluated just before 2 for speech but they did not see a need for any intervention. She still is not as communicative as I would like though.

[kellyowens]

Great tips!! Thanks for sharing!

[Adhafera]

Thanks for sharing this!

[OnTheMove]

Great article! One of my favorite web sites is Play at Home Mom http://playathomemom3.blogspot.com/

[mohop]

Thanks for sharing. I was just noticing that my 4.5 year old is picking up on reading very quickly, not because we spend a lot of time doing drills with her (we've gone over all the letter sounds and basic phonics) but because she has such a large vocabulary and is accustomed to spoken language and other forms of expression and literacy is a logical and fairly easy next step for her.

[Gwenn]

Thanks for sharing. I was just noticing that my 4.5 year old is picking up on reading very quickly, not because we spend a lot of time doing drills with her (we've gone over all the letter sounds and basic phonics) but because she has such a large vocabulary and is accustomed to spoken language and other forms of expression and literacy is a logical and fairly easy next step for her.

That's how it should be!

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

Thanks for sharing. I was just noticing that my 4.5 year old is picking up on reading very quickly, not because we spend a lot of time doing drills with her (we've gone over all the letter sounds and basic phonics) but because she has such a large vocabulary and is accustomed to spoken language and other forms of expression and literacy is a logical and fairly easy next step for her.

I was just observing this with DS. He can read words and knows all sounds that the consonants make. It actually really surprised me. We do a lot of reading and fun stuff with letters, but nothing formal. They really do learn so much just through playing and everyday activities

[Suja]

There are two kids in Mira's class (that I know of) that are beginning to read, at 3.5 years. They started 'sounds' work in school, but neither parent does anything more than reading to the kids. I actually watched as one of the kids figured out some of the connections, and it was SO awesome to watch! He was SO excited too.