Most of you know my love for Piggie and Gerald books – or just Mo Willems in general. Sadly, Mo Willems ended his Piggie and Gerald series a few years ago, but the characters will show up in other children’s books to introduce and end the book.
Although these books are not written by Mo Willems, they have the same silly nature that Willem’s books typically have. Which of course, also makes them excellent for reading to encourage AAC use.
Joey and I are in the midst of reading The Cookie Fiasco, a nerve-wracking tale of four friends who are asked to share three cookies. (As a preschooler, can you imagine anything more horrible?) The book takes us through the character’s extreme emotions and attempts at problem solving until the cookies accidentally break into 12 pieces, leaving each character with 3 pieces. [Read more…]
It’s spring, which means it’s time for end of year assessments in schools all across the country. This year, I’m making no exception for Joey. 
In my day to day life, I spend a lot of time with the four to eight year old crowd. And I have to tell you, despite what you may think about gender diff
When I arrived at Joey’s house a few Fridays ago, I was thrilled to find his seven year old cousin there with him. She could only stay for about ten minutes of our session, but it was one of the best, most targeted ten minutes I’ve seen from Joey. 
Most of our parents don’t have to choose a language for us. We are automatically immersed in the language of our community, and that becomes the language we will take on as our own. We’ll use our parents’ words to communicate our wants and needs, socially connect, share ideas, and tell jokes. We may choose to learn another language, but our baseline communication is based on those around us.
