About Us: Meet the Three Speech Ladies!

Shirley Alvarez, M.S., CCC-SLP

Shirley has been a Speech Language Pathologist for 19 years. She obtained her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Redlands and has been working for SBCUSD for her entire career. Shirley is married, has 3 adult children, 1 grandson, 2 Boston Terriers, 2 Box Turtles, 1 cat and 1 tortoise.  

Arlene Dos Santos, M.S., CCC-SLP

Arlene has been a Speech Language Pathologist for 8 years. She obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Loma Linda University and has worked in various clinical settings including: post-acute rehabilitation, sub-acute rehabilitation, acute-care hospital, private pediatric clinic, and public schools.  Arlene has worked in 3 states as a travel SLP. She is now in her third year with SBCUSD. Arlene is married and has a 3 year old daughter, 1 dog and 1 praying mantis.

Lauren Haugan, M.S., CCC-SLP

Lauren has been a Speech Language Pathologist for 5 years. She obtained her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Redlands and began her career in Houston, Texas. She is now in her third year with SBCUSD and is proud to be pursuing her passion for Early Intervention through the Preschool Speech Clinic. Lauren is married and has a 2 year old son and a 4 year old Boston Terrier!

Lesson 1: The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry & The Big Hungry Bear

This week we had our first Parent-Child Language & Literacy Group! Our morning started with a heavy downpour of rain, and unfortunately a leak in our classroom! It made for an interesting morning when we had school personnel come in to fix the leak…in the middle of our lesson! It worked to our advantage and we were able to have a discussion with our students about why there were a few men on ladders, removing ceiling tiles in our room. This is a great example of how our routines can change without forewarning and how we can accept these changes and turn them into something positive for our children to experience! 

This week, our lesson centered around the book entitled The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear. Our students each received a copy of the book and also a game called The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel. 

Concepts from the book:

-Vocabulary: all, bear, cut, disguised, eat, forest, guarding, half, hidden, hungry, love, mouse, pick, quick, red, ripe, save, share, smell, sniff, strawberry, tromp

-Part to Whole: body parts: nose, eyes, mouth, head, belly, arms, legs

-Half/Whole in relation to fruit

-Asking questions: What does the bear want? Who ate the strawberry? Where did the mouse hide the strawberry?

-Speech sound: /b/ (bear, big, berry, etc.)

Concepts from the game:

-colors

-turn taking

-fine motor skills

-/s/ blend words (sneaky, snacky, squirrel, squeezers, etc.)

Activities of the day:

1.      Parents + Preschoolers sorted and discussed half/whole fruits

2.      Parents + Preschoolers crafted a bear out of construction paper

3.      Parents + Preschoolers explored the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game

4.      SLPs + Parents discussed strategies to address their child’s speech & language goals in the home, and how to utilize the book and game to enhance these strategies.