Speech Trading Post

Some of us bloggers got together to do a Speech Trading Post (shout out to the ladies of Sounds Like Fun for coming up with the idea!) where we swapped materials and used them in our therapy sessions.

I got the chance to take Angela & Kim from Speech Trading Post's "Bugs & Slugs" pack for a test drive.  I spend several weeks doing bug-themed activities, so I was excited to try this out because it involves MINIMAL prep, and I was even MORE excited that some of it was a no-print/no-prep option! (Because with 30+ kindergarten transition meetings on top of all the annuals and evals this time of year-- Ain't nobody got time for prep!).

The no-print portion of the packet can be used in iBooks on the iPad, so it's easy to pull up whenever you need it! It is a very colorful mini book highlighting a different bug on each page/slide with fun facts about the bugs.  It definitely grabs the kids' attention because of the vibrant colors, and you're incorporating some non-fiction work into therapy, too-- win win!

Cute bugs and WH questions-- yes, please!  Great way to work on comprehension.  Angela & Kim have a page included with comprehension questions they came up with, or you can use your own. With younger kids, you can ask questions as you go along, asking comprehension questions as you read, but with older kids, you could wait until the whole slide is read, or after several slides are read.

Another feature of the packet I loved targeted basic concepts & following directions.  If you have younger students, you probably work on following directions and spatial concepts quite often. 

This activity is played like Simon Says, but "Queen Bee" says directions instead of Simon :)  This activity can be easily adapted to be more simple, and played without the "Simon Says" component to just work on spatial concepts (Put the bee below the jar;  Put the dragonfly in the jar), but if you need to add a twist to make it a little more challenging, "Queen Bee says" is where it's at :)  I liked that there was just 1 page of bugs to cut out and the jars were just in easy rectangles for cutting out.  Hardly any prep time involved!

The other thing I really liked about this packet was the roll & color page. I forgot to take a picture of a finished, colored page, but you can see what it looks like below!

I love open-ended activities because I can use them with a variety of goals.  I have some kids that LOVE coloring and others who love anything competitive-- so for some, we just colored, and with others, in groups, we saw who could get all the bugs colored the fastest!

Kim & Angela are graciously letting me give away this pack to another lucky follower, and I'm throwing in my Spring Print & Go Packet into the giveaway, too. Two packs that cover a variety of goals with minimal to no-prep options-- you can't go wrong there!!  To enter to win, head over to Instagram and comment on the giveaway post with your email for a chance to win. A winner will be chosen at random on Sunday evening.