Communication & Conversation Skills
Communication is the key to human interactions and relationships. Communicating with another person face to face involves both verbal and non-verbal communication. As children grow up in the world we live in now, they tend to learn more about communciating in text or via quick images or videos. While I think it’s necessary that kids know how to communicate in this way, it’s just as important that they can communicate well when talking face to face with other people. Kids need to be able to communicate effectively both online and real life. The activities here focus on real-life interactions, to encourage kids to understand both the verbal and nonverbal aspects of in-person communication.
Inside: An incredible collection of play ideas for families during times when they need to stay at home. Also, why play helps at this time, and how we can view this as an opportunity to re-connect .
Usually, as families, we have busy schedules, and people are often going to sports practice or games, lessons, or after school activities. Because of the coronavirus and social distancing, things are getting canceled everywhere. This is a stressful time, and things seem to be changing day-to-day. Overall, what this means is that families are going to be spending a lot more time at home.
Play advocates often talk about the importance of open ended play, open ended play materials and having play be child led instead of adult led. There is a popular theory called Loose Parts was developed by Simon Nicholson in 1971.
The play date has been getting some negative press, with people listing all the things they don’t like about them. There are pros and cons to everything, so I decided to explain why I appreciate play dates.
On today’s episode, I share two ways to practice the important social skill of listening!
On today’s episode, I share four fun ways for families to connect, get to know one another, and de-stress together!
Inside: Definition of 16 play types from Bob Hughes and ideas for play materials to encourage variety in the way children play.
Definition of play:
“Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.”
Inside: An overview of 10 games that can be used to work on social-emotional learning at school, in small group settings or at home.
What was your favorite game to play as a kid? For me, it was Monopoly. My sister and I played this game all the time - it would keep us entertained for hours on a cold winter day.
For as long as I can remember, playing video games has been way of connecting and spending time with my family.
I vividly remember when my big brother got the original Nintendo with Duck Hunt. We were in our cozy family den with my brother and sister, so excited to try it out. And he finally let me try it too! Guess what - I wasn’t very good at it, but I loved watching my brother play.
Inside: 3 quick tips to connect with your family during a meal time. Even if you can't get together and connect during the week, the weekend is a great time to try this too!
It’s been a typical busy Wednesday after school. You’ve been helping with homework, driving your kids to dance and karate, and then taking a few minutes to make a quick Target run.
You’re finally all sitting down for dinner, but sometimes it’s hard to connect and chat. “How was school today?” gets you a one word answer. That’s not helpful. So what are some ways you can connect with each other during dinner?
Inside: 8 Fun Ways to Practice Listening with Kids using games - perfect for school, groups or even at home!
How many times have you said something, and it clearly didn’t register with your child because YOU hear...
Conversation Skills
When I think back to my time as a school counselor, my best memories are laughter and connection during lunch groups. Lunch groups are a great way to get to know a lot of students throughout the year. It’s also an excellent way for children to meet new peers and potentially make new friends. What I thought was the best part was the natural opportunity to practice conversations. The way I would encourage conversations is by using a question box. Please take a listen to hear what social skills we practiced in lunch groups using this simple technique.Last year, I did a whole series of perspective taking on the Calm & Connected Podcast, but I wanted to revisit the topic and discuss two other ways I like to explore perspective-taking with kids. Why do I keep talking about this topic? It’s a building block for empathy, a skill we all want to build in our kids. For two more ways to work on perspective-taking using art and poetry, listen to the podcast:
On this episode of the podcast, I share a bit about my experiences growing up playing video games with my siblings, continuing to play as an adult, and now as a parent. Digital play is a part of our day to day lives - it has been acknowledged as a type of play. There are social skills you get a chance to practice when you play certain games, including working together, practicing conversations, and even executive functioning skills.
Playing board games is a fantastic way to work on social skills for kids. As a therapist, I play a lot of games both in individual and group therapy. As a mom, I also enjoy playing games with my kids. During this podcast episode, I talk about four games I love:
Inside: a list of social skills, both external (interacting with others) and internal (your inner thoughts & feelings) with playful ways to practice them.
Recently I went to a symposium on play where Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Mind, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, was speaking. I took off my mom yoga pants and put on real ones, drove to the symposium and sat down at a table. I pretended that I'm not an introvert and started talking to my neighbor. After I gave her my 30 second description of Encourage Play, she said “that sounds great but what does that really mean?”
Inside: 10 fun and enjoyable social skills group activities designed to help kids learn through play. Perfect for social skills group centers or for groups at school.
What kid has ever wanted to attend a social skills group? I’ve never heard a kid say “Yes, please sign me up for a group where you point out how awkward I am and then make me talk about it.”
You’ve just come home from a bad day at work. All you want to do is talk about what happened with someone, to get a different perspective and maybe even some advice. You start talking, but this happens:
This is one of my new favorite social skills games! Why? Because not only do I enjoy playing, children really enjoy playing. I found this game at the Chicago Toy and Game Fair. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to play with my clients to see how they reacted. And it was a resounding positive response.
It’s a rainy fall afternoon. The children have a day off, and they’ve been busy creating, playing and arguing all morning. It’s the perfect day to put on a movie, get some popcorn (and warm coffee for the adults) and snuggle in bed.
“I want to watch this!” says my daughter, pointing to one of the titles displayed on the screen.
The bell rings for lunch time. Five 9 year olds bound into my office, smiles on their faces and giving me cheerful greetings as they come through the door. They pick a seat, place their lunches on the table, then immediately ask about the question box. They can’t wait to see what the questions are this week. One little girl reaches over, picks a question out of the box and reads it to the group. “If you could have any superhero power, what would it be and why?” The rest of them jump right in and start answering immediately.
Can I be totally and completely honest with you about something? Truthfully, I’m slightly scared to put this out there, for the fear of the reaction I’ll get from others when I say what I really think.
(deep breath)