Hello Everybody!
Miss Stefanie here! To support our goal of enriching family’s lives through music I wanted to share with you three simple tips you can use to support your child's speech and language milestones.
It is estimated that speech and language delays affect one in twelve Canadian children*
The great news is that engaging with your child through music is a simple way to support your child through their speech journey.
I'm Stefanie, a TipToe Music teacher, Early Childhood Educator, and a mom. As a mom, with a child who struggled with speech, I can tell you firsthand how important music is to your little one’s early learning and development.
You wouldn’t know it now - but my kiddo didn’t start with her first real words until well after her third birthday. Although I knew the importance of music - when we first began classes with her, I felt nervous. My daughter wasn’t talking, let alone singing! But we took the leap and set forth on our musical journey together. Three years later and a fully talking 6-year-old in tow - I truly feel that a lot of her verbal language growth came from her exposure to the Music Together® curriculum with TipToe Music.
Based on the science and research developed through the Music Together® curriculum, and my hands on experience here’s three simple tips on how YOU can support your little one’s speech milestones through song:
Sing songs without words!
At TipToe Music we have a whole heap of songs that we call SWOWS (song without words!). They’re sung by making a bunch of the different sounds you would find in everyday speech. Think - Ba, La, Da. Next time your baby (or toddler!) is making some sounds - sing them right back to them. It doesn't matter if you don’t have all the right words to songs. Just start singing!
Sing whenever the mood takes you!
Singing is often suggested as one of the first steps in at home speech therapy programs. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s something we can do with our little ones all the time! Best of all - it doesn’t feel like therapy. Singing is a fantastic addition to any daily routine - to settle them during a long drive, a trip to the grocery store, or while waiting at the doctor's office. The best thing is that it doesn't require any extra “stuff”, just you, your voice and any song that comes to mind.
Repetition is key!
Just because you have sung the same song what feels like 156 times in a row, doesn’t mean you should stop. The truth is, the more your little one hears the song, the more they hear speech sounds. The more they hear those speech sounds, the more confident they will be trying them out for themselves! It’s a WIN WIN.
Thank you for making music with us here at TipToe Music . We LOVE to sing with all of our families and hope to see you in a class soon! And if you do have any
concerns about your child's speech or language please see your family doctor.
Sing with you soon
Stefanie
Miss Stefanie teaches with TipToe Music in Port Credit every Tuesday.
TipToe Music offers classes for birth - 8 years olds and focuses on enriching families lives so they can experience the joy & benefits of music making together.
You can also join Stefanie for pop up classes across the West GTA.
TipToe Music is a licensed Music Together® Centre. Music Together® is a research-based music curriculum which is taught in over 60 countries and 3000 communities since 1986.
* Source: The Hanen Centre.
https://www.hanen.org/About-Us/What-We-Do/Early-Childhood-Language-Delays.aspx
