Dear Parents,
I hope each of you enjoyed a wonderful summer with your family. I am excited about working with your child this year and helping them make great gains on their Speech Therapy goals.
This is my 22nd year as a Speech Pathologist in the public schools. I received my bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University in 1987 and my master’s degree from Texas Woman’s University in 1998. I am fully credentialed. I am certified by the Texas Education Agency, licensed by the state of Texas and certified by the American Speech–Language and Hearing Association.
You are the first and most important teacher in your child’s life and you can also help with child’s speech and language skills anytime and anywhere (car trip, grocery store, making dinner, at a park, etc.) The following suggestions can be used with most children throughout the school year.
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Listening is important. When you actively listen, your child will be encouraged to talk more. When you listen, you also teach your child to listen and listening is one of the main ways children learn.
Talk with your child. Watch a favorite TV show together and then discuss it; ask your child the most important ideas and what they liked best/worst in the show. Have a conversation with your child whenever you can—during a meal, on a walk, doing an errand.
Encourage reading. Read to your child or have your child read to you. Let your child see that you read newspapers, magazines, and books. Invite your child to look at these with you and talk about what you have read.
Enjoy language. Help your child to be creative with language. Tell stories, play word games, write a letter to a friend or family member, give diaries as gifts to encourage writing.
Each week I will send home a Speech Therapy folder (envelope) with simple activities to review or articulation words to practice. The contents are yours to keep. Please sign the folder once a week and return it to school with your child. They will be rewarded for keeping up with their folders and getting them signed each week.
If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me. There is also a communication sheet on the back of your child’s Speech Therapy folder that I will check each week for comments and/or concerns.
Happy communicating,
Jacqueline Kennedy, MS, CCC/SLP
Speech Language Pathologist
Bells Elementary – phone #903-965-7725
Cell#903-227-9508
Email: jacquelineannk@yahoo.com