Family Fun at Truck Time 2012
Do you…
Helping Infants and Toddlers Develop Language Skills
by Gerry Haggard
There are joys that come with the presence of a tiny child in the home. There are also important responsibilities placed on the caregivers. One of these is modeling beginning language skills that serve as the foundation of learning to read.
How can caregivers communicate with an infant? That very small person’s first attempt to communicate is crying, telling someone that he has a need. Listening parents learn to identify reasons for the crying. An adult can respond, meet the need, and speak in sentences of three words. “Are you wet?” etc.
Even before the age of six months, the baby begins to babble using vowels and consonant sounds that compose his home language. From birth on, singing and listening to nursery rhymes provide modeling for the sounds and words we want the child to produce.
10 Traditions to Fall For!
Autumn Family Traditions
Ah, fall! Hopefully it means a break from oppressive summer heat, and it definitely means fun times are ahead. Fall might find us grabbing my mom and heading to a local pumpkin patch. Another weekend we might be sampling banana-flavored milk at our nearby dairy farm. Below are 10 ideas for fall traditions to start with your own family. Pick and choose a few each year … or try to sneak them all in!
