Smart Talkers:Talking about childen's communication from Small Talk SLT

Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication Groups: nominated for award!

2012-02-01T11:40:00.001Z

. We are delighted to have been nominated for the best local pre-school activity in the annual What's on for Little ones awards. Its the 3rd year in a row that we have been entered in this category and I don't expect to win but its good publicity for the cause of children's communication. Anything that gets people thinking about this subject can only be good.There are 20 award categories for

Do you get sick of hearing "They grow up so fast!" ??

2012-01-21T09:29:00.000Z

....... Well they do and yet we take so much for granted and rarely take time to really appreciate what amazing things happen as a baby grows. I know harp on about the fabulous achievement from helpless reactor at birth with no words to interactive communicator with approx 900 words just 36 months later but there's so much more that goes on in addition to this. The website

"Despite progress, still too many gaps in support for 10% of children with communication difficulties"

2012-01-18T09:12:00.001Z

I CAN, the children’s communication charity, this week expressed concern that there are still many gaps in the support available for more than a million children across the UK with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), despite recent advances. Responding to the report of the outgoing Communication Champion for Children, Jean Gross CBE, the charity welcomed evidence of improved

A potty list?? What's that?

2012-01-14T16:47:00.000Z

You have all heard of a 'bucket list' but Parent Dish brought to my attention the 'potty list'. This is a must do list for 3 year olds. The 36 must-do activities that make up "The Potty List" are: 1. Made a mud pie 2. Baked a cake 3. Finger painted 4. Sung loudly in public 5. Climbed a big hill 6. Picked fruit 7. Danced with no inhibitions 8. Made sandcastles on the beach 9. Been

Are you a trainee teacher? What do you know about speech, language and communication difficulties?

2012-01-13T16:49:00.000Z

....Let's talk about it! The Communication Trust have developed a booklet for people who are training to become teachers to give advice and guidance on children's communication skills. Let's Talk About It includes information on: • The importance of communication• The impact that speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) can have for children and young people on learning and

What is your favourite nursery rhyme?

2012-01-11T13:23:00.000Z

What is your favourite? Why do you like it? We would love to know! Some that we sing: Old MacDonald. You can add to this by having pictures of animals so that younger ones can choose what to sing next If you're happy and you know it: get the child to choose, if they don't you could always sing about what they are doing e.g. Wriggle your legs, give a smile, Incy wincy Spider, add the

Too busy to talk to our children... so what?

2012-01-06T11:15:00.000Z

If you are asked the question: what makes humans different to animals? Many people would answer that it is our unique ability to communicate. However, in the 21st century this fantastic achievement is being eroded. Language learning just seemed to happen effortlessly and easily in the past. Without TV, computer games, DVDs etc it was much easier to 'just' interact. As well as the technological

Why buy a franchise?

2012-01-03T19:44:00.033Z

I read 2 great posts about franchising by Pippa Middleton on the Business plus Baby site from Helen Lindop. It made me realise that perhaps people need more information about franchising and why it may be preferable to starting out on your own. In the first of the two posts Pippa looks at her top five reasons to consider buying a franchise. I have looked at them from the Smart Talkers Pre-School

Are nursery rhymes out dated?

2012-01-03T13:12:00.002Z

A recent Small Talk survey showed that many people today are not really aware of nursery rhymes. People over 40 were more likely to recall one or two, whereas, an entire class of 17 year olds studying child care, could not think of even one. May be nursery rhymes have had their day, are old fashioned, out dated, even boring? Does this matter if they are dying out and parents are not

How can I help my Toddler Talk?

2011-12-31T14:02:00.005Z

Surprising research tells us that in some areas of the UK, over half of the children going into school don’t have the communication skills they need to learn, make friends and succeed. There are many theories why this is the case. One thing is for sure, toddlers need help to learn to talk. Much of this help comes from a close, trusted adult who responds to their attempts to communicate and who

Communication consortium expresses concern about Phonics Screening Check

2011-12-24T13:29:00.000Z

The Communication Trust, a consortium of nearly 50 leading voluntary sector organisations specialising in speech, language and communication in children and young people, has expressed its concern over plans to roll out the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. The results from the first round of screening were published recently by the Department for Education. The Phonics Screening Check is a

Will there be a book in your child's Christmas stocking?

2011-12-21T20:21:00.000Z

My own children don't enjoy reading at all as they are not natural readers. They would choose almost anything over reading to occupy their time. However, there will be several books in each of their stockings as they are important for so many reasons. One of which is the special time we share as I read to them with my arms around them. I treasure this time as it's great for cementing the bond we

Happy Christmas from everyone at Small Talk and Smart Talkers

2011-12-17T14:43:00.001Z

We have made a donation to Cancer Research UK again this year so please accept this as our Christmas greeting to you

Please don't teach your child to say please and thank you....

2011-12-13T09:55:00.000Z

.... until their language level is ready! There is no-one who likes children to say 'please and thank you' more than me. My own children are very polite and know that they are unlikely to get what they want without these important social niceties BUT I do not advocate parents of children with delayed language or early language to expect their child to use them until much later. 'Please' and

How to interact with pre-schoolers

2011-12-09T13:27:00.001Z

I have seen some really good nursery worker-child interaction this week and some awful examples too. I won't name and shame the bad ones but the good ones need mentioning. Jayne from Little people Nursery in Burntwood and Kelly, Lynne and Sara from Little Springs in Rugeley are all natural communicators. They have a skill for interacting with pre-schoolers which really brings out the best in

What does 'pragmatics'mean?

2011-12-06T20:04:00.001Z

By Vanessa King, Smart Talkers, Surrey Baby Sale – lots of bargains! What is meant by this sign? We know without asking that it means items related to baby care are for sale, not that the shop is not literally selling babies. We know this because we have a context for the sign, a society in which we don’t sell babies in shops. Pragmatics is a branch of linguistics concerned with the ways

How can I help my child with 'show and tell'?

2011-12-02T09:57:00.000Z

Thank you for this post from the excellent Talking Matters team from Australia “Show and tell” or “news time” is a regular part of the school routine and a valuable opportunity to develop language skills but it can be a difficult task for children with speech, language, learning or social difficulties and can result in anxiety for children with low confidence. There are however things that can

Looking for a gift with real meaning?

2011-11-26T17:23:00.001Z

For just £15, I CAN, the children's communication charity is giving you the chance to give a little bit of the English language to someone special. They'll also send you an adoption pack for you to wrap up and put under the Christmas tree. Find a word to give as gift or create your ownAnd the best part: all proceeds are used to help children who struggle to find the words they need make friends

Hello Tool Kit

2011-11-19T10:37:00.000Z

This month sees the launch of a new downloadable toolkit Celebrate Good Times with information and activities that will help you celebrate communication milestones big and small. The toolkit includes information on:Celebrating Special Moments – ideas on how to celebrate special moments in your child’s life, plus questions to help celebratory conversations flow Celebrate Festivities – help your

Will mainstreaming my child improve their social skills?

2011-11-16T10:27:00.002Z

Studies at the University of Washington compare the peer relations of preschool children with communication disorders to those of normally developing preschoolers and throw light on this complicated aspect. Surely if there are better role models to follow, this will help our language impaired children? Children with communication disorders do not generally participate in group play as much as

Learning to listen

2011-11-12T10:27:00.000Z

We take the development of communication for granted but it is actually the best achievement of our lifetime. There, is however, a very alarming national decline in speech, language and communication skills which means that at least 40,000 children started school in 2009 without adequate spoken language ability (Wright, J., 2009) and a Government report in 2008 showed that this can be as high

What is ELDP (Early Language Development Programme)?

2011-11-09T18:28:00.001Z

The Communication Trust, a 40‐strong coalition of voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, last week welcomed the announcement that I CAN will be leading the Early Language Development Programme (ELDP) contract along with several other Trust members. However, it suggested the programme needed to go further to ensure all children’s needs were being met. ELDP

Longitudinal Documentation of Sign Language Acquisition in a Deaf Village in Bali

2011-11-04T14:42:00.000Z

The iSLanDS (International centre for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies) institute started an ELDP-funded project called “Longitudinal Documentation of Sign Language Acquisition in a Deaf Village in Bali” in August 2011. As part of this project Connie de Vos (PI) will conduct fieldwork in Bali in September 2011 and May 2012. As part of this project Connie will carry out bi-weekly video recordings

40 STRONG COALITION DEMONSTRATES BENEFITS OF UNITING TO SAY HELLO

2011-10-29T15:22:00.000+01:00

Sarah Teather, Minister of State for Children and Families, joined The Communication Trust’s parliamentary event to celebrate anniversary of national year of communication launch. The Communication Trust, a 40‐strong coalition of voluntary and community sector organisations with expertise in children’s speech, language and communication, this week marked ‘one year on’ since the launch of the

Does watching TV damage my baby's development?

2011-10-23T12:47:00.001+01:00

Doctors warn TV harms baby development: This week a group of American Paedatricians warned that passive TV viewing could slow development in children under 2 years of age.When I do home visits, I almost always have to request that the TV is turned off. Unfortunately, as with most homes these days, it is like some resident big brother consuming a whole wall of the living room, dominating the