Author

Did you know that you can begin to talk and interact with your child as early as birth?

If you did, then you’re on the right track to getting your child ready for the infant, toddler, and preschool years. If you didn’t, Talk, Play, and Read with Me Mommy will provide you and your child with many stimulating activities and games that are developmentally appropriate and designed to help enhance your child’s speech and language skills.

About the Author

Author
Jo Ann Gramlich is an award-winning author and speech-language pathologist who provides evaluation and remediation services for children with communication disorders in early intervention and preschool programs at Pediatric Educational and Diagnostic Services-ECMC, Buffalo, New York. She has worked for the Buffalo Public School District of Western New York where she provided speech-language therapy for elementary and middle school-aged children. She holds a Master of Science degree in Speech -Language Pathology from the State University of New York College at Buffalo.

In addition, Jo Ann presents and speaks at both parent and parent educator trainings, group workshops, organizational and community events, and state conferences.  This allows her the opportunity to connect with parents, caregivers, educators, and professionals from various agencies to help bring awareness of the importance of early intervention and language development for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

Aside from Talk, Play, And Read With Me Mommy: Interactive Activities to Enhance Your Child’s Language Development From Birth to Age Five, Talk, Play, And Read With Me Daddy, and Talk, Play, And Read With Me Mommy Interactive eBook, she has also published parenting articles titled Getting Your Child Ready for School Begins at Birth, Peer Helpers, Talking to Your Children, and Baby Talk (Helping Your Child Learn and Use Language), in prominent family magazines

Fun and Educational Resources to Help Enhance your

 Child’s Language Development

Jo Ann Gramlich has worked as a children’s speech-language pathologist for almost 30 years!!  She enjoys working and interacting with children and providing speech-language therapy for little ones with communication delays and disorders.  She uses her optimistic nature to empower them to be confident in their own voice so they can be heard and recognized out in the world. It all begins by Jo Ann, a.k.a. Miss JoJo, teaching and helping children to tap into their imagination and skillful mind.  She feels her philosophy of making learning fun and educational will bring out the best in children and help them explore their own creative abilities during the early years and beyond.

pic of me 9-25-21

Children have brought so much joy into her life and she feels that she is naturally in tune with them. She really gets a big kick out of kids and is able to easily develop fun and loving relationships with children of all ages. Children remind her of little big people with lots of responsibilities. She never minimizes the work of a child because they have so much to learn and at the same time are teaching Jo Ann indirectly about herself each day during daily interactions and encounters. She feels a child’s job of going to preschool or elementary school is like her job of going to work. For example, children are responsible for learning pre-academic skills such as letter recognition, numbers, shapes, colors, and so much more. Sometimes people think their life is so easy, but it really isn’t. Even though they get to learn in an environment that is childlike, it doesn’t mean it isn’t hard or challenging. Children have the same emotions that adults have and she thinks some people forget that or take it for granted. She really does have a passion for children and that has led Jo Ann to her career choice as a children’s speech-language pathologist and her business, https://www.talkplayandread.com

Talk, Play, And Read was inspired because of her personal passion for helping children learn and achieve.  She is an award-winning author of Talk, Play, And Read with Me Mommy and Talk, Play, And Read With Me Daddy interactive activity books.  Her other book title includes Talk, Play, And Read With Me Mommy Interactive eBook for iPad and tablet users.  Her books not only guide parents, caregivers, and educators, but also provide many stimulating activities and games that are developmentally appropriate and designed to help enhance children’s language skills during the early years.

Jo Ann also presents and speaks at both parent and parent educator trainings, group workshops, conferences, organizational and community events, and online virtual events both in the USA and internationally to help bring awareness of the importance of early intervention and language development for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.  In addition, Jo Ann writes blog articles using evidence-based research and materials that support topics related to children’s language development on her website https://www.talkplayandread.com

Jo Ann Gramlich is the founder and creator of Talkplayandread .com.  Her business came to life while working with children in the public schools and early intervention and preschool programs.  She finds that the main concern parents or caregivers have when she is working with their little ones is “how can I get my child to talk.”  Early intervention is so important and provides education, support, and guidance for parents and caregivers.  Early intervention can have such a significant impact on a child’s development.  Jo Ann decided to do some research and thought she could come up with fun and educational resources that parents, caregivers, and educators could benefit from during the important period of birth to five years of age.

Not only was she working with toddlers and preschoolers, but school age children as well.  She saw that a lot of her student’s speech and language skills were significantly delayed just as they were beginning kindergarten.  So, what better way than to support parents, caregivers, and educators by creating fun and educational resources with easy access to engaging activities along with evidence-based strategies to aid in helping infants, toddlers, and preschoolers learn and use language during the early years.  She knew the activities would not only target communication skills, but also improve children’s social and emotional development as well.   Jo Ann’s books would help parents learn how to expand and build on their child’s language skills during daily routines within the home where a majority of the learning opportunities take place for children under the age of five.  Additionally, the books include outdoor activities and can be used when on the go with little ones.  Parents would be able to provide the necessary language models on a daily basis that children need in order to develop language and communicate more effectively.  Special bonding moments would naturally take place through the fun, educational, and creative interactive activities.

“Play is the work of a child,” so let’s make it fun and educational at the same time!!  For example, activities such as “Take a Walk with Me, Searching for Shapes, Hunting for Colors,” or “Jump in the Puddle,” are fun activities that are developmentally appropriate and allow children to use their senses to understand the world around them.  By stimulating their senses, we can provide learning experiences that increase children’s opportunities to communicate what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch and at the same time let them learn how to use and understand language.

“Our world is made up of shapes, colors, nature, animals and so much more. Why not introduce these topics and concepts to children at a young age while incorporating strategies and techniques to help them build on their language skills?”  Many learning opportunities are available for children to experience and we need to take advantage of them during the early years in order to get children ready for school.  The bottom line is that getting a child ready for school begins as early as birth. 

Jo Ann says that Talk, Play, and Read has a very clear and user-friendly message or theme. It takes neuroscience studies about brain development in young children and simplifies it to an easy message every single parent, caregiver, or professional can understand in order to support a child’s early development. Simply put, talk, play and read with your child every day. https://www.talkplayandread.com/getting-your-child-ready-for-school-begins-at-birth/

Talking, playing and reading with children everyday helps with brain development, self-esteem and vocabulary which is a key predictor of a child’s ability to succeed in school.  School success leads to positive outcomes within our community including greater high school graduation rates and more skilled and contributing citizens (The Family Conservancy).

As far as business market challenges and opportunities, Jo Ann feels as though the business journey is a process.  “You have to stay educated and updated by being aware of current market trends as your business grows.  What might have been popular strategies a year or two ago may have become outdated or obsolete due to current trends.”  Marketing strategies are always changing so it’s important to network, build relationships, and connect with others to learn new approaches and ideas in order to keep your business moving forward.  For example, during the pandemic trends turned more towards virtual and digital learning.  We can now network globally with people in various countries around the world because of digital learning opportunities.  Virtual business building is also a popular marketing trend these days.  It allows you to add your business content to an online platform and launch your courses and classes. It can be delivered via Zoom, Google Meets or Microsoft Teams.  This kind of online course has exploded over the last few years and continues to grow in a positive direction.   Jo Ann has an online course called Let’s Talk, Play And Read and she is currently working on a few more online courses with the guidance from a business mentor who is coaching her through the process. Also, she is networking and collaborating with a marketing consultant to help her maximize connections on social media platforms.  In addition, Jo Ann has been asked to be a guest speaker and presenter as part of a live webinar with a focus on helping children with special needs in order to support and educate professional communities.   These online platforms allow Jo Ann to engage with professionals globally while continuing her mission of sharing her knowledge and wisdom as a children’s speech-language pathologist to help and inspire parents, caregivers, educators, and children from around the world.  As she mentioned earlier, growing a business is a process and taking the time to understand your target market and audience is key. You will have to do some research on what is happening in your area of expertise, but it will be worth the time and effort.

girl with daddy book J Gramlich new photo

My advice to others about business can be summed up in one word and the word is “Passion.”  The life lesson here is to find your passion and listen to your own inner thoughts and voice because it will empower you to move forward during difficult times and in directions that you never thought were tangible or possible.  Avoid negative distracting thoughts from others while venturing out on your journey and remember that obstacles are a part of life and help us discover more about ourselves and others.  Your passion will not only lead you to make conscious decisions and life choices but empower you to make a footprint in the world and experience things you never dreamed of.  It will permit you to develop relationships with people from all around the world who believe in you, your business, and your dreams.  You can cultivate your passion by participating in business activities that spark your imagination along with partaking in fun and exciting adventures while simultaneously interacting with others.  Creativity can become a big part of your nature and keep you balanced, grounded, and happy.  We all need to strive to become better so, why not find your passion and make a grand mark on the world around you.

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