Luna Bear is sad because she is on her own and has no-one to play with. Luckily, The Bear Buddies are kind and friendly; they scoop her up and before long, she is one of them! Introducing the eight Bear Buddies, FRIENDS TOGETHER is all about making friends in the playground, helping children learn and practice early social language and interpersonal skills. In addition to modelling simple playtime language that children will need to make friends and join in, the story demonstrates the importance of inclusivity, acceptance, kindness and diverse friendships.
FRIENDS TOGETHER was initially written for deaf children learning to listen and speak but is equally suited to all children aged 3-6 years old as they transition from home to a school environment, a critical time in their developmental journey when they need to learn new language and appropriate behaviour for making friends, playing and thriving in a wider social setting.
Primary focus:
- Playtime / play language
- Saying hello and introducing yourself and others
- Saying 'thank you' and responding 'you're welcome'
- Paying compliments and responding to compliments
- Expressing basic feelings
- Appreciating the importance of kindness and inclusivity in the playground
- Interactive reading and activities stimulating two-way communication between adult and child
Secondary focus:
- Synonyms
- Sequential time concepts
- Learning left and right
- Answering 'Why?' questions with 'Because...'
- Recognising and understanding basic emotions
- Recognising basic personality traits
- Recognising and accepting that different individuals have different preferences
- Understanding that the things that make us different are the things that make us interesting
- Basic theory of mind
- Strengthening auditory memory
The author is grateful for the advice and support of the Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) team.
Having lived most of her life in the African wilderness with elephants literally on her doorstep, but now settled in Cambridgeshire, UK, Tanya Saunders is a writer, artist, lover of wild places and mother to twin daughters, one of whom is profoundly deaf and wears cochlear implants (her 'magic ears'). Tanya believes that deaf children deserve the same opportunities in life as everyone else; it is not for us to set limits on what they can achieve but rather to give them the platform they need to learn, grow, and attain their goals as equals alongside their hearing peers. Tanya is a Parent Ambassador for Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), an aspirational organisation that teaches deaf children to listen and speak. Her writing is inspired by her own family's speech and language journey with AVUK, alongside the numerous other specialists, friends and family members who, as a team, have made such life-changing contributions to her daughter's odyssey into the hearing and speaking world. Although not a professional therapist herself, as a 'parent practitioner' of auditory verbal therapy traveling this road alongside her daughters, Tanya's personal experience and observations can provide helpful insights for other families on the same path. Her vibrantly illustrated stories encourage deaf children to reach for the stars and reassure them that, while it may not be easy, all the hard work involved in learning to listen and speak will be worth it in the end. Tanya blogs about parenting a deaf child alongside a hearing sibling at: www.avidlanguage.com/hearsay-blog
