Ms Rachel: 100 First Words

Written by Ms Rachel (Ladybird)

Age 0-4

Teach your little ones their first 100 words with this bright board book from You Tube’s favourite teacher, Ms Rachel.

This engaging toddler book includes 100 words and visually stimulating photos for little ones to read, look at and learn. Researched and written by the YouTube star and educator Ms Rachel, fans will recognise familiar characters and gestures from their favourite videos.

The 100 intuitive and simple words and photos are set around the home, outdoors, playtime, food, vehicles and more. The familiar words and images help with recognition while the chunky pages mean little fingers can keep the pages turning.

With plenty of helpful tips and advice on speech development, it’s perfect for grown-ups looking for support about this important milestone in their child’s learning journey.

Who is Ms Rachel?

Ms. Rachel (Rachel Griffin Accurso) started her Songs for Littles series when she noticed her son had a significant speech delay. She battled to find media resoources for him, and decided to create her own.  As a preschool teacher and mother, she wanted to create a slow-paced, interactive show with a focus on language development that incorporated techniques from her son’s speech therapist, and thought it could help other children as well.

Watch her You Tube videos here. 

If you’re on the fence and don’t want your child to watch more screens, read this article on why Ms Rachel does what she doees – the high pitched voice and hand gestures all have a meaning. Ultimately, the message is to use her books and videos as tools – the best work comes from one-on-one time with your child. 

When to worry about delayed speech

Many years ago, when my middle daughter was slow to speak at age 18 months, I was concerned.  A little digging and we discovered she’d been having ear infections which we had never picked up on, as she never complained and was a very chilled baby. (I still feel bad about this!)  I took her to a speech therapist and so began weekly sessions of speech therapy for around a year.  Her hearing improved once we put in grommits and she began to pick up words, but it was a testing time, especially because I had just gone back to work and felt so guilty we hadn’t picked up on it immediately. 

I’m glad I listened to my instincts when many said, leave her, she’ll learn in her own time.  Of course some children do take their time to learn, and often when there’s an older sibling doing all the talking, they have less need to make themselves heard. If you are at all concerned, take them to a speech and hearing therapist and check out their hearing. This is a good article with an overview of what they should be able to say at their different milestones.

And remember, don’t panic, early intervention will set your child on the right path. My daughter caught up quickly and today she is a very chatty, eloquent young woman who won many Speech and Drama awards during school!