Happy Valentines Day!
During our group this week the theme was all about valentines, so we made a healthy snack and a sweet treat for the students to enjoy!
Apple and Strawberry Hearts:
Tools: heart shaped cookie cutter, knife
Ingredients: apples, strawberries, peanut butter, chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
- cut your apple into thick round slices
- take the heart shaped cookie cutter and press into the apple until a heart shaped piece comes out
- spread some peanut butter in the center of your heart apple
- take a strawberry and cut it in half, place the flat side facing down on the peanut butter
- (optional) take some mini chocolate chips and place them around your strawberry on the excess peanut butter
Cupid Floats:
Tools: ice-cream scoop, long straws, spoons, cups
Ingredients: cherry 7up, vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream, cherries or strawberries
Directions:
- Start with 2-3 scoops of vanilla ice-cream in your cup
- pour cherry 7up until the ice-cream is covered
- top with whipped cream and cherry or strawberries
Each of the student had a part in making their snacks. One student poured the soda, while one scooped the ice-cream, and another topped with whipped cream and fruit. We encourage turn taking and helping others during all of our group activities!
During this group session we made hamburger .. cookies! This is sweet treat that is easy to make at home.
Ingredients: vanilla wafers, chocolate covered cookie, coconut flakes, green food coloring, red and yellow frosting.
Directions:
- put coconut flakes in a plastic bag with a few drops of green food coloring. Shake together until all the coconut flakes are green (this is going to be the lettuce for your burger).
- Put a small amount of frosting on the flat side of a wafer cookie and place the chocolate covered cookie on top.
- Smear one side of the chocolate covered cookie with yellow frosting and the other side with red frosting (ketchup and mustard).
- Sprinkle the green coconut flakes on top of the frosting.
- Finally, place another wafer cookie of the top to complete your hamburger!
The kids loved these mini burger cookies, we hope yours do too!
In our group sessions at Speech Start we dedicate a portion of our time to making and eating healthy and fun snacks! Everyone gets to participate in making their own snack while helping their peers as well. One of our popular snacks the students love is mock sushi. It is a quick tasty snack that is easy to make at home.
Tools: rolling pin, knife, apple cutter (optional)
Ingredients: bread (of your choice) , apples, peanut butter
Directions: First, cut the crust off of the bread, then use a rolling pin to flatten the bread. spread peanut butter on the bread, and cut apples into long thin slices. Place the cut up apple slices on one side of the bread and roll it up. Cut roll up into 4 pieces and enjoy!
Happy New Year!
We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! We have been busy here preparing for the new year and are excited for 2014! This week begins our Preschool speech and language screener visits. We have a group of preschools that we visit yearly and perform speech, language, and hearing screenings for students. It is a great opportunity for parents that have questions or concerns about their child’s speech and language development to have their questions answered. A screening is NOT a formal evaluation, however results of a screener will then determine if a formal evaluation is warranted. If you are a preschool professional interested in this type of service please contact our office!
Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2014!
Happy Fall! This time of year gives many opportunities to build your child’s speech and language skills. From the change in weather to the change in colors and all the activities, there is lots of fun to be had. We have compiled some fall themed activities for you to try with you child. These activities are also great for a group or class.
Apple/Pumpkin Picking
Visits to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch are fun opportunities to increase a child’s speech and language. A child can describe the apples or pumpkins focusing on color, shape, texture, and smell. After the trip baking with apples and carving pumpkins are a great way to work on direction following, sequencing, and answering questions. Have fun!
Leaves
Leaves change color and texture in the fall. Take a walk outside and collect some leaves. The leaves can be used for an art project, matching, describing, and identifying colors.
Crafts
Painting pumpkins is fun for younger children if they are not ready for carving. With older children you can carve the pumpkins. Painting with leaves and cut up apples is a fun alternative to paintbrushes.
Activities
Hayrides are fun for everyone! It’s a fun activity for families and class trips. Many times there are other activities at the facility and it can lead to a day of fun. Be sure to use the outing as an opportunity for conversation!