Sunday, October 19, 2014

Pronouncing Rs: 31 Days of ABCs

This post is part of a series, 31 Days of ABCs.  Scroll to the bottom for the full schedule of posts.
 
Until I was 4 or 5 I had trouble with my Rs.  My grandpa gave me a doll and named her Mary Rasmussen to give me an excuse to work on my Rs.  Now I see Chiquita is having trouble with her Rs (both in English and the rolling R in Spanish).  I know she and I aren't alone.  What can parents do to help kids that struggle pronouncing this tricky letter?

I read this article on Mommy Speech Therapy that was helpful.  I feel much better know that R really is a tricky letter, in English there are "at least 32 different R sounds".  The author suggests identifying which specific R sounds your kids struggles with so you can work on that specific sound.

North Shore Pediatric Therapy posted this article with very specific suggestions.  My favorite was making animal sounds like roosters, cats and tigers.  She also put my mind at ease by stating that the age for master of the letter r could be anywhere from 5 1/2 to 7 years old.  Chiquita and I are totally normal and on track!!  Yeah!

While I was looking for suggestions in English I wanted to check on info for pronouncing rollings rs in Spanish.  Basically in Spanish if there are two rrs together (used to be it's own letter erre) then it's prounounced with a trill.  A single r is barely pronounced (so Chiquita has no issues) unless it's at the beginning of the word, in which case there's a very slight trill.

I found this hilarious video on facebook.  I'm not sure it will help Chiquita, but it certainly made her laugh.  She will watch it over and over again.

at least 32 different R sounds to consider as separate distinct sounds! - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=1116#sthash.onGAFmv5.dpuf
at least 32 different R sounds to consider as separate distinct sounds! - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=1116#sthash.onGAFmv5.dpuf
at least 32 different R sounds to consider as separate distinct sounds! - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=1116#sthash.onGAFmv5.dpuf
at least 32 different R sounds to consider as separate distinct sounds! - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=1116#sthash.onGAFmv5.dpuf
at least 32 different R sounds to consider as separate distinct sounds! - See more at: http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?p=1116#sthash.onGAFmv5.dpuf


Anyone have any suggestion?

31 Days of ABC - October 2014
Check out the rest of the series:
31 Days of ABCs

Anything ABCs – October 1


A – October 2


B – October 3


C – October 4


D – October 5


E – October 6


F – October 7


G – October 8


H – October 9


I – October 10


J – October 11


K – October 12


L – October 13


M – October 14


N – October 15


O – October 16


P – October 17


Q – October 18


R – October 19


S – October 20


T – October 21


U – October 22


V – October 23


W – October 24


X – October 25


Y – October 26


Z – October 27


123’s – October 28


Prewriting – October 29


Books, Songs, & Apps – October 30


ABC Pinterest Boards – October 31

2 comments:

  1. I learned to roll my R's in Spanish because as a child this was the sound we would make for a telephone rrrrrrringing. I still think that's why when I learned Spanish in school years later the r wasn't a problem for me. My sons are finding it quite a bit more challenging, so it's good to know that this is normal!

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  2. Wow, this is something I have never thought of. For us, the TH sound has been the problem - but he sort of just grew out of it. Not sure if that was the right approach - but whatever works, right?

    Thanks so much for the resources and thanks for sharing on the #homeschoollinkup!

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