With scissors and glue in hand, a dedicated group of primary teachers dove into a “Make and Take” session on Jan.12. After a CI Day presentation on phonological awareness, teachers were provided with the materials to make activities to develop and reinforce these skills with their students. The highlight of the evening was the Tom Turtle puppet. Tom, being a turtle, speaks very slowly and when he speaks to the children they need to blend the sounds they hear in order to understand what he is saying.  Children become such experts in deciphering “turtle talk” that they are able to teach the baby turtles (another set of puppets made that evening) to speak. Thus oral blending and segmenting skills are reinforced in a fun activity, ensuring students have the prerequisite skills for early literacy. Click on Thumbnails ... Tom Turtle