March Edition | 5-Minute Speech Spark by Let's Talk

⭐ Featured Program: Preschool Prep Program

Would you like your child to start developing the skills necessary to be prepared for preschool?

Our Preschool Prep Program helps children build the real skills they need to thrive in a classroom including:

✔ Communicating to ask for help and express their needs
✔ Taking turns and interacting with peers
✔ Following directions to participate in tasks
✔ Transitions, clean-up routines, and simple self-help skills

Program details:
👧 Ages: 2–4
📅 Wednesdays 11:00–12:00
📍 Let’s Talk Speech & Language Therapy Services
120 West Center St., West Bridgewater, MA Unit 2

Cost: $70 per session, with $35 deposit required to hold the slot. Insurance cannot be billed; however, HSA cards are accepted.

Additional highlights:
• Led by two licensed speech-language pathologists (one is a feeding specialist)
• Small group size for individualized support
• Supportive snack experience to build positive mealtime habits
• Parent carryover strategies included 

📞 Call (508) 230-8181 or email [email protected] for more information.

🌱 Spring Speech Tip: “Add One More Word”

As toddlers begin using more words, one of the easiest ways to grow their language is by adding just one more word to what they say.

Examples:
Child: “Ball!”
You: “Big ball!”

Child: “More!”
You: “More snack!”

Child: “Go!”
You: “Go outside!”

✨ This simple technique helps children hear how words combine into phrases without feeling pressured to repeat you.

🐾 Ralphie’s Reminder

Spring means more outdoor play, and play is the perfect place for language to grow!

Try using short playful phrases during outdoor time:
🌼 “Ready, set, go!”
⚽ “Kick the ball!”
🌳 “Up the slide!”

The combination of movement + repetition makes words easier for children to remember and try themselves.

📚 Literacy Corner

🔤 Early Sprouts (PreK–K Pre-Literacy)

Spring Sound Walk
Take a short walk outside and look for things that start with the same sound.

Example:
🌼 Flower
🐸 Frog
🍃Field

Say the word slowly and emphasize the first sound together.

📖 Reading Quest (1st Grade & Up)

Predict the Ending
Pause halfway through a story and ask:
“What do you think will happen next?”

Encouraging children to predict strengthens comprehension, reasoning, and expressive language.

📘 Word Wizards (Advanced Readers)

Spring Word Builder
Pick a word like rain or grow and see how many related words your child can build:

rain → rainy → rainbow → rainfall
grow → growing → growth

Great for expanding vocabulary and understanding word families.

🎨 Speechy + Simple: Activity of the Month

Plant & Talk 🌱

Plant seeds together in a small pot or cup. As you go through the steps, model simple phrases or sentences to describe the sequence of events.

🪴 “Dig the hole.”
🌱 “Put the seed in.”
💧 “Pour the water.”

✨ Speech Boost: For older children, practice using sequencing words to indicate the order of events:
First we put the soil in. Next we plant the seed. Then we water it.

📌 Quick Tip from Amy

You don’t need to set aside extra time to build speech and language skills.
The best learning often happens in everyday moments—during play, meals, getting ready, reading together, or even chatting during car rides.

If you have a toddler and you ever find yourself wondering what exactly to say in those moments and how to say it, the Talk Cards in my Toddler Talk Bundle are designed to give you simple words that you can use right inside your daily routines with SLP approved strategies for success: Click here to purchase.

Here’s to a season of growing skills and growing confidence. 🌱

With care,
Amy Mello, M.S., CCC-SLP
Let’s Talk Speech & Language / Speech on Your Schedule