Sound of the Week: SH

March 17 - 21image created with Boardmaker
Sound of the Week: Sh
Theme: St. Patrick’s Day/Shamrocks

I’m not sure why, but I have always loved St. Patrick’s Day.  To take advantage of the theme opportunity presented by the "day o' green" next week, we are going to shift gears slightly from our letter-sound of the week to focus on a speech-sound.  As I mentioned for vowels, we have more speech sounds in the English language than we have single letters to represent.  Sometimes (as with short and long vowel sounds) one letter has more than one associated sound: apple versus ape.  Other times letters will team up to make a new sound: 's' immediately followed by 'h' creates a new sound "sh".  Prepare yourselves for a lot of "shhhhhhhhhh" this week!

From a speech perspective, /sh/ is a “fat air” sound.  To produce this sound the lips round and bunch up (look “fat”) while the tongue flattens near the roof of the mouth behind lightly closed teeth.  Image from the LiPS Program by Lindamood-BellA wide (“fat”) stream of air is released.  /sh/ is a quiet sound (no voice).  Hold your hand to your throat as you say it; no vibration from the vocal cords.

In therapy:  We will be reading 'sh'/St. Patrick’s Day themed books, doing ‘sh’/St. Patrick’s themed activities, and exploring the speech sound 'sh'.

Suggestions for home:  Sprinkle ‘sh’ throughout the week.  Pick out a variety of activities that appeal to your child (and you!).  Kids learn best through active and meaningful experiences.  And multi-modal learning helps make stronger and more diverse connections in the brain, which helps with retention and recall.  Most important, have fun!

BOOKS

• There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Clover! by Lucille Colandro
• Green Shamrocks by Eve Bunting
• The Night Before St. Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing
• Hooray for St. Patrick's Day by Joan Holub
• Moonbear's Shadow by Frank Asch  [Kindle Edition]
• Shhhh!!! by Lynnette Schauphach
• Shoes by Elizabeth Winthrop
• My Shoes Take Me Where I Want To Go by Marianne Richmond
• Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw
• Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw  [Kindle Edition]
• Check out other "Sheep..." books by Nancy Shaw

FOOD
Eating the Alphabet - SH:  Consider adding some ‘sh’ foods to your menu this week.  Here are a few ideas:
     shamrock cookies     sherbet     shortbread     shellfish     shrimp

     shortcake     short ribs     shish kabobs

Feeling adventurous?  Make (milk)shakes at home with your child!

ACTIVITIES
Scavenger Hunt:  how many ‘sh’ things can you find around the house, while shopping at the market, in a magazine or store ad flyers?

Field Trip:  

• Zoo/Aquarium:  can you find any animals with ‘sh’ in their name?
• Have some good, green St. Patrick's Day fun at Seattle Children's Museum
• Beware of trickster leprechauns at Twirl Cafe

Shoot baskets

Ships and Shells - make several ship and shell cards and hide them.  Have your child search for the ships and shells and then use them to create a picture scene

Play shop - collect several items that start with 'sh' (e.g. shampoo, shaver, sheets, shell, shirt, shoelaces, shoes) to set up shop.  Have your child ask the shopkeeper for items on their shopping list.

Look through a catalog or shopping ads for items beginning with 'sh'.  Ask you child to find something that begins with /sh/ (e.g. "SHow me something I can wear on my feet." [shoes] "What did you SHow me?)

Look for shapes: use objects around the house and ask your child "what shape?"  For example, show a plate and ask "What shape is the plate?"  Have your child respond in a sentence ("the shape is ___.").

Make a St. Patrick's Day sensory bin like this one from 3 Dinosaurs

Do a shamrock craft like one of these

Check out this St. Patrick's Day pack of free printables from 3 Dinosaurs

HAve some sensory fun with Shanmrock Foam Dough

APPS

• i Get…St. Patrick’s Day Social Skills Stories
• Have fun practicing /sh/ words with Talking Shamrock
• Erik X Raj (SLP) has developed 5 apps for school age children working on speech (the more common persistent speech sound errors, including /sh/), but also incorporating other language skills.  They go beyond many of the 'typical' speech apps available.  Probably not a good fit for preschoolers or children with more involved speech/language disorders, but if your child is ready, give them a look:  Charades Articulation, Listen Close Articulation, Multiple Choice Articulation, I Dare You Articulation, Secret Mission Articulation, Open-Ended Articulation
  

Do you have other ‘sh’ ideas?  I’d love to hear!

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