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

SLP-designed tips to make speech + literacy practice simple, quick, and fun.

🌟 Featured Tool: Toddler Talk Bundle 🌟

Created by a licensed pediatric speech-language pathologist, these cards turn your everyday routines into powerful speech opportunities—without adding anything extra to your already full day. The biggest language leaps happen in the ordinary moments you’re already living—snack time, playtime, bedtime.

You just need to know what to say, how to say it, and when to say it.

Here's What's Inside:

• 🧩6 Core Routine Decks – Speech cards for Playtime, Snack Time, Bath Time, Outside Time, Bedtime, and Getting Dressed. Each card features one powerful word, simple examples, and a video demo. 
•  📘Parent Workbook – Learn how to use the cards, track progress, and get expert tips. 
• 💬BONUS: “Tricky Words” Mini Deck – Extra cards for the most commonly mispronounced toddler words (banana, dinosaur, yogurt, & more). 

Grab it for only $14.97 - click here for instant access!

🦃 Thanksgiving Language Tip: “Talk About the Senses”
Fall is full of rich sensory experiences—perfect for building vocabulary and describing skills!

Try this:
During a walk, snack, or holiday prep, talk about what you’re seeing, hearing, smelling, or touching:
🗣 “The leaves are crunchy!”
🗣 “I hear the mixer. It’s loud!”
🗣 “The apple pie smells sweet.”

✨ Why it helps: Sensory words support adjectives, descriptive language, and expressive vocabulary—especially helpful for kids working on early sentences.

🐾 Ralphie’s Reminder

Gratitude isn’t just for grown-ups—kids can practice it too!
This month, try starting a “Thankful for…” routine at dinner or bedtime. Keep it short and simple:
💬 “I’m thankful for…” + a toy, person, or moment from the day.

Model it first, then let your child join in with a word, gesture, or even a drawn picture.
✨ It’s a sweet way to build connection, emotional language, and early sentence structure.

📚 Literacy Corner

🔤 Early Sprouts (PreK–K Pre-Literacy):
Sound Sorting with Snacks
Pick 2 beginning sounds (like /m/ and /s/) and gather small snacks or toys that match:
🍎 Apple = /a/
🥕 Carrot = /k/
Put them in “sound baskets” and say the word together, emphasizing the first sound.
Great for phonemic awareness and early categorizing.

📖 Reading Quest (1st Grade & Up Literacy Idea):
Thankful Book Walk
Choose a book your child loves and pause on each page to ask:
“What could this character be thankful for?”
Helps build empathy, inference, and conversation skills.

📘 Word Wizards (Advanced Readers):
Gratitude Synonyms Game
Challenge your child to think of 5+ ways to say “thank you” without using the words "thank you!"
Ideas: I appreciate it, That was kind, Much obliged, I’m grateful, That means a lot.
Perfect for expanding vocabulary and polite social language.

🎨 Speechy + Simple: Activity of the Month

“Snack Helper” Routine
This month, get your child involved in making or prepping a simple snack—like pouring cereal, stirring applesauce, or spreading cream cheese on a bagel.

Use short, repeatable phrases during the routine:
🥣 “Scoop it.”
🍎 “Put it in.”
🧈 “Spread the butter.”
🧺 “Snack is ready!”

💬 Encourage your child to label ingredients, request items, or use short phrases (e.g., “More please,” “I want apple”).

✨ For older children: This is a great way to practice following directions and understanding sequential concepts like first, next, then, last. You can even have them retell the steps after:
“First we got the crackers, then we spread the cheese…”

✨ For younger children: Let them “help” at their level—even if it’s just placing items on a plate. Routines like snack prep create natural chances for verbs, core words, and simple two-word phrases.

📅 Quick Office Reminder

🦃 Please note the upcoming holiday closures:

• Closing at noon on Wednesday 11/26
• Closed all day on Thanksgiving Day, 11/27
• Closed all day on Black Friday, 11/28

Please let us know ASAP if you'll be traveling or missing sessions the week of Thanksgiving so we can adjust your schedule accordingly.

📌 Quick Tip from Amy
Don’t stress about perfect “therapy talk.”
What matters most is that you’re present, playful, and predictable.
That’s where the magic happens—and the words begin.

With gratitude for the families we serve, and the little voices we help grow every day. Thank you for trusting us to be part of your child’s journey.

With care,

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