The mission of Puzzle Piece Kids is to enhance the lives of children and teens by helping them find their voice and giving them the confidence to use it. PPK's speech therapy prepares children and teens to successfully participate within their home, school, and community.
Children learn so much from their parents and from conversations in general. Through talk, kids gain the confidence that they need to express themselves. This empowers them to go into the community and communicate with the different individuals that they come into contact with. The importance of talk can be communicated simply by leading by example. 
Talking with children allows for both parties to ENGAGE in conversation. Asking questions encourages back and forth conversations. 
Mesquite ISD will be introducing LENA Start to the Mesquite community in the summer of 2021! LENA Start focuses on the language development of a child by teaching and empowering parents to better communicate with their child.
To learn more about LENA Start, head over to www.readplaytalk.com
Be sure to follow us on our social media platforms for updates!
Facebook: @ReadPlayTalkInstagram: @ReadPlayTalkTwitter: @ReadPlayTalkTX

In episode 11, Jack and Lindsay talk with Daniel Norwood, Mesquite ISD social studies coordinator and member of the Leadership and Empowerment Team (LET), on how to talk to your kids about race and why those conversations are important. LET's goal is to knock down any racial-, cultural-, or gender-related obstacles to ensure students have the most equitable learning environments to become the leaders they want to be. Daniel also co-hosts The LET’s Talk Podcast.

Mesquite ISD’s Leadership and Empowerment Team
https://www.mesquiteisd.org/community/leadership-empowerment

10 Tips for Talk and Teaching Kids about Race
https://www.embracerace.org/resources/teaching-and-talking-to-kids

Recommendations from Mesquite ISD on books that promote equity

https://www.smore.com/fgk63-let-s-learn

What Are Mirrors and Windows? 

https://www.weareteachers.com/mirrors-and-windows/

So you want to talk about race? by Ijeoma Oluo
https://www.amazon.com/You-Want-Talk-About-Race/dp/1580056776

The LET’s Talk Podcast
https://www.podcasts.com/lets-talk--742250b63

In this episode Jack and Lindsay talk with Kelly Smith, a behavioral specialist for Mesquite ISD. Kelly is an expert on Love & Logic and claims that these principles and tricks can be used on all ages!

Hear Kelly Smith on The Witty & Gritty Podcast at the link below
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/episode-60-how-to-change-behavior-kelly-smith-soyb/id1469847778?i=1000486523579

Love and Logic main website
https://www.loveandlogic.com

Check the Mesquite ISD Community Ed website for future classes taught by Kelly Smith
https://www.communityedclasses.org/

The 3 Main Rules of Love & Logic

1. Take care of yourself

2. Share control by giving choices

3. Let the consequence of the choice teach the lesson

The 5-4-3-2-1 Method

Name 5 things you can see

In this episode Jack and Lindsay interview Dr. Audrey Robinson, a play therapist at Mesquite ISD’s Family Support Center. 

The Family Support Center is a resource center for all Mesquite ISD students and their families. It is a partnership with Texas A&M Commerce and Mesquite ISD. You can find more information about the Family Support Center at this website - https://www.mesquiteisd.org/resources-services/counseling-services/misd-family-support-center

“Play is the young child’s natural language.” - Dr. Audrey Robinson

“Play is often talked about as if it were relief from serious learning, but for kids it IS serious learning.” -Mr. Rogers

Dr. Robinsons recommends at least once a week for 30 minutes have a designated play team, and allow the child to lead during that time. 

“I think it’s really important for kids to be able to play by themselves… they don’t always need to be entertained by a TV, tablet, or a device, or a sibling or a parent. We need our kids to look inside themselves and be able to come up with ways to entertain themselves and then later on that play builds that skill of problem solving too.” -Dr. Audrey Robinson

“Playing doesn’t always equal out to something symbolic, even if it looks like that on the surface.” - Dr. Audrey Robinson

Three things that you can pay attention to when your child plays:

1. Repetition: How much your child is playing out a specific task or scenario over and over. 

2. Intensity: Notice when there are changes in the way that your child plays.

3. Context: Playing out a scenario similar to an experience that he/she has had. 

“Kids experience the same depth and complexity of emotions as we do, they just don’t always have the coping skills or the ways to talk it out like we do.” -Dr. Audrey Robinson

Audrey’s YouTube Video - The Power of Truly Seeing Your Child

In this episode, Jack and Lindsay interview Daniel Ruvalcaba, a LEP testing coordinator for Mesquite ISD. 

Here are some links and notes that might be helpful!

MISD 3 year-old PreK Program Enrollment and Info - https://www.mesquiteisd.org/academics/prek3
MISD 4 year-old PreK Program Enrollment and Info - https://www.mesquiteisd.org/academics/prek
MISD ESL/Bilingual Info - https://www.mesquiteisd.org/resources-services/bilingualesl-program

Why is PreK important? - http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/resources/policy-briefs/pre-k-matters

Tips for making virtual learning a positive experience - https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/08/06/covid-19-tips-parents-successful-online-learning-virtual-classes-zoom/3303918001/

School Supply Caddy Example - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88383211426029547/

Daily Declarations Video - https://www.facebook.com/readplaytalk/videos/676877733175697

ReadPlayTalk Social Media Accounts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readplaytalk
Instagram: @ReadPlayTalk
Twitter: @ReadPlayTalkTX

In this episode, Jack and Lindsay have a conversation about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected families, businesses, and the Mesquite community in general. These past few months have forced us to adapt, no doubt, but what if we could use these adaptations for our benefit? Listen to this episode to learn how we can still read, play, and talk at home during a global pandemic. 

www.readplaytalk.com

Resources mentioned in Episode 7:

Town East Mall Drive-In Movies - https://www.towneastmall.com/en/events/drive-in-movies.html
ReadPlayTalk Story Times - every second and fourth Wednesday at 11:00 AM on Facebook Live https://www.facebook.com/readplaytalk
Mesquite Reads - https://www.facebook.com/MesquiteReads/
Storyline Online - https://www.storylineonline.net/

Find updates from Mesquite ISD on the 2020-2021 school year here - https://www.mesquiteisd.org/school-basics/return-to-school-2020-21

In this episode, Jack and Lindsay talk with Mesquite ISD's Library Systems Manager, Emma McDonald, about the district's summer reading program, Mesquite Reads. This program offers so much more than logging minutes! Enjoy!

In this episode, we talk with Andrea Bailey, MISD's Coordinator for Elementary Language Arts and Reading, about how instruction has evolved in the classroom over the last several years. Andrea tells us about the MISD Design Team and the research they have done to help better teacher's instruction, which in turn helps students to be better prepared for the rest of their educational career and beyond!
She also gives us insight on how schools implementing community nights on their campuses have helped develop relationships with parents. 

In this episode, Jack and Lindsay explain what our ReadPlayTalk Community Partnerships look like and also highlight some of the businesses and organizations around the Mesquite community that support the initiative.