About Charlotte Walker

charlotte — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:59:48 +0000

Prior to working at Sound Beginnings Charlotte has had an array of experiences working with families and children with hearing loss. She has been a preschool teacher for the majority of her career, however, has also worked in an early intervention setting. Charlotte began her career at Desert Voices Oral Learning Center and is very excited to be returning to a school that focuses primarily on the spoken language development of children with hearing loss. Charlotte earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Deaf Education at Kent State University and recently completed her Masters of Education with a focus in Literacy from New England College. Charlotte will be moving to Logan with her husband, Allan, and their Maine Coon Cat/sidekick, Baxter.

About Kara Sorensen

kara — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:56:33 +0000

Kara Sorensen is a Teacher’s Aide at Sound Beginnings. She graduated from Utah State University in 2010 with a degree in Social Work. She recently got married and moved back to Logan where her husband is attending school at Utah State. She has always loved working with kids and is so excited to be able to work in the Sound Beginnings Preschool.

About Marie Rood

marie — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:54:20 +0000

Marie Rood is an Assistant Teacher in the Sound Beginnings program. She studied at Ricks College, and at Utah State University. In 2009 Marie and her husband moved to Logan, Utah from Coos Bay, Oregon where she had worked for 14 years as a Paraprofessional at a K-4 elementary school. Marie worked in Resource Room, Title 1, and Federal Indian Education programs. In 2002 she earned her Oregon Paraprofessional Certification, and in 2010 she became a Certified Dental Assistant, and began working on a Child Development Associate. Marie and her husband Kevin have two adult sons, Sean and Cody, who are both in college. She enjoys reading, knitting, traveling, family time, and taking her dog Stella for walks. Marie is very excited to be working with the wonderful children at Sound Beginnings.

About Brandi Neilsen

brandi — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 16:52:13 +0000

Brandi Neilsen is a Speech-Language Pathologist for the Sound Beginnings Preschool Program. She has a deep passion for her profession–especially work with young children. She received her Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Utah State University with an emphasis in Auditory Learning and Spoken Language. Brandi spent two years as an SLP in the elementary program of Cache County School District. As a graduate student, she was heavily involved in the pilot year of the Sound Beginnings Program and is very excited to have returned as a member of the staff. Brandi and her husband Tim are raising two energetic children in Smithfield. She enjoys gardening, running, reading, and spending time with her family.

About Kathryn Carmina

kathryn — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:07:50 +0000

Kathryn is originally from Buffalo NY, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Buffalo State College. After graduating, Kathryn went on to receive her master degree in Deaf Education from Canisius College. Throughout under grad and her master program, Kathryn worked at St. Mary’s School for the Deaf playing many roles there. She worked in the after school recreation program, residential, and most recently began substitute teaching. Kathryn is very excited to start this new journey 1900 miles from home, and her first job as a teacher.

Back to School….Hooray!

alison — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:12:20 +0000

To kick the year off, we focused on a back to school theme, it was so much fun! We had lots of excitement including: driving in our big cardboard bus, taking turns to become the bus driver, exploring what was inside the backpack each day, making edible school buses using Twinkies and other goodies, making edible pencils, constructing our own individual buses and placing our friends pictures in the windows. We had so much fun, but we have now moved into our “All About Me” unit which is also filled with many fun-filled activities! More on that unit will soon follow! A special thank you to the amazing toddler parents for how hard you work with your children on reinforcing the vocabulary at home! It is so exciting to watch the language growth your little ones are experiencing. I feel so honored to get to work with you and your kiddos each week! Keep up the great work~!

September 2011

stacy — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 19:55:50 +0000

Students and staff our settling into the school routine and wonderful learning experiences are taking place. The morning consists of theme based classroom experiences and pull out therapy. In the afternoon, small group sessions, mainstream, music therapy, and centers take place throughout the week.

We are lucky to have several graduate students, volunteers, and work study employees contributing to our program. Look for a parent letter to come home soon that will introduce you to these individuals.

Unfortunately, one of our excellent teacher assistants, Jenny Plewe, is moving back to her home state of California. While we will miss her and are sad to see her go, we wish her all the luck in her new endeavors. As a result, we are looking to hire a new teacher assistant in the near future. We will keep you posted on this process.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to a fabulous fall season at Sound Beginnings!

Upcoming HOPE seminars

jeanette — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:13:17 +0000

Some of you may already be familiar with the free HOPE courses on the Cochlear website. They are designed for parents and professionals, cover a range of topics and feature experts in the fields of Audiology, Speech Pathology and Deaf Education . Most are 60 minutes ore less in length. I have enjoyed them and hope you will too.

Here’s the link to the upcoming events:

http://hope.cochlearamericas.com/workshops-events/2011-09

They also have an archive of audio and video recordings of previous events:

http://hope.cochlearamericas.com/online-courses

Hello!

jeanette — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:42:57 +0000

Hello Everyone!

Welcome back for a new school year! I think many of you know me (or at least my face) but I’ll make a quick introduction. I’m Jeanette Smoot and I’m the new SLP, but not new to Sound Beginnings. Much of my clinical practicum for my masters degree was completed here, so I’ve gotten to know several families and had a lot of fun working with your children. A parent recently pointed out that they wish they had a chance to meet all the grad students, not just the ones working directly with their child (we’re working on that). So, if at some point in the past two years, I’ve greeted your kid by name in the grocery store and you weren’t sure why…now you know.

This new blog is a great idea, but I have to say that I am new to the practice of blogging. However, I intend to use this page to:

Celebrate milestones
Document activities with pictures
Relate some of the hilarious things that your kids say
Post ideas and materials for home programs
Post links to other online parent resources

That’s the plan for now. It could and probably will evolve. If there are other uses you would suggest, please share!

Oh What Fun Things Are Done The Summertime?

janet — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:11:21 +0000

What ever it was I hope you had fun and had amazing experiences. I cannot wait to hear about all of the adventures. Starting September 6^th, If you have postcards or pictures from your vacation, please send them to school to share with the class. Please review 3-4 main points so your child feels prepared to share their adventures.

I am looking forward to this school year and here is to a great year!