Our speech is a stream of sounds formed with the participation of the organs of the speech apparatus and respiration. With correct speech breathing, we get accurate sound production, loudness, expressiveness, and speech fluency. These skills need to be improved in children. What games for the development of speech breathing can be used for this? When to start?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPEECH BREATHING FROM PHYSIOLOGICAL?
Physiological breathing is involuntary; it serves us for proper gas exchange in the body. At the same time, short and uniform inhalation and exhalation are performed: inhale-exhale-pause. The main feature of the development of speech breathing in children is the emphasis on exhalation (it should be much longer than inhalation). First, a short breath is taken, followed by a brief pause, a long exhalation filled with sounds or words. A person cannot speak while inhaling. Therefore, the training of speech exhalation plays the leading role in the correct formulation of speech.
Signs of improper breathing
For example, while speaking, a child suddenly becomes silent, pauses and inhales to complete a phrase that may be forgotten during inhalation. The child is forced to finish the sentence, sometimes turning to a whisper. This indicates that the baby does not know how to draw in enough air during inhalation.
Another example. The kid speaks very quietly, without completing the thought. His speech is indistinct, fast, which interferes with the correct intonation and pauses. Here, the child has a poorly developed breathing apparatus, which is often associated with a sedentary lifestyle when lung capacity suffers.
ORGANIZING CORRECT BREATHING
For speech breathing to be correct, it is essential to give the baby a technique for performing it:
- take a short but intense breath, you need to inhale with your nose, while the expansion of the diaphragm will be noticeable;
- exhalation should be smooth, without sharp jerks (lips are extended into a tube);
- exhalation is carried out through the mouth; otherwise, it will not work to speak;
- You need to exhale “all the way,” then make a short pause (about 2-3 seconds).
Most kids do not get it right the first time. Special training will be needed to help them master their breathing while speaking. But do not be afraid of this phrase: train a variety of fun games with your child.
It is essential to organize speech breathing exercises for children correctly:
- The workout takes from 3 to 6 minutes a day.
- Such games are held in a well-ventilated room: during the lesson, there should be enough fresh air in it.
- Play with breathing before eating.
- By the time you start exercising, you should be healthy and in a good mood.
- Parents are sure to accompany the games with emotional comments.
PLAYING WITH BREATH
It is possible to start classes on the formulation of speech breathing by the end of the first year of the baby’s life. Surely mommy will want to teach him how to blow out the candle on the first-anniversary cake.
This will be the beginning of the breathing training. You can add another fun activity to blowing out a candle: blowing the soap off the pens while the baby is bathing in the bathroom.
Flying butterflies
Make some paper butterflies and tie them with a string to a strong rope at a short distance from each other. The butterflies should be at the level of the child’s face. An adult shows him how to blow on butterflies to begin to “flutter” and then repeat. It is essential that the baby stands upright, does not inflate his shoulders as he exhales, does not puff out his cheeks, does not raise his shoulders, and does not stretch forward.
Rainbow bubbles
Mom shows the child how to inflate soap bubbles using a straw or a unique frame that comes with the bubbles. Then the baby tries to repeat.
Magic breeze
Make “trees” – panicles from a coloured paper cut into strips attached to a stick. An adult shows the child a magic tree and invites him to blow on it to hear a light magic breeze.
Flying ball
To play, you need an inflated balloon suspended at the level of the baby’s face. The parent shows the child how to blow on the balloon to fly up, and the small player must repeat the exercise. A more complex option – the ball is not tied, and the child’s task is to lift it up and hold it there, using only the force of exhalation.
Snow
You will need small pieces of cotton wool to play with. They are laid out on the table, and the adult invites the child to imagine that winter has come and it has snowed. To do this, you need to blow on the “snowflakes” so that they fly off the table. In the group version of the game, children can compete, for example, whose snowflakes will fly off first or who will fly farther.
If adults want to achieve results in the development of speech breathing of their child, they need to play daily. After all, games that do not require special preparation will tear off mommy just for a few minutes. And such activities as blowing bubbles or blowing a dandelion occur in the process of swimming or walking. The result will be a well-formed baby’s speech: smooth, with equal sounding power, expressive.
