The Twelve Days of Christmas: Pittsburgh Style

The following is a modification of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" I wrote, to be focused on Pittsburgh.  Songs can be helpful for the pediatric population to increase socialization.

On the first day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

8 Pirates winning

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

9 doctors helping

8 Pirates winning

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

10 professors teaching

9 doctors helping

8 Pirates winning

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

11 boats a-floating

10 professors teaching

9 doctors helping

8 Pirates winning

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas

Pittsburgh gave to me:

12 Heinz pickles

11 boats a-floating

10 professors teaching

9 doctors helping

8 Pirates winning

7 Penguins skating

6 bankers banking

5 O hot dogs

4 Primanti sandwiches

3 rivers flowing

2 terrible towels

and a partridge in a pear tree.

/dʒ/ in the initial position (/dʒ/ as in "juice," "joke" and "jam"; the letter "J" makes the /dʒ/ sound)

Practice the /dʒ/ sound with these words....

"juice,"...

 "jug" and ...

"jelly" or "jam"...and also "jar."

To practice phrases, have your child name what kinds of juice she sees while walking down the aisle.  Giant Eagle Market District has an entire aisle dedicated to juice, so there is a lot of opportunity for practice.  Labels can include kinds of juice like "apple juice" and "grape juice," or name brands like "Juicy Juice" and "Welch's juice."

To practice sentences, you can ask your child questions about juice.  For example, "Which juice is in the biggest bottle?"  The target may be, "The apple juice is in the biggest bottle."  "Which juice is the reddest?"  The target may be, "Tomato juice is the reddest."  For older children, you may ask "Which juice is the most expensive?"  Another task is to ask your child what foods go well with jelly.  Targets may include "peanut butter and jelly," "toast and jelly," and "jelly donuts."  To extend practice on /dʒ/, have your child point out which jars are jam, and which are jelly.  This will likely work best for child that can read, or who are familiar with sight words (you can pre-teach sight words at home). 

To practice conversation, try asking your child what other items come in jugs besides juice.  Targets may include, "Milk comes in jugs.  The big milk jugs are so heavy!  Water comes in jugs."  To extend practice on /dʒ/ look for jugs and have your child say "jug" every time she sees one.  If you look carefully, you will likely find jugs of ice tea, shampoo, rock salt, etc.

The /dʒ/ sound can be hard to explain to someone how to produce.  It is really a combination of two sounds, /d/ as in "dog" and /ʒ/ as in "genre" or "treasure."  It might be easiest to practice making the /d/ sound, then the /ʒ/ sound; then, make one after the other until they flow seamlessly together.  Touch cues are helpful for the /d/ sound.  Show your child how one's tongue taps the roof of the mouth behind the teeth.  This may require some pre-teaching at home before you go to the store.  You two can practice in front of a mirror.  You can also use your finger to tap the ridge behind her teeth (known as the alveolar ridge) where her tongue should be.  /ʒ/ is a little more complicated of a sound to explain, generally because it is not a common sound in English.  A friend from graduate school, LH, provided me with these tips based on an adaptation she made from a publication (see reference below): Round your lips; flatten your cheeks; then, "slush" air out between your teeth; then turn your voice "on."  I was very skeptical about these instructions, but they really work! 

If this technique doesn't work, try instructing your child to make the /dʒ/ sound in this way: Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, round your lips, let air blow out, turn on your voice.

Secord, W.  (1981).  Eliciting Sounds, Techniques for Clinicians.  Charles E Merrill Publishing Co.: Columbus.

/h/ in the initial position

Practice the /h/ sound with these words:

"hot dog,"

"ham" and ...

"hot bar."

To practice phrases, ask your child what toppings she likes with her hot dogs.  Targets may include, "Hot dogs with ketchup" or "Fries with hot dogs."

To practice sentences, walk around the hot bar area and ask her what she smells.  Answers should be in sentence form, using the word "hot" or "hot bar."  It's all right to directly instruct your child to do so.  Targets may include, "I smell hot wings," and "I smell soup at the hot bar."  You may keep this task going by continuing to ask, "What else do you smell?"  The sentence structure may stay the same, "I smell _____."

To practice sentences, ask her what other foods she thinks Giant Eagle should sell at the hot bar.  Answers may include, "I think they should sell tacos at the hot bar.  And more soups at the hot bar.  I also want hamburgers."  For older children, a conversation task may include looking at the different hot dogs or hams and discussing which are the best values.

/h/ is another fun sound to make.  Cue your child to sigh, or laugh with a "ha."  Make sure to highlight that the mouth is all the way open.  You can even make a game out of it by seeing how wide you can open your mouths (or how loud you can say "ha").  For more specific instruction, tell your child to take a deep breath, then let the air out.  Have her hold her hand in front of her mouth to feel the air.  Show her on yourself, and let her feel your breath as you exhale.

Mini-poll: What other foods should Giant Eagle offer at the hot bar?  Post below!

/z/ in the initial position

Practice the /z/ sound with this word:

"zucchini."

To practice phrases, have your child describe zucchini.  This is an especially good task for child-directed therapy because this may be a food item that your child is unfamiliar with, so she can really explore.  Targets may include "long zucchini," "green zucchini" or "organic zucchini" for the precocious!

To practice sentences, ask you child if she would ever eat zucchini and why.  Targets may include, "I would not eat zucchini.  It looks yucky," or "Zucchini look like cucumbers.  I would eat zucchini."  Another option is to ask your child what rhymes with zucchini, just try not to get tongue-tied!  Targets may include, "Teeny rhymes with zucchini."  The key is to elicit sentences that include the word zucchini.

So how can we have a conversation about zucchini?  Try comparing it to other vegetables.  If your child has never tasted it, ask her what she thinks it might taste like.  For the really ambitious, ask your child what foods could be made with zucchini.  When I was young my parents had a zucchini cookbook, so I could have told you all about zucchini bread, zucchini bread and grilled zucchini!

The /z/ sound can be a fun one to teach.  For a quick tip, tell your child to make the sound a bee makes, "zzzzzz."  You may even want to prolong the /z/ sound in a word to highlight it, as in "zzzzzzzucchini" or "zzzzzipper"  For more serious instruction, explain the sound in this way: "Put your teeth together.  Put your tongue behind your teeth.  Blow."  Have your child put her hand in front of her mouth so that she can feel the air coming out.  To differentiate /s/ and /z/, have your child feel her throat.  She should be able to feel the vibration in her throat for /z/.

What other /z/ words can you think that are found at Giant Eagle?  Post below!  Looking back, I could have chosen zipper, Ziplock, or ziti.  I did try for "Zest" soap, but couldn't find any.  (I remember the jingle from my childhood: "You're not fully clean until you're Zest-fully clean!")

/ʃ/ in the initial position; "sh" as in "shoe," "shirt" and "show"

Practice the "sh" sound with these words:

"shopping cart," and...

"sherbet."

To practice phrases, label the different shopping carts.  Examples may include "big shopping cart," "little shopping cart," "black shopping cart," or "racing car shopping cart."

To practice sentences, ask your child what is in your shopping cart as you are shopping.  Targets may include, "Milk is in our shopping cart," or "Our shopping cart has ice cream."

To practice conversation, ask your child what you need to put in your shopping cart (i.e. what you need to shop for).  Targets may include "We need fruit in our shopping cart.  We also need vegetables.  We need juice in our shopping cart, too.  Don't forget to put bread in the shopping cart."  A variation is to ask your child what she thinks others are shopping for.  Targets may include, "I think she is shopping for a party.  She has cake and plates in her shopping cart.  Her shopping cart is full."

An easy way to cue for the /sh/ sound is to have your child say, "Shhhhh," as if she is 'shushing' someone.  If this doesn't work, then more formal instruction may be needed.  You may even want to prolong the /sh/ sound in a word to highlight it, as in "shhhhhherbet."  For more serious instruction, explain the sound in this way: "Put your teeth together.  Round your lips.  Put your tongue behind your teeth.  Blow."  Have your child put her hand in front of her mouth so that she can feel the air coming out.  Often times the /s/ and /sh/ sounds get blurred.  If your child is making a /s/ instead of a /sh/, this means the tongue should be positioned further back in the mouth (think roof of the mouth rather than behind the teeth).  If needed, you can use a tongue depressor or a spoon to gently push your child's tongue back.  Have her blow, and she should hear the difference.

/s/ in the initial position

Practice /s/ with these words:

"soda,"...

"soup,"...

 and "cereal."

To practice phrases, have your child identify the items.  Targets may include, "orange soda," "chicken noodle soup," and "Cheerios cereal."  I recommend spending a lot of time down these aisles, because there are so many products to label - you can really get a lot of practice.  Make the task more fun by taking turns labeling items (when you do it, you will be modeling the sound for your child).  Also, try seeing who can label the most items.  This is task can be done week after week, so your child can try to beat her high score.

To practice sentences, ask you child why she likes soda.  Targets may be as simple as "Soda tastes good," or a little more advanced like, "Soda tastes sweet," or "I like the bubbles in soda."

To practice conversation, you and your child may like to compare and contrast cereals.  For example, discuss the difference between Lucky Charms and Cheerios (unhealthy versus healthy food or the merits of leprechauns versus bees).  You can lead any discussion you want, just make sure to target the /s/ sound in as many sentences as possible.  I tend to ask questions that I think will elicit the target sound.  For example, I might ask, "How do we eat those cereals?"  The target would be "We eat those cereals with a spoon.  And a bowl.  We always put milk in the cereal."

The /s/ sound can be a fun one to teach.  For a quick tip, tell your child to make the sound a snake makes, "ssssss."  You may even want to prolong the /s/ sound in a word to highlight it, as in "ssssssoup."  For more serious instruction, explain the sound in this way: "Put your teeth together.  Put your tongue behind your teeth.  Blow."  Have your child put her hand in front of her mouth so that she can feel the air coming out.

/t/ in the initial position

Practice the /t/ sound with these words:

"toilet paper" or "toilet tissue" and...

"tea."

To practice phrases, ask your child what you might find at a tea party.  Targets may include, "spoons and teabags," "teapot and teacups."

To practice sentences, ask your child what kinds of tea she sees.  Just looking at the pictures on the box can help identify teas.  Targets may include, "I see lemon tea," and "I see tea in a green box."  For little ones that grew up with tea parties, ask them what they like in their tea.  Targets may include, "I like sugar in my tea," or "I like honey in my tea."

To practice conversation, ask your child what toilet paper can be used for besides wiping our bottoms.  I bet you will hear some funny answers!  This sort of task creates interest for the child because it is not simply drilling a sound over and over.  It also has the added bonus of stimulating abstract reasoning.  Targets may include, "Toilet paper can be used to wipe your nose," "Toilet paper can be used to dry our hands," or "Toilet paper can be used to make wedding gowns."  For the latter, check out this link on wedding dresses made out of toilet paper: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/06/toilet-paper-wedding-dress_n_3398520.html).  You can look at the pictures with your child, and can talk about the gowns/toilet paper together at home which will lead to even more practice for the /t/ sound.

Touch cues are helpful for the /t/ sound.  Show your child how one's tongue taps the roof of the mouth behind the teeth.  This may require some pre-teaching at home before you go to the store.  You two can practice in front of a mirror.  You can also use your finger to tap the ridge behind her teeth (known as the alveolar ridge) where her tongue should be.  A good cue is, "Tap your tongue." 

A Pittsburgh nursery rhyme

I wrote this Pittsburgh-themed nursery rhyme for Pittsburghers young and old.  Nursery rhymes are helpful for the pediatric population because they promote early literacy. 

10 little panthers escaped from Pittsburgh Zoo,

Went into the city, to them it was all new.

They ran up and down the streets and the mayor said,

“All you panthers, go back to bed!”

9 little panthers, roaming in the dark,

Went to play baseball, at PNC Park.

They tossed the ball ‘til the umpire yelled,

“Get off the field, or you’ll all be expelled!”

8 little panthers, took the Duquesne Incline,

Going to Mt. Washington, to check out the skyline.

They pushed and they shoved while trying to see,

The conductor “tsk-ed tsk-ed” and said “Woe is me!”

7 little panthers, went to shop on Walnut Street,

Thought they’d buy shoes, to wear upon their feet.

Their paws were all sticky, their claws were a mess,

The manager cried, “I’m in such distress!”

6 little panthers started across Smithfield Bridge,

They decided to be daredevils and walked along the ledge.

Wanting to show off, they all took a dive,

The policeman shouted, “You’re lucky to be alive!”

5 little panthers strode into the Carnegie Museum,

They heard that there were paintings, and wanted to go see ‘em.

But the panthers got tired, they slept and they snored,

The curator nudged them, but him they ignored.

4 little panthers went to the Benedum Center,

They paid their admission and were permitted to enter.

They sang and they danced, they swung from chandeliers,

Called the opera singer, “Let’s give them three cheers!”

3 little panthers, walked over to the O,

They wanted a snack they could eat on the go.

Gobbling hot dogs and French fries and pizzas and more,

The cook screamed, “Get out, or I’ll show you the door!”

Two little panthers found a classroom at Pitt,

They wanted to learn, so they stayed just a bit.

They studied, took notes, gave the professor a look,

He joked, “You’re so smart, get out your checkbook!”

One little panther, alone on the bus,

Missing his siblings, he started to fuss.

He bought a transfer, got onto the T,

He went back home, to his family.

His brothers and sisters, his parents, too,

Welcomed him home, back at the zoo.

The zookeeper smiled, then shook his head,

“All you panthers, go back to bed!”