The Sprinkle of Speech® program is a weekly, literacy-based speech and language lesson that is designed to improve speech and language skills in early childhood. Much more than “speech,” the program benefits children in the areas of social skills, confidence, and engaging with peers as well. Like all enrichment programs offered at childcare centers, (dance, gymnastics, soccer, etc.) it is delivered to a small group of enrolled children. We begin by reading a book together followed by various interactive activities related to the story that target the speech and language skills for the week while keeping children engaged and excited about language and communication. Every week, children are taught “story grammar” which are elements of comprehension and story retell that are expected of children by the end of their kindergarten year. Parents receive updates about the speech and language targets we’re addressing through a newsletter, as well as weekly emails informing them of the book we are reading and suggestions on how to build speech and language skills at home. To sample our parent newsletter click here.
Students are frequently exposed to books and stories at school — and it turns out, that’s a great way to build their communication skills, too! Research shows that weaving speech and language practice into story time helps children learn to express themselves in meaningful and authentic ways. 12345. The Sprinkle of Speech® program uses fun and interesting books to integrate story grammar elements in order to target specific speech and language skills, while getting your child ready for the next step on his or her academic journey. To read more about how literacy-based speech and language learning can help prepare your little one for kindergarten, please click here.
The skills targeted may change weekly, although some skills will be addressed for a few consecutive weeks and may include:
- how to make specific speech sounds
- answering who/what/where/when questions
- using pronouns and verbs correctly
- vocabulary such as adjectives and nouns
- spatial concepts including prepositions
- categories and object function
- utterance expansion to make complete sentences
- sequencing and retelling stories
- age-appropriate social/emotional skills
Supporting communication growth in little ones and empowering parents to do the same is the mission of Sprinkle of Speech® and we look forward to joining you and your child on this journey!
- Swanson, L. A., Fey, M. E., Mills, C. E., & Hood, L. S. (2005). Use of
narrative-based language intervention with children who have
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R. M. (2019). Building Semantic Networks: The Impact of a
Vocabulary Intervention on Preschoolers’ Depth of Word
Knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly, 54(1), 41–61. ↩︎ - Hayward, D., & Schneider, P. (2000). Effectiveness of teaching story
grammar knowledge to pre-school children with language
impairment: An exploratory study. Child Language Teaching and
Therapy, 16, 255–284. ↩︎ - Ukrainetz, T. (2007). Contextualized language
intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 literacy achievement.
Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications. ↩︎ - Seifert & Schwarz (1991).“Treatment Effectiveness of Large Group Basic Concept
Instruction with Head Start Students.” Language, Speech,
and Hearing Services in Schools, April 1991, Vol. 22, 60-64. ↩︎
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