How to make flannel board.

Play is very valuable to your child. It is such a natural way to learn. Through play, your child is learning to exercise imagination, try out new ideas and gain a sense of control over his world.


Before a child can understand an abstract concept (like learning shapes), there must be concrete learning experiences. The child must feel shapes, see shapes, manipulate the shapes. This is what makes play such an effective learning tool, as opposed to direct instruction.


One way a child can become involved in these concrete learning experiences is through the use of a flannel board. In addition, your child will be developing fine motor skills.


You will need:

A sturdy piece of plywood, cardboard or posterboard
A piece of flannel large enough to cover the board
Duct tape (or a staple gun or upholstery tacks if using plywood)
Felt squares to make shapes and other cut-outs
What to do:

Wrap the piece of flannel around the board you have chosen.
Secure all edges around the back side with the duct tape, staples or tacks.
Tips:


The flannel board doesn't have to be large to be effective. A 1 x 1 foot square is adequate and can travel in the car, or you can make a larger board for use at home.
You can find scrap pieces of felt or fabric squares, which are very inexpensive at a fabric store, hobby shop or local discount store.


Try starting out with "easier" concepts like shapes and colors, and then move on to numbers, letters and animals.


You can also color images from coloring books or use pictures from magazines. Just mount these on some posterboard or sturdy paper and hot glue some small squares of sandpaper to the back so that it will stick to the flannel board.

SPEECH THERAPY

What Is Speech-Language Therapy?

Speech-language therapy is the treatment for most kids with speech and/or language disorders. A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.


Speech Disorders and Language Disorders
Speech disorders include the following problems, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA):


Articulation disorders include difficulties producing sounds in syllables or saying words incorrectly to the point that other people can't understand what's being said.
Fluency disorders include problems such as stuttering, the condition in which the flow of speech is interrupted by abnormal stoppages, repetitions (st-st-stuttering), or prolonging sounds and syllables (ssssstuttering).


Resonance or voice disorders include problems with the pitch, volume, or quality of the voice that distract listeners from what's being said. These types of disorders may also cause pain or discomfort for the child when speaking.
Dysphagia/oral feeding disorders, including difficulties with eating and swallowing.
Language disorders can be either receptive or expressive:


Receptive disorders refer to difficulties understanding or processing language.
Expressive disorders include difficulty putting words together, limited vocabulary, or inability to use language in a socially appropriate way.

The use of flashcards.

Flashcards remain one of the best tools for memorizing information. The most common way to create flashcards is to use index cards. Students can simply write the question on one side and the answer on the opposite side and test themselves repeatedly. However, there are several ways to modify this process to enhance the learning experience.


Flashcards for Individuals

One way to enhance learning is to incorporate color into the card-making process. If you are using flashcards to study a foreign language, for instance, you may use pink for feminine nouns and blue for masculine nouns.
You could also use colors to indicate regular and irregular verbs in foreign languages. Color coding is especially helpful for students who are visual or tactile learners.


Computer-generated cards can also enhance the learning process. Students can type a list to create question cards, cut them out, and fill in the answers by hand on the back side. Tactile learners benefit by using this process, as writing the answers actually becomes part of the learning process.


If you find that writing out the answers is the most beneficial part of the process for you, you can simply repeat the process of printing the list and writing the answers.


To create cards in Microsoft Word, simply use three columns and a large font size. You can highlight your individual words or questions to change size and color.


To create cards in Excel, create a table three columns wide. You can tab from one column to another to input words or questions. You can highlight columns to change font size or to print.


If you want to use your cards repeatedly for the entire school year, you may want to laminate them.


You can keep blank index cards on hand as you take class notes. When you hear an important term, you can write the term on a card right away and add the answers later, when you study. This process encourages you to reinforce the information you hear in class.


When studying with flashcards, make a small check mark on the corner of those you get right. When you have made two or three marks on a card, you know you can put it in a separate pile. Keep going through your main pile until all cards have two or three marks.


Cut up poster boards to make very large cards. These come in many colors, so you can use the colors to create specific meanings.



Flashcards for Study Groups

For classes that require you to memorize many definitions, such as social studies or history classes, you may want to gather together to create a master list of flash cards using the glossary in the back of your textbook. If possible, use color coding to indicate for which chapter each term is relevant.


Make a matching game with your cards for your study group. Make separate cards for the questions and the answers, leaving the back sides blank. Place the cards face down and turn them over, one by one, trying to find matches.


Make a competition with your cards by forming two teams. Assign a scorekeeper to hold up cards and keep track as team members call out the right answers.