Summer and the swimming go hand in hand for many families with young children. The opportunity for maximizingListening and Spoken Language (LSL) learning is immense and cumulative for water-loving families over an entire summer. Early in June, I often coach parents/caregivers and we brainstorm and plan together LSL goals to target while they are enjoying the pool and related routines. The child’s age and goals dictate the activities and strategies. I help families understand and take advantage of water-resistant hearing technology and related gear/equipment.
For home-based LSL auditory verbal intervention the backyard plastic pool is equally as effective as play-based clinic therapy with a container of water and pool themed manipulatives or in my case, I am fortunate to have a Fisher Price Little People pool.
A few of the pool related LSL vocabulary themed areas I’ve targeted with families involve:
- Packing a bag to go to the pool or grabbing a suit, towel, and toys for the backyard
- What’s goes in the bag or what do we need for our pool? (Towels, sunscreen, hats, shovels… )
- Putting on a swimsuit or dressing a doll (The straps go over your shoulders.)
- Rubbing sunscreen on your toes vs. nose. Body parts vocabulary expansion - forehead, cheeks…
- The weather –> sunny, too hot, cloudy, bright, humid, breezy
- The water–> warm/cool; deep/shallow; sink/float; above, below or under
- Pool/ sand toys –> and related activities (splashing, digging, castles…)
- Pool snacks or a picnic lunch –> popsicles, ice cream sandwiches...
- Swimsuit, bathing suit, bikini, trunks…
- Barefoot –> shoes, sandals, flipflops, water shoes
- Pool related words/phrases that sound similar to little listeners such as – sun, sunny, sunscreen, sunburn, suntan, sunglasses…
- Old MacDonald had a pool E I E I O. And in that pool her had a toy boat.. with a ppppp…
- Motor Boat, Motor Boat Song ( goes so fast, slow, goes around and around…)
Pool fun is great entries in an Experience Book
What summer LSL ideas can you share?
Love how he held what the details in his auditory memory while multitasking to remember all the elements, draw and then describe and retell the story.
