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The Art of Playing

Blog three. I’m going to write about something that I think I’m pretty good at. Not like Oprah good, but pretty good. Curious what it is? Dun dun dunnnnnnnn… playing! I’m pretty good at playing with kids. Thankfully, because that’s what I do for a living! One of my greatest skills as a pediatric speech and language pathologist is playing. Seems simple right? It certainly can be but if you are making an effort to be intentional in targeting certain skills, then it can be more complicated than meets the eye.  Play is EXTREMELY important for a child’s development. You caught that emphasis, right? Children begin to play at a very young age. It starts by exploring and putting things in their mouths (oh the germs!), throwing toys off the table (just so you have to pick them up 100-different times), and then it slowly changes and evolves to what you traditionally think as "playing." This is when it gets really good. It is during this time where children are learning how to en...
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That Blogging Life

Well, here we are! Chances are you don’t know me and well, I probably don’t know you either. So, let's start off by being honest with each other. I never thought I would be one to do this whole blogging thing but here goes nothing. <gasp> 

One of my greatest passions is teaching and engaging with children. I have two of my own, I also have many nieces and nephews and I am most definitely that girl you see at the grocery store making googly eyes at the baby in the line next to her.  From as far back as I can remember, I have always been drawn to children. There is just something about their sweet innocence and their strong desire to learn about the world that captivates me. I originally thought I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up (pretty sure they are saints, by the way), but with different life experiences and exposure to other professions in college, I decided speech and language pathology was the perfect mix for my heart and soul.  

Here are a couple pictures of me and my family. I think they are pretty great. 



I’ve been married to my loving husband for 8 years and we have had quite the journey.  We are one of those crazy couples who met online.  Thank you eHarmony! There must be something about those personality profiles after all. We met, quickly fell in love, got engaged after four months and then decided to get married four months after that.  There is something so enchanting about knowing you’re just never going to get sick of that person and are left always wanting more.  Enough of that sappy business.  We had our first child about two years later and then one more, two years after that. Fast forward several years to 2018. My husband is a firefighter and you better believe I think he looks incredibly irresistible in that uniform! Our son Declan is 6 years old and just started kindergarten <wiping tears> and we have a sweet little girl named Teigan, who started preschool this year. Crazy how time flies.  Anywho, I’m sure I will tell you many more stories about them later. 

Alright, alright, my purpose for this space is to share both fun and functional speech and language therapy ideas that are easy to implement at home. I have been a practicing clinician for 10 years (now that is crazy!), and have learned so much along the way. Pretty sure every session, the kids are teaching me something new. Let’s be clear here, I know I have many areas that I can improve on but one of my greatest strengths as a clinician is being able to connect with most (certainly not every) children and build relationships that are full of trust and silliness. To me, that is one of the most critical elements of therapy and parenting too, right? So with each blog post, I hope you will take a little nugget of goodness, and maybe learn a new tip to try at work or at home with your own kids.

My hope is that you find this blog to be helpful, encouraging, and maybe it makes you smile once or twice. Feel free to pass the word along to anyone you feel would benefit.

I know life is busy, chaotic at times even, so thank you for taking the time to read and support this adventure. 

 P.s. I have recently started creating materials here: Teachers Pay Teachers. Feel free to follow me and get notified when new products are posted. I will most definitely be sharing some free materials with you on here as well! Get ready.
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The Art of Playing

Blog three. I’m going to write about something that I think I’m pretty good at. Not like Oprah good, but pretty good. Curious what it is? Dun dun dunnnnnnnn… playing! I’m pretty good at playing with kids. Thankfully, because that’s what I do for a living! One of my greatest skills as a pediatric speech and language pathologist is playing. Seems simple right? It certainly can be but if you are making an effort to be intentional in targeting certain skills, then it can be more complicated than meets the eye.  Play is EXTREMELY important for a child’s development. You caught that emphasis, right? Children begin to play at a very young age. It starts by exploring and putting things in their mouths (oh the germs!), throwing toys off the table (just so you have to pick them up 100-different times), and then it slowly changes and evolves to what you traditionally think as "playing." This is when it gets really good. It is during this time where children are learning how to en...
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