I’m Just Me Month!

Hello from the KPTS team! October is here and it is I’m Just Me Month. I’m Just Me Month focuses on embracing what makes us unique as individuals. It is a time for breaking down stereotypes and building a safe and positive environment for diversity. It is when we embrace ourselves and our differences that we begin to promote our mental wellness and improve our confidence. Our challenge to you and your child is to find one quality inherent to their identity that makes them who they are – unique, outstanding, and wonderful. Celebrate this uniqueness; there is no other child like yours!
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Fall Breakfast in Septemeber

Hello from your friendly KPTS team and happy end of September! It’s hard to believe that summer has come to an end already. With the sadness of summer coming to an end, there is no better time to celebrate breakfast than the month of September. Eating a regular morning breakfast helps to manage weight, guides us toward eating healthier meals throughout the day, and gives our bodies energy to begin our day. As we control our own breakfast choices, it is important to help our children create healthy breakfast tendencies. Children who eat a regular and healthy breakfast are more likely to perform better at school and demonstrate positive behaviors. Making breakfast with your children is also a great way to involve your child in meal preparation as well as target language, speech, and sensory goals. Some healthy breakfast choices include banana pancakes, breakfast pizza, yogurt parfait, egg bites, smoothie bowls, and breakfast burritos. With your child, you can explore different textures (e.g., berries, oatmeal, yogurt), model verbs and action words (e.g., chop, mix, cut, whisk, scoop), make comments (e.g., so creamy, I like berries), target following directions (e.g., put the raspberries in the bowl, give me cup), and have fun!

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Anxiety in kids and best ways to respond to our anxious kiddos.

Every school year brings new and exciting challenges for our littles.  New friends, growth spurts, and new knowledge are all exciting for some but can create anxieties in others.  Anxiety in littles can present in many ways from nail biting , lack of sleep, tummy issues, diarrhea, and nausea.. just to name a few.  We have gathered some helpful lists for parents on how to best address our anxious kiddos along with some coping skills that our kiddos can use to calm and create a productive outlet.

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Backpack tips for all our kiddos heading back to school

Back to school shopping has commenced and soon our little BIG kids will be filling their backpacks with all supplies and books. Here is a helpful link to best understand the correct weight per child and positioning.
https://fb.watch/eM-F4ZmnQ5/

:Back pack tips : 

  1. The weight of the backpack should not exceed more than 10% of your child’s body weight.
  2. Put the heaviest items closest to your child’s back (the back of the backpack).
  3. Check and make sure your child is not carrying extra books than needed.
  4. If the backpack is too heavy, consider carrying a book in hand or using a backpack on wheels.
  5. Wear the backpack on BOTH shoulders.
  6. The bottom of the backpack should rest on the curve of the lower back.  If it is too low, adjust the shoulder straps.
  7. Choose a backpack that is the correct size.

In addition, Schaumburg Library is hosting a health and wellness for the caregiver class on August 11, 2022; 7-8:30 called “Back to School-Back to You”.  You can RSVP at this link. https://tacanow.salsalabs.org/rsvpforilcaregiveraug1122/index.html

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July is National Picnic Month!

Picnics are a great way to spend time with your family while also working on speech and occupational therapy goals – and your child can be involved in each step of the process! Have your child help you prepare the food by washing fruits and vegetables, collecting plates and utensils, and making sandwiches. You can narrate what you and your child are doing as well as talk about how foods feel, look, and taste. Once the food is ready, your child can help you brainstorm or find other things you need like a blanket and picnic basket. Don’t forget to put on that sunscreen! This is a great opportunity to talk about body parts and spatial concepts (front, back). After you arrive to your picnic destination, you and your child can lay out your blanket and enjoy your picnic! At each step, you can work on speech therapy goals such as following directions, using action words, combining words into phrases, asking and answering questions, asking for help, and labeling everything you and your child see. This is also a great opportunity to work on feeding goals by having your child involved in food preparation and building tolerance of different foods on the picnic blanket or their plate. Because picnics are outside, you can get messy with food with little worry about clean up. Most of all have fun!
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