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You're Next Therapy Session Could be on Us!

Want a Free Therapy Session at Chatterboxes? Send us a Video of how Chatterboxes has helped your child.  

We'd love to hear about your therapy experience and we think other parents would too! Your video could be a parent-testimonial - or brownie points if you and your child provide the testimonial together. 

Need inspiration for your video? Finish this sentence:  "We love going to Chatterboxes because......"

Terms and Conditions of our Free Session Giveaway:

1. To be considered for a free session, you will be invited to this contest by our director via email. The promoter is Chatterboxes whose registered office is at 10 Langley Road, Suite 305 Newton Centre, MA 02459
2. Employees of Chatterboxes or their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the competition or helping to set up the competition shall not be permitted to enter the competition.
3. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.
4. Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter will be provided in an Email Invitation. 
5. Closing date for entry will be March 28^, 2015. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.
6. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
7. The rules of the competition and the prize for each winner are as follows: Further information can be provided by contact megan@teamchatterboxes.com 
8. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
9. The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.
10. No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
11. 10 Winners will be notified by email and/or letter within 48 hours of the closing date..
12. The promoter will notify the 10 winners when and where the prize can be collected.
13. The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.
14. By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
15. The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by US law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the US courts .
16. The 10 winners agree to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current [US] data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
17. The winner’s names will be available 28 days after closing date by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the following address: [10 Langley Road Suite 305 Newton MA 02459.]
18. Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.
19. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to [Chatterboxe] and not to any other party. 

As you know,  pretend play is often a part of a young child’s daily playtime activities. Children learn through play, especially while using their imaginations! They engage in pretend play when they make believe to be someone else or use one object to represent another. Children love to pretend that they are adults with different jobs and tasks to perform—they might dress up like mommy, have a tea party with empty dishes, teach a classroom full of stuffed animals, fly the couch to the moon, or explore the deep, dark closet-cave!

The Benefits of Pretend Play:

Pretend play is an important part of childhood. You begin to see pretend play as early as the toddler stage. Young children are learning about themselves, their families, and the world around them when they pretend play. Children are not just discovering creativity when they let their imaginations take over in play—they are learning many important skills. Below are some of the skills children can learn from pretend play:

Social-Emotional Skills – When children play together, they practice sharing, turn-taking, and negotiating. In addition, children can better understand and manage their feelings by acting out certain experiences. Pretend play also develops children’s ability to empathize, because they have to consider the way others act, think, and feel.

Language and Vocabulary Skills – Children have a variety of experiences to share with each other, and when they talk and play together, they are actually teaching and learning new vocabulary. They are improving their language skills when they have to communicate with one another in a clear and effective manner—for example, when they are explaining a story which requires a logical plot and sequence of events.

Problem-Solving Skills – Children can come up with complex plans and solve difficult problems as they play. They have to determine who is going to play which role, where the adventure is going to take place, and what events will happen along the way. If a problem arises during their journey, the children have to rethink the story and negotiate a new situation to reach a final goal that is agreed upon by everyone. Pretend play also develops abstract-thinking skills, which are higher-level thinking skills, for example, using a prop, such as a spoon, as a symbol for something else, such as a microphone.

Disciplinary Skills – Children practice rules when playing. A girl might put her doll in time-out for not cleaning up a mess she made. The girl is more likely to discipline herself and follow the rules given by others having been a disciplinarian herself.

Ideas to Encourage Pretend Play

Make time for make-believe! Creativity takes time to develop, and need time to use their imaginations.

• Show that play is valuable by playing with your children. Children realize that play is important if adults pay attention to them while they are playing and even engage with them in play.
• Appreciate and talk to your children about their play. We • often say, “You are doing a great job working,” but we may never say, “You are doing a great job playing!”
• Create an environment for play. It is important for adults to provide materials t• that children can explore and adapt in play, and it is also great if adults can provide a special “play place” or designated area for the pretend play and all the inspiring props.

Adults should monitor play, so that when play appears to be “stuck” or  unproductive, they can suggest new character roles, offer new props, or provide new adventures to inspire ideas, such as a trip to the park, aquarium, or museum.

Children get ideas for their play from books, movies, field trips, and everyday • life, so if your children are interested in a particular topic, such as animals, take them to the zoo, read them a book about farm animals, or watch a movie about animals—they will be filled with ideas for pretend play! You might see your children reenacting the trip or scenes from the movie with friends. This helps them to better remember the experience, and it reinforces all of their newly learned information.

Research has clearly proven the power of play in young children; particularly the impact of play on a child’s first 3 years of life. Play allows children to explore the world, while developing expressive and receptive language, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, and imagination, all while developing new skills and acquiring basic concepts.

When you sit down to play with your child, the direct 1:1 time that you have to spend undivided attention may be limited. So, here are some tried and true techniques to make the undivided playtime you offer to your child to be as effective as possible.

1) Follow your Child’s Lead

Let your child be in charge of showing YOU how to play with a toy, or object. Let him lead, as if you were playing follow the leader. Please don’t feel the need to be the ‘teacher’ all the time. Letting him lead the play will peak his interest, keep him engaged, and generally be more fun! Once your child has taken the lead, you might comment on what he is doing in his play with a few simple words. Here’s an Example:

Child’s (Leader) Action: Child pick up blocks and begins banging two blocks together.

Parent Response: “Blocks! Bang, Bang!”

Parent’s Action: Parent now picks up 2 blocks and bangs blocks together.

2) Repeat, Repeat, Repeat then…. Wait.

Modeling the sounds or language of play with a very high frequency of repetition is critical to a new language learner. When modeling with repetition, be sure to use inflection in your voice, or make up a rhythm. After modeling a sound, word, or phrase a number of times; wait. Give your child ample time to process this stimuli and have a chance to imitate. Here’s an Example:

Child’s (Leader) Action: Child puts a ball on a ramp. Ball rolls down ramp

Parent Response: “Doooown!” “Doooown!” “Doooown!” “Doooown!” (Each time ball rolls down ramp)

Parent’s Action: Parent holds the ball at the top of the ramp and WAITS; Giving child ample time to  attempt the word “down!”

3) Eye Level Positioning

Nothing is more powerful in communication than face to face exposure.  This might mean laying down on your stomach to face your child on the floor, or squatting down to your toddler as he stands. Face to face positioning allows for us to maintain eye contact, for us to ‘read’ one another, see facial expressions, gestures and one another’s general affect. It also allows for the child to optimally observe your articulators (mouth, tongue, teeth, lips) during speech production.

4) Read Your Child’s Non-Verbal Cues

Learn to be sensitive to his cues to see when he has had enough. It’s just as important to have the balance of being able to calm down and rest, both mentally and physically as it is to play with excitement and fun! This is especially important, as your child may not yet have the words to tell you he has had enough. Signs he is ready for a brake include: Acting distracted, becoming fussy, avoiding eye contact, or rubbing his eyes. Reassure your child you will play again very soon!

5) Special Toys... Not Required!

Play can happen at anytime with almost anything during the day! Please don’t feel the need to purchase specific toys, and feel like play can only happen in a perfect environment. Busy parents can learn to incorporate play into daily routines, such as bathtime or other daily chores, such as packing a lunch or walking the dog. For example, during bathtime:

Child’s (Leader) Action: Child splashes bubbles in tub

Parent Response: “bubble!” (splash, splash) “bubble!” (splash, splash) “bubble!” (splash, splash)

Even if it is for only a short time each day, your child makes amazing strides with your playful interactions. Through play you are helping your child to increase his self-confidence, brain development, social skills, as well as speech and language development.

Your play-time and love makes all the difference in the world to your child.

 

Many children exhibit difficulty learning irregular past tense verbs, because they don’t follow the typical “-ed” past tense rule. You might choose to incorporate targeting irregular past tense verbs into your play with your child for just 15-20 minutes each day, or you might repeat the target irregular past tense verbs frequently throughout the day, during conversation or daily routines. Try to focus on only a few verbs at a time (or just one at a time, if your child is exhibiting more difficulty).

5 Play Scenarios that Target Irregular Past Tense Verbs, Using a Toy Dollhouse:

1) Mealtime- It’s time to eat! Set up each wooden figurine around the family dinner table, while targeting the following irregular past tense verbs:

brought, ate, drank, made, fell, took   

2) Bedtime- Pretend putting each family member to sleep for the night. You might model your child's bedtime routine during play in order to practice the following irregular past tense verbs:

slept, woke, read

3) Outdoor Play- Have the family go outside to play while focusing on the following irregular past tense verbs:

slid, ran, caught, hid, swing, threw

4) Grocery Store- Pretend the family hops into the car and drives from the dollhouse to the pretend grocery store, focusing on the following words:

         wrote (list), drove, bought, chose, found, saw