By: Shannon Smith, Learning Center Specialist

School’s out for summer! Now what? Not sure what to do with your kiddos for the next two months? Both Richmond and Berea Parks and Recreation have filled their calendars with events that are both family-friendly and FUN! Here are just some of the options available to you! In Richmond 4th of July Celebration: Richmond’s annual 4th of July Celebration will be held at Lake Reba Park on Tuesday, July 4th! Here is a schedule of events for the day! Live Music: Tyler Hood at 5:00 PM Allnuts4Music at 6:00 PM Rock of Ages at 8:00 PM Paradise Cove Free Swim: 4:00PM - 7:00PM Free Adventure Falls Mini Golf: 4:00PM - 10:00PM Food Trucks, Beer & Wine Vendors, and Inflatables: Open at 5:00PM Fireworks: 10:00PM Movies in the Park: Movies in the Park will resume this month at Irvine McDowell Park! Movies begin at dark, and there will be vendors for snacks and beverages at each! June 23rd, 2023: Sweet Home Alabama July 28th, 2023: Dirty Dancing Paradise Cove Free Swim: Hang out and swim at Paradise Cove for FREE! Free swim lasts from 4:00PM to 7:00PM and is the perfect family outing! June 30th, 2023 July 21st, 2023 Check out the Richmond Parks and Recreation website HERE for more information on these events plus a calendar filled with even more family fun! In BErea Family Swim Nights: The Berea Swimming Pool has three remaining dates for family swim! Mark your calendars for a FREE night of fun! All dates are from 6:00PM to 8:00PM. June 20th July 11th July 25th Dive in Movies: There is no better way to enjoy a warm summer night than swimming AND a movie! Berea Parks and Recreation is hosting free movie events at the Berea swimming pool. Check out the dates and movie choices below! June 16th: “Super Pets” July 21st: Movie TBD Check out the Berea Parks and Recreation website HERE for more information on their summer calendar and pool! Be sure to take advantage of these awesome events to beat the heat and spend some quality time with your family and friends! We can’t wait to see you there!

By: Charlotte Murell Why Is Reading An Important Language Tool? When developing language skills, it is important to consider adding reading with your child to your list of tactics. Books are great to utilize as tools to improve receptive and expressive language skills in a huge variety of ways. Not only is reading with your child a great bonding experience but it allows your child to learn new concepts and vocabulary in a novel and exciting way. Learning language should be fun as well as engaging, and there are wonderful books with brilliant pictures and easy to understand plots to help your child learn many concepts. There have even been books written that can help with teaching social skills to children who need more complex concepts broken down into more manageable chunks. What To Look For In A Book So now what? How can you go about finding some amazing books to help your child improve language skills? When I am in the process of finding books to utilize in therapy as an SLP there are a few things to look for. First, I want to think about the length of the book. I want to find something that is not too short or too long. Just as Goldilocks was looking for the best fit, I want to find a book that will be easily understood by the child as well as one that will hold the child’s attention for a few minutes. If it is taking you more than 5 minutes to read a book with children 4 and under, the book might be too long to hold their attention or they might get tired of waiting for something fun to happen to the characters. For children who are within school age from 5 years old to 10, I would consider a book that takes me about 10 minutes to read. For children in upper elementary, middle, and high school you want to look for books that have more complex concepts with longer paragraphs. Secondly, any book you want to pick out to read to your child should be engaging . If the topic of the book does not get your child’s attention and sustain that attention, you will easily lose their interest and it will be hard to recapture that focus. You can always let your child pick out a book to read from a selection of 2 or 3, so that you are providing them with some structure with the book's content and allowing them to be independent with the selection process. If your child has any special interests, use them! Third, when looking for an appropriate book selection, I like to look for age appropriate vocabulary. For children ages 2-5, I want to find books that have early vocabulary words to learn including animals, clothing, food, feelings, and basic concepts like prepositions, big vs small, and colors. For children ages 6-10, I tend to look for stories that have more complex plots to work on answering what/where/who/when/why/how questions. For children ages 11-18, I want to find books that are easy to read but have vocabulary words that coincide with academic learning. 5 Book Collection Recommendations And Why I Love Them!

Sensory bins are powerful and engaging tools for children to explore their environment and learn new skills. With some household materials and preparation, sensory bins are used to create an opportunity for your child to learn through play—the best kind of learning! What is a Sensory Bin? A sensory bin is made by placing different materials into a container. The goal is to provide your child with the opportunity to explore their five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. From there, your child gets to be in charge! They can explore the materials at their own pace using imagination and creativity. Some common materials used in sensory bins are rice, pasta, cotton balls, water, sand, and dough. Kids can dive in with their hands or you can provide them with tools such as scoops, funnels, or tongs. There are no rules for creating a sensory bin. You can use whatever materials you may already have lying around your house. The Benefits of Sensory Bins The best part about sensory bins is that they combine fun with development. By exploring with their hands and playing, children are able to achieve a variety of things. Sensory Processing By choosing a wide variety of materials, children have the opportunity to explore different textures. This can help kids with sensory-processing difficulties by providing a controlled environment for exploration. Fine Motor Skills Through digging, stirring, grabbing, pouring, and stacking, children are able to strengthen the muscles in their fingers and hands. Cooperation and Language Skills Through interacting with the world around them, children learn how to share and take turns. You can help your child in this area by playing with them! Share your thoughts aloud, ask questions about what is in their bin, and give each object a name. This will encourage your child to share their thoughts and ideas and grow their vocabulary! Cognitive Development Children learn through play! Place letters, numbers, shapes, and colors in their sensory bin and practice labeling and sorting each. By choosing objects and materials intentionally, you can help your child learn to say their alphabet, count, spell, sort, and more. Emotion Regulation Sensory bins are also great tools for emotions. When your child is feeling overwhelmed, angry, or stressed, different sensory experiences can create a calming environment and aid your child in regaining balance. These examples are just the beginning of what sensory bins can do for your child. They also help to build confidence, encourage creativity, improve focus, and more. Sensory Bin Ideas