Letter of the Week: D

January 27 - 31
Letter of the Week: D
Theme: Dragons (Lunar New Year)

January 31st marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year celebration (for 2014), welcoming in the year of the horse.  Dragons play a big role, which we are going to use to incorporate the letter-sound 'd' into our Lunar New Year theme for the week.  The Chinese think of dragons as helpful, friendly creatures.  The dragon is linked to good luck, long life, and wisdom.  Lunar New Year dragon dances are performed to scare away evil spirits.  Did you know that the dragon is the only mythical creature in the Chinese Zodiac and is considered the luckiest of all the animals?  Want to learn more?  Start with this UK-based child-friendly educational website:  TopMarks.

/d/ is one of the earlier developing speech sounds.  ‘D’ is a consonant sound which most 3 year olds have mastered.  From a speech perspective, ‘d’ is a tip tapper.  Just as with ‘t’, the tongue is doing the work to make this sound.  The tip of the tongue makes solid contact with the gum ridge behind the top front teeth, trapping air between it and roof of the mouth, Image from the LiPS Program by Lindamood-Belland then a little burst of air (and sound) is released as the tongue quickly withdraws.  ‘D’ and ‘T’ are sound brothers; they are made exactly the same way.  Well, exactly with one difference.  /d/ is the noisy brother (voice on – vocal cords vibrate – to make this sound).  Hold your hand to your throat as you say /d/; you should feel vibration from the vocal cords.  Now say /t/ (a quiet sound); feel the difference?

In therapy:  We will be reading 'd'/dragon (Lunar New Year) themed books, doing ‘d’/dragon themed activities, and exploring the letter name, letter sound and letter symbol for 'd'.

Suggestions for home:  Sprinkle ‘d’ throughout the week.  Pick out a variety of activities that appeal to your child (and you!).  Kids learn best through active 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

• My “d” Sound Box (Sound Box Books) by Jane Belk Moncure
• The Dancing Dragon by Marcia K. Vaughan
• Dance Dragon: A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap by Joan Holub
• D is for Dancing Dragon: A China Alphabet by Carol Crane
• Bringing In The New Year by Grace Lin
• The Year of the Dragon by Oliver Chin (also an interactive book app, see below)
• The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters by Christoph Niemann
• The Day the Dragon Danced by Kay Haugaard
• D Is for Dragon Dance by Ying Chang Compestine
• Dragon Dancing by Carole Schaefer
• Legend of the Chinese Dragon by Marie Sellier
• This Next New Year by Janet S. Wong

FOOD
Eating the Alphabet - D:  Consider adding some “d” foods to your menu this week.  Here are a few ideas:
     dates     dessert     dumplings     deviled eggs     dip

     dill pickles     donuts     dried fruit     danish

Feeling adventurous?  Make Devil's Food Cake with your child!

ACTIVITIES
Scavenger Hunt:  how many ‘d’ 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 ‘d’ in their name?
• Lunar New Year Celebration in Seattle's Chinatown/International District (Feb 1st)
• The Wing Luke Museum kicks off a week of celebrating Lunar New Year on Saturday (Jan 25th)
• Visit the Seattle Asian Art Museum (1st Saturday of the month is free for families)

Be a letter detective:  hunt for the letter ‘d’ in a variety of texts (books, magazines, newspaper, road signs, license plates)

Community helpers:  learn about doctors, divers, delivery people

Sensory Play:

• check out this Chinese (Lunar) New Year sensory tub idea from Carrots Are Orange (the red color lends itself nicely to morphing into a Valentine's sensory tub later in February)
• do your own dragon dance
• just dance

APPS

• The Year of the Dragon in 3D
• Magikid Nian
• Celebrating Chinese New Year: An Activity Book
• How To Train Your Dragon - Kids Book HD
• Princess Drawsalot and the Dragon    Free version     Premium

Do you have other fun ideas to add to our ‘d’/dragon (Lunar New Year) theme?  I’d love to hear!

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