Taking the Pressure Out of Trying New Foods!

People always assume that if you are a speech therapist your kids have perfect speech and language. Same with feeding therapy. I often hear, “Oh you must have the best eaters at home!” No. Nope. Not even close. I have to use the same techniques that I use on my clients, on my own children at home. And sometimes, they are more resistant than my clients because, well,  I’m mom. The toughest battle I have to conquer with my kids is getting them to try new foods. Once they try it, they often like it. But just getting them to take a teeny tiny bite of a new food takes a lot of work. 

For my son, it’s usually reverse psychology. "Don't you eat that carrot!"And then he will eat the dang carrot. But for my daughter, it’s a little trickier. She doesn't fall for my tricks anymore. I’ve had to get a little more creative with her to help take the pressure of having to like a new food out of the equation. I never expect her to like everything she tries. And I try to stop using the “Try it, you will like it!” statement because no one likes everything, and that’s ok. 

I created a chart for her that we keep on the refrigerator. On the chart there is a place to write the new food and circle if she liked the food or did not like the food. She doesn’t get rewarded for liking the new food, but for trying it. After trying 4 new foods, she gets rewarded with a treat of her choice. She usually picks donuts or going to pick out something from Target's Dollar Spot (gosh, she's just like her mother) You guys, this has worked so well. The pressure to like the new food is gone. AND there are now a handful of new foods I have been able to add into our rotation (even broccoli!!) which is a celebration of its own. 

This is a great little chart to use with your feeding clients or your own children at home. 

You can download a free copy for yourself here :) I'd love to hear what you think of this or any tricks you have up your sleeve!

Using the Dinner Table to Increase Language Skills!

Family dinners are completely different in each house. The "picture perfect" television scenario is everyone home by 6:00 with a freshly prepared, healthy meal ready to be served. The reality is that today's typical family is so busy. Rushing to make dinner (or pick something up) so we can quickly get the kids to soccer practice or a PTA meeting is now the new norm. The close togetherness of a family dinner has gotten lost in the shuffle. I am guilty of neglecting the special time at the dinner table. My husband doesn't get home til about 7:30 each night, so I typically feed the kids much earlier. I used to sit with them as they chatted, but instead of engaging with them I took those 20 minutes to answer emails or sneak a peek at the news. The end result was Kenzie asking to use the iPad at the table or requesting a show to watch as she ate dinner.  I didn't realize how much quality time we were missing out on as I was trying to multitask!

As hard as it is with busy lives, try to schedule in some time each day or even a few times a week to have some serious quality time with your kids. It doesn't have to be at the dinner table. It can be the few minutes before bed or in the car on the way to soccer practice. Turn off the radio and just talk. Ask them questions, play games, be silly! Trust me, these are the memories they will always remember.

This is also a fantastic way to spend some extra time working on language skills.  Start talking about books, asking & answering questions about your day, labeling things we see. These are all great opportunities to enhance everyday language skills!

To help with this, I created some cards with questions, little games, and conversation starters to get you started. Some of these are really silly so I trust your kids will enjoy this! I printed them off, cut them up, and added them to a binder ring. Keep one copy at the dinner table, maybe one in the car, or even in your child's night stand to use a few minutes before bed. Of course, don't read these while driving but they are perfect while waiting in car circle or if you have an older child that can read them aloud while you are heading off to dance class.

There are 4 pages of questions included in the deck. The first page includes 12 "Would You Rather?" questions. Take turns asking your children which scenario they would rather have happen and have them explain why they chose that answer.  You answer, too! Kids love hearing our responses to silly questions.

Next are 12 conversation starters. I love learning what my little guys are thinking. What do they want to be when they grow up? What would they wish for if they had 3 wishes? Their answers will probably surprise you! And the fun part is that these answers may very well change by next week so keep asking!

On the third page is 12 social skills scenarios. Read them aloud and have your kids answer if the person was using good or bad table manners. If it was bad table manners, have your child respond with what he/she would have done differently in that situation.

Last but not least 12 more cards for a little extra fun! These cards include some quick little games, challenges or silly things to do. After all, we all just want to have fun.

You can download this Family Dinner Fun! card deck in my TpT store for free by clicking here! Please leave feedback, I can't wait to hear what you think of this, too!

Our First Week with the Elf!

Has the famous elf made her or her appearance in your house this year? I have had an elf for 6 years now. She used to visit my students but now that Kenzie is old enough, she visits our home. I have been so excited for Kenzie to be old enough to enjoy the elf, and the year has finally come!

 The day after Thanksgiving, our sweet little elf made her appearance. Of course she didn't come empty handed… Christmas jammies for all! After we read the story, Kenzie decided to name her Belle (which is an improvement from the name she insisted on last year… Pizza!) Belle is here to stay for a while!

 The next day we found her getting to know Kenzie's toy friends and reading them all a story.

 I was super happy to see that Belle was getting into the spirit of Giving Tuesday! She encouraged Kenzie to pack a bag of toys to donate. To my surprise, Kenzie willingly gave 3 big bags of toys away. So proud of my girl!

 Tuesday Belle came in like a wrecking ball!

 Then it was time for a stroll with a reindeer.

 Belle overheard Kenzie asking for fruit snacks for Christmas, so she brought her a little treat.

 I let Kevin be in charge of the elf the other night since he was home (he works nights so it's usually my job to move the elf each night) This is what he came up with. If you can't see, Sheriff Callie is helping Belle get to the Love Troll with her lasso. I love his creativity!

We are having so much with all of these new Christmas traditions! Stay tuned to see what kind of trouble we stir up with Belle this week :)

Halloween 2015 & The Switch Witch!

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Well another Halloween has come and gone. This was probably the most fun Halloween we have ever had as a family because Kenzie is finally old enough to really get into the spirit and celebrations. If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you know about Kenzie's obsession with princesses. Each day she is a different princess and requests that we call her by that name. We all get names, too. I can't tell you the last time my husband and I have been called mommy and daddy. Most recently we have been on a Cinderella kick. Kameron has been called Gus Gus pretty much since he came home from the hospital, Kevin has been Prince Charming (it's adorable hearing her call him that every day) and I am, you guessed it, The Fairy God Mother. 

 Well, on Halloween we made her dreams come true and became our characters for her. To say she was excited would be an understatement. The look on her face when we came out of the room in costume was priceless. I only made it in my costume for about 20 minutes. That's a Snuggie I am wearing and we live in Florida. It's still almost 90* here… we are impatiently waiting for it to cool down.

Between festivals, school events, and local trunk or treats over the past week, our house was over flowing with candy. Every morning Kenzie would wake up, dump out her bucket, sort the candy, and plan out what she was going to eat that day. The battle of "No candy before breakfast" was daily and was getting old fast. Then I learned about an amazing little thing called, The Switch Witch!

The Switch Witch is a brilliant idea! I can't believe I didn't come up with this :) Think Elf on the Shelf but for Halloween. She comes to stay with you before Halloween. Then Halloween night, you leave your candy out for her and she replaces it with a toy. The Switch Witch needs the candy because it helps her power her broom and magic!

Kenzie was thrilled to leave her candy out for the Switch Witch (hallelujah!!)  She ended up getting a Minnie Mouse watch! We will definitely be continuing this tradition each year! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, now let's get ready for Thanksgiving!!

Apraxia Walk 2015

Saturday was an amazing day in our community. Family members, friends, teachers, speech therapists (and SLP students!) all came out to support Childhood Apraxia of Speech. For any readers unfamiliar with Apraxia, Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) is a motor speech disorder. Children with CAS have problems saying sounds, syllables, and words. This is not because of muscle weakness or paralysis. The brain has problems planning to move the body parts (e.g., lips, jaw, tongue) needed for speech. The child knows what he or she wants to say, but his/her brain has difficulty coordinating the muscle movements necessary to say those words (ASHA)

Rachel Anderson, the event coordinator, did a fabulous job organizing the walk. This day was truly was all about the kids. During the opening ceremony, children with CAS were awarded with medals to recognize their hard work. There was also a speech given by a little girl that described her journey with Apraxia. There was not a dry eye in the park by the time her speech was over. 

After the walk was over, it was time for some fun! There were so many fun activities for the kids from building with Home Depot, decorating pumpkins, arts and crafts, a reading corner with free books for the kids, a photo booth, a drum circle, and some awesome jams blasting so the kids could all enjoy a dance party!

 Kenzie had so much fun taking in all of the activities. Kameron snoozed in the stroller most of the day because it was so gorgeous out! I hope to continue to be able to be a part of these walks and events in the future. I want Kenzie &  Kameron to continue to be a part of these events and show their support to the community. 

 Rachel if you are reading this, your efforts in putting this event together was amazing. I know that the kids appreciated all that you did as well as their families. These children often feel excluded from their peers because of their speech disorder, but this day made them all feel like rockstars!! 

Pumpkin Fun!

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Last week we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. It's always fun to run around the pumpkin patch, take some adorable pictures, and bring home the perfect pumpkin (or 3!) I don't know about you, but I do not like carving a pumpkin. I know, it's weird, but I hate how they get gooey and rotten so quick after you cut into them. Plus, I have never been good at carving a picture on the pumpkin. However, since Kenzie is 3 now, I didn't want her to miss out on any of the traditional Halloween fun. I was just going to let her get creative and paint her pumpkin this year until I was at Target came across these adorable character pumpkin push-ins!

There were many different characters available (Elsa, Olaf, Mickey, Spider Man, Ninja Turtles, etc) but we are big Minnie Mouse fans over here, so thats what we went with. This was an adorable (and much less messy) alternative to carving the pumpkin! Plus it turned out SO cute!!

My favorite part of this experience is that without Kenzie even knowing it, I turned it into a language activity. We followed directions, practiced sequencing skills, used descriptive words, and requested up a storm! I couldn't help but think how this would make such a great therapy activity. Many parents don't realize how easy it is to work on speech and language skills with their children at home. You don't need fancy therapy materials, you just need to spend time and talk with your child! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Learning on the Go! Glow Draw

Grocery shopping, soccer practice, dance class, play dates, target runs… seems like we spend half of our days in the car. When you're on the go so much, how do you have time to sit down with your child and work on academic and language skills? Truth is, being in the car can provide some incredible opportunities! First and foremost, it can provide some quiet quality time, away from the TV, with your little one. Talk to them. Ask them questions. Look for the letter "M" on street signs. Play "I Spy" with colors. There are so many opportunities out there when we take the time to forget how rushed we are to get our to-do lists completed and just talk to our sweeties.

A few days ago, Kevin, Kenzie, and I were on the way to look at tile for our new bathroom. (Did I tell you we are re-doing our master bathroom? Long story short, we thought we had a mold problem… we don't. But after a complete demolition job to find the source, we now get a new bathroom :) While on the way to the store, Kenzie and I started playing a game with an app I had on my phone called, Glow Draw. This is a simple app that lets you draw with your finger, but there is so much you can do with this. I was drawing shapes, letters, and numbers on the phone and Kenzie was telling me what they were. Simple, right? Incredible simple, but Kenzie loved it. And now she asks to do this every time we are in the car. My favorite part was when she took the phone and started quizzing me. Every letter looked like a number 1, but I loved that she was trying.

Of course, if you are the one driving, this isn's a safe game, so please don't try it. But it's perfect for road trips with the family or you could have an older sibling to use it. I know growing up, I always loved being the teacher for my little sister. Learning opportunities are everywhere, take advantage. Your kids will appreciate the time and attention you give them during your busy day.

Birthdays & Soccer Stars!

Yesterday was a big day in the Cummings' household! Our little guy turned 3 months old and our Kenzie girl started soccer… Go Rockets! Oh by the way- Kenzie doesn't go by Kenzie anymore. She insists on being called Rapunzel, Cinderella, or Anna… just depends on the day. Yesterday she introduced herself to her team as Rapunzel. Needless to say, it's never a dull moment over here! 

So Kenzie has now made me a soccer mom. Can't say I don't love the title. I am so excited that she is now at the age to be in dance class, on a soccer team, and last night she said she wants to play baseball. That made daddy pretty excited. Since I am only working part time now and Kevin works evenings, we haven't had to put her in daycare or school yet. So putting her in social situations like this is super important to me. It took a long time for her to warm up to being away from us, but she is doing great now at church and finally goes to interact with the other kids at library story time. We are making progress! 

Here is a picture of Kenzie, sorry I mean Rapunzel, warming up with her team. We got very lucky and she got placed on a team with a few of her friends… including her future husband, Liam. It was so much fun watching them last night. It was chaos on the field and we had a lot of tears… especially when "The big boy kicked me!" but we ended up winning our first game!! Big thanks to Coach Erika & Coach JR for their patience with this adorable crew. Can't wait to see how much they improve by the end of the season.

Here's our big guy Kameron, cheering on his sister on the field!!

So Thankful To Be an SLP… and So Much More!

Happy Thanksgiving!! How was your week? Were you off, enjoying this beautiful chilly weather? I was working, but working holiday weeks are always fun. The kids are in the festive mood, so needless to say, so were our therapy sessions. I wanted to take a minute to write a quick post and just share how thankful I am this year for so many things. 

First off, I am so thankful to be an SLP. I am beyond thankful to have a job that I love. I am thankful for the opportunity to meet and work with some amazing families. After working in their homes and being a part of their lives for many days and hours each week, they seem like family to me. I am thankful that I have a job where I can see children learn and grow on a daily basis. I love their sense of humor and innocent outlook on life. 

I am incredibly thankful for this group of women pictured here. These talented SLPs have made me a better, more creative, and inspired therapist. We have known each other for over two years, however, we all met (in person) for the first time last week at ASHA. You would have never believed it because it truly is like we are all the best of friends. I am so thankful for this blog and all the inspiration it has brought into my life. I can't put into words exactly how thankful I am for you, sitting here reading this post right now. Your kind words of support, comments, feedback, and emails mean so much to me and inspire me to continue to write and create!

Words cannot express how full of love my heart is. I am so thankful for my beautiful family. I have an incredibly supportive, kind, loving husband and the most spunky, sassy, sweetheart of a daughter. I am so blessed to have them. 

Last but not least, I am so thankful for my GROWING family! Yes, the Cummings will be blessed with another little one in June! Keeping this secret has been so hard, but today is the perfect day to share the news!

I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, Thanksgiving holiday! Now go fill your tummies with lots of turkey!!

XOXOX