Shhhhhh!!!

Jennifer has been practicing the "sh" sound in therapy. Mrs. Kim pulled Jennifer's love for Nicholas into her lesson by telling Jennifer that "sh" is the sound we use to tell people the baby is sleeping.

Last night, as I was singing "Old MacDonald" to Nicholas, Jennifer broke out into full on speech therapy time. She made us stop the song and watch her as she explained to us how to make the "quiet, baby sound." It was adorable!

I love that Kim pulled Jennifer's everyday life into her lesson. It was obviously the perfect application, because Jennifer is now serious about that sound. She even stopped singing in the car today to "teach" her brothers and me. She doesn't stop singing for just anything.

Do you use everyday associations to teach your child? Keep in mind that even a child as young as Nicholas needs to be spoken to. Nick talks to him about the characters on his diapers and makes up silly songs to go along with any activity they do together. Jonathan also sings silly songs to him.

Music is great for learning! Your child doesn't care if you hit the right notes. They just love that interaction. Through that interaction, they will begin to pick up the words you sing and make associations.

We sing a lot at our house! I sing to Jennifer during brushing her teeth, combing her hair, bath time and more. She now even sings to herself in the shower - very loudly!

We've been able to use her love for singing to help her with articulation and reading. She has a karaoke machine. She loves to read and uses her reading skills to teach herself the words to songs. She also listens to how the singer pronounces words and uses that to correct her speech.

So, the next time you're struggling with teaching knew language skills to your little one, just pretend you're in High School Musical. They'll love and you'll love their reaction.

Happy singing!