Edublog Awards-- It's Voting Time!!

If you missed the post on my Facebook page, Jenna over at Speech Room News nominated me for Best New Blog for the Edublog Awards.  I made it through to the "short list" and am in the voting rounds!

Now, this is where you all come in... I need your help!!

I am so honored to even just be considered for this nomination!  If you feel as though you find the ideas/information on this blog to be useful, I would be *SO* appreciative if you would take a minute to cast a vote for me here.  Voting is super easy! You'll just hit the "up" arrow right under the box with my blog name.

It will have you log in to List.ly to cast your vote using either Google+, Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.  After you log in, make sure to check the page again to see if your vote went through.  If the "up" arrow is blue, that means your vote has been cast!

While you're there, take a look around at the other categories and cast your vote for all the other SLP blogs out there, too.  You can vote for as many as you want, but you can only vote for each blog one time.

Sublime Speech has put together a blog post with a list of all the SLP blogs nominated for each category for easy reference.  Check that out here.  How awesome would it be if SLPs were in the top few in each category we were nominated in?!

A big thank you from the bottom of my heart goes out to all of you who read my blog!!  I never would have dreamed when I started this blog just 5 short months ago, that I'd be nominated for something like this! Another big thank you  goes out to those who have already or will be casting a vote in the Edublog awards! I appreciate you!

Birthday Giveaway!

My birthday was last Thursday (December 5), but I've been celebrating with different friends and family in different ways every day for the last 4-5 days! Tomorrow I'll be celebrating with a friend who couldn't celebrate with me last week, and that will be the last of the birthday celebrations... I didn't have anything birthday-related going on tonight, though, but I thought, "Why not keep going?"  No need for a "nothing" day when I could throw a giveaway! (Can you tell I love to celebrate my birthday?!).  So, check out the recent winter activities I've created and then enter the giveaway at the end of the post!

Up first.. a Winter Wonderland of Language! 

                                               

This one is a 40-page Winter-themed language packet geared towards PreK/K students.  It includes the following:

Basic Concepts cards for your Cariboo game-- includes concepts such as many/few, on top/under, fat/skinny, in front/behind, etc....

Frosty WH Questions (who, what, where, when, why)- includes extra blank cards as well as extra lose a turn/take another turn cards so it can be played as a game- whoever has the most snowmen at the end wins!

Hot Cocoa Categories: Sort the marshmallows onto 6 different cups of hot cocoa

Snowball Similarities & Differences: Cut out snowballs included. Place one item in one circle that the snowman is holding up, and from a field of 3-4 pictures, have students find the other snowball that goes with the item you presented. Students place the second snowball in the second circle on the snowman page, and tell how items go together and/or how they are different. 36 stimulus pictures (18 pairs) are included.

                                            

Penguin Pronouns: Feed the boy/girl penguins different fish with winter vocabulary pictures on them. Attach penguins to a brown bag or box of sorts, and cut out the dotted rectangle on their bellies. Have your students practice “He is eating a...." or “She is eating a.....” You could also use this as a receptive categorizing/pronoun task by having only select fish out at a time and giving instructions such as “Feed her something you wear.” and “Feed him something you eat.” Blank fish are also included.

Memory game with cute Christmas owls to play as a general reinforcer game!

..And, last but not least, lots of vocabulary activities! Dominos, Bingo, and Cariboo cards are all included in this packet.

You can find it in my TpT store here: 

The second one I just completed is a QR Code activity for Christmas called "Stuff the Stockings."  It works on inferencing and s-blends at the same time.  I used this during my observation with my SPED director, and he was really impressed with it!

It includes 42 inferencing cards with s-blend words as the answers. There are 6 cards for each blend (sm, sn, sp, st, sk, sl, sw). Also included are picture cards for each answer in case your students need choices, or to use as a variation on the game! (see below for suggestion)

Read the clues on each stocking to your students and have them guess what Santa stuffed in each stocking. After they guess, have students scan the QR code with any QR scanner app on a phone/iPod/iPad. A picture will come up, and your students will see whether or not they guessed correctly.

**NOTE: You will need WiFi for the QR codes to work**

Try these variations, too!

1. Have students pull the cards out of a hat or stocking first before handing them to you.

2. Use the printable pictures included of all the answers, and put them around the room or just on the table, etc… After the student guesses and checks his answer via scanning the QR code, have the student find the correct picture on the table and put it into a stocking before drawing another card.

You can find this activity in my TpT store here:

To enter to win a copy of each, enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

It's been a little while since I've done a Movin' Mondays post, but it's back and with a Christmas theme this time!

I was browsing Pinterest for some winter/Christmas therapy ideas and came across this pin: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/21040323233050339/  I loved the idea of decorating the tree for a therapy activity, so this activity was born!

It's just green bulletin board paper cut out in the shape of a tree, some different sized circle die cuts, and some Christmas light die cuts.  Pretty simple!  The circles are supposed to represent ornaments.  I just took small Velcro pieces and attached them to various parts of the tree, and then attached Velcro to the "ornaments" and lights.   I also attached small Velcro pieces to the fronts of some of the ornaments and lights, so I could put pictures on them.

In this picture, I attached pictures of some winter vocabulary words I've been working on with my prek kids. These are the Cariboo cards that are included in my recent winter language pack that's in my TpT store.   

In addition to vocabulary/picture naming, I can work on the following skills with this activity, as well:

*basic concepts (put an ornament at the top of the tree, at the bottom, in the middle of the tree, below a blue ornament, next to a light, etc...)

*categorization (i.e. "Put something you wear on a blue ornament" or "Put something you eat on a red ornament")

*object functions (they get to pick a picture to stick on a light or ornament, and have to tell me what you do with the object before placing it on the tree)

*WH questions ("What do you need to build a snowman?" "Where do you bake a gingerbread cookie?" etc...)

I can also target articulation with this activity, by using blank ornaments/lights as reinforcers (i.e. say your word 5x and then put up an ornament), or by letting them stick pictures of their speech words on ornaments and lights.  I've been using the pictures from Busy Bee Speech's "Don't Break the Ice" articulation card set (grab them in her TpT store here-- they're awesome!!) and they're the perfect size! Bonus-- I already have Velcro on them from attaching them to my ice blocks from my Don't Break the Ice game! I love when picture cards serve a dual purpose :)

This activity is pretty simple, but lets the kids stand up and move around a little bit (especially necessary this time of year with temps causing indoor recess!), and I love that I can easily address multiple goals in a group.  Even if you only used artic pictures, like the ones I mentioned above, you could target WH questions/functions/categories/concepts with those if you have a mixed artic/language group, and use those to decorate your lights and ornaments on the tree.  

Can you think of any other ways you might use this activity??

8 (More) Gift Ideas for the SLP!

Fact:  December is the best month out of the year. Not only does it mean Christmas and New Years, but it also means my birthday!! Woo hoo! :) I am always asked for a birthday and Christmas list for gift ideas, and this year, I started adding lots of SLP-related ideas to my wishlist.   I think it's fun when you can personalize a gift even more, so I would love any sort of gift having to do with my profession!  

That being said, I know there have been several other blog posts out there recently on gift ideas for the SLP, but I have had my eye on some different things that other people haven't listed, so I thought I'd throw out some new/different ideas that are on my wishlist, as well, in case you are looking for more ideas!

Up first..

1.  "It Takes A Big Heart To Shape Little Minds" Tumbler cup. By now, I'm sure you all have seen the "I help people communicate.  What's your super power?" tumbler cups.  From the same Etsy store comes this tumbler that I thought was just too cute! It'd be perfect for any SLP (or teacher!) working with the younger kids.  

2. Anne Taintor Sticky notes--(links here, here, and here) because work can get a little crazy and we all need a good laugh sometimes! And, we always need more sticky notes. Always. 

                                  

3.  "Lucky Me, I Get To Be Your SLP!" shirt.  I found this shirt back in the summer and fell in love.  I think it's super cute! I want to get it and wear it on our prek screening days :)

4.  "SPEECH" Plaque:  I've had this one on my wishlist for a while.  This would be a perfect little plaque to hang up in an office!

5.  Most schools/hospitals require you to wear an ID badge to work.  I prefer the ones that clip onto your pants, because I'm often times wearing a scarf or necklace around my neck already.  Many badges also serve as keyless entry into the building, so having a retractable badge reel is ideal! Get your favorite SLP a cute, stylish one like this one on Etsy:

6. Lanyards for keys--SLPs are frequently known as crazy bag ladies, and, sometimes, we (okay, I) have a hard time finding the car keys buried at the bottom of the bag! With a lanyard, it makes it easier to grab a hold of those keys while digging through the bubbles, files, toys, endless pages of laminated materials to be cut, etc... that always manage to bury our keys inside our bags. This Autism lanyard would be cute for someone who maybe specializes in that area or is very passionate about that particular area within our field! Or, for a more generic lanyard, check out these from Vera Bradley!

PS- I have a Vera Bradley one, and my husband *thoroughly* enjoys it when he takes my car and has to carry around a pink floral lanyard.. AKA he buries it in his pockets and hopes no one else sees it :)

7. Personalized Notepads- I received a personalized notepad set last year during teacher appreciation week from one of my former preschool parents that said "From the desk of Miss Kari" .. It's been one of my favorite gifts, and I get compliments on it whenever someone sees it!

8. Personalized Clipboards- These are SO fun! Who wants to carry around a boring old brown wooden clipboard when you could have something as fun as this?! SLPs are always on the go, and we do a LOT of assessments. Clipboards can help keep everything together while we're running around, and on days when it feels like we're drowning in paperwork, a cute clipboard to look at may be *just* the little boost we need to lift our spirits ;-)

What SLP-related items are on your wishlist this year??

PS- If you're looking for more ideas, check out these blog posts, as well:

*Speech Room News' 12 SLP Gift ideas (love her suggestion for iTunes cards (I got a TON last year for Christmas, and still haven't used up all the credit!), Starbucks gift cards, and children's books-- My in-laws go yard sale-ing all the time, and my mother in law always picks me up some good children's books when she sees them-- love getting new books for therapy!!)

*Sublime Speech's 10 Speech/Language Apps to Gift This Holiday Season- I love Danielle's unique twist on the gift giving idea... if you like the idea of helping your favorite SLP load up his/her iPad, but don't want to do something generic like an iTunes gift card, check out her post! Gifting apps is a great idea-- you just may have to be a little sneaky and do a little detective work to find out if they already have the app or not!

The SLP Guide to Black Friday

I'm pretty sure a love of shopping was programmed into my genetic makeup at birth. I get it from my dad, who probably enjoys shopping more than I do... My parents always used to go out at 4am on Black Friday when all of us kids were younger, in order to get the best deals on toys and games. I haven't done a ton of Black Friday shopping (mostly because I love sleep), but I have gone out the last two years.

Last year, my first stop was Walmart to get some nice sheets on sale, thinking everyone would be in electronics and it'd be easy to get them. False. I got elbowed in the face when they opened up the pallet, so I decided to just walk away.. An ER visit was not worth it for bed sheets!! My husband had gone with me to get some Coke, so we ended up checking out, on Black Friday, with only a 2 liter of soda.. Ha!

In most other places besides Walmart, the check out lines were the worst part of the stores.. I haven't had any bad encounters at any other store, but I've been to Walmarts in less populated areas that weren't crazy, either, so I guess it just depends on your area!

That being said, I think I might just stick to trying to do most of my Black Friday shopping online this time around.. But for those who are going out to the stores to shop, I saw a lot of good deals in the ads this year that could be useful for SLPs. I thought I'd highlight some of the most relevant deals being advertised at various stores this year!

1. Michaels:
-30 percent off die cut machines and accessories, plus $20-$25 Cricut cartridges--good for the crafty SLPs!

-50 percent off Creatology crafts, including sticker buckets - - could be used for some winter/Christmas-themed crafts you're making in the speech room! I love the sticker buckets!

-Photo boxes 5/$7 (regularly $4 each) - - Could be used as organization / storage for printable TpT materials!

Combine these deals with a 30 percent off your entire purchase coupon from their ad (or get it from the Michaels app on your phone) for even more savings!

2. Target
-$299 16gb iPad Mini, plus $75 Target gift card with any iPad mini purchase

-$100 Target gift card with any regular size iPad purchase

-$50 for $60 worth of iTunes cards (pack of four $15 cards)

-$5 Games: Hedbanz, Jenga, Connect 4

3. Toys R Us
-$3.99 Game: Chutes and Ladders

-$5 Games: Angry Birds Outer Space, Cooties, Connect 4 Launchers

-$8 Game: Hedbandz

-Playdoh 4-pk: $1 each

-Save $10 on iTunes gift card purchases of $50 or more

4. Walmart
-$4.88 Games: Don't Break The Ice, Chutes and Ladders, Candyland

-$14.77 for Apples to Apples (regularly $21.88)

5. KMart
-50 percent off Apples to Apples to go and Angry Birds

6.  Overstock.com
-$229 (39 percent off) for a Silhouette Cameo die cut machine + Vinyl Starter Kit + $25 + $10 download card

7. Walgreens
-$4.99 high heel tape dispenser--what girl doesn't need one of these?! :)

-$15 Walgreens gift card with the purchase of two $25 iTunes card

Are you braving the crowds this black Friday, or are you sticking to Cyber Monday?? Post some of your finds if you're shopping - - I love to hear about good deals!!

Apraxia Treatment (2nd in a 4 Part Series): Using Pivot Phrases in Therapy

Pivot phrases (or carrier phrases, depending on your preferred terminology) can be *so* beneficial in working with kids not only with apraxia, but with a lot of young language-delayed kids in general.  Pivot/carrier phrases are phrases where the one part of the phrase (i.e. the first two words) stay the same throughout the activity, but the last word changes.  Some examples are…

*I want ….

*I like ….

*I see ….

*Put on ….

*Take out ….

*Open ...

Carrier phrases are typically 2-3 words, and are great to implement when a child has obtained some consistent single word approximations, but isn’t yet combining multiple words together.  Using pivot/carrier phrases gives the child the opportunity for lots of repetitive practice in sequencing sounds and words together, which is key for motor learning! Carrier phrases allow you to work on the expressive language piece of communication (by combining multiple words together) while still working on successive approximations on the accuracy/clarity of the words produced.  

Let’s take the carrier phrase, “open ___,” as an example.  If a child is only producing single consonant or vowel sounds for words (i.e. produces “o” for “open”), you could facilitate a step up by working on VCV and CV approximations such as “o-pih” or “o-puh” while using it in a carrier phrase (i.e. “o-pih bah” for “open box” or “o-pih du” for “open juice.”).  This way, you’re still facilitating a higher level of motor speech production than what they are doing spontaneously (but not too high a level where they can’t be successful), while still encouraging and facilitating the use of multiple word combinations.  

Carrier phrases are also great because they’re predictable.  They reduce the “linguistic load,” so the child doesn’t have to think as much about what they are going to say.  Sequencing is such a challenge for kids with apraxia, especially those just starting their journey in speech therapy, so anything that can help it become more automatic, from my experience, seems to help a ton!

In addition to kids with apraxia, I’ve found that carrier phrases work really well with preschoolers who have language delays and aren’t combining many words together.  Carrier phrases are predictable, making it easier for the kids to “catch on” to what I’m expecting them to do, and they start using the 2-3 word combinations more consistently with less cuing/modeling from me!

Some of the ways I incorporate these into activities in speech:

*Playing “Memory” with speech cards (“I got ___” or “I see __”)- I typically have two sets of words they’re working on (i.e. VCV or CVCV words, etc…) and use those as the target words.

*Go Fish with speech cards (“You have ___?”)

*Looking at books:  Books with repetitive, predictable text like Eric Carle’s “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” are great for using carrier phrases (“I see a…”), but really, any book can work! You can flip through the pages and use the carrier phrase “I see ___”) to point out different pictures you see on each page.  

*Mr Potato Head: I might have them use “I want” to tell me the different parts they want, i.e. “I want hat” or “I want eyes.”  I might also use “put on” to have them tell me they want to “put on hat” or “put on feet.”  Another one you could use is “___ go on” like “hat go on” or “nose go on.”

*Beanbags! I’m not sure if I’ve professed my love of beanbags enough, but they are seriously amazing.  Bubbles and beanbags are two of my kids’ favorite things!  With beanbags, we might throw them onto pictures of their speech words and use the phrase “Bag on ___” to name and practice the word their beanbags land on.

*Candyland- A lot of my little ones are working on learning their colors in the classroom.  With Candyland, I can reinforce those concepts, use some color words as targeted words for motor speech practice, and use pivot phrases like “I got (color)” for every card they draw.

*Putting toys in or on something...anything, really! For instance, using a farm set and saying “(farm animal) go in” when they’re going in the barn… or cooking pretend food with a kitchen set (“(food) in pan” or “(food) on plate”)... so many possibilities in play!  “In” “On” and “Out” are easy words to incorporate into carrier phrases, and are great for targeting final consonants, too! :)

*Any sort of “I Spy,” Flashlight game, or sensory tub activity where pictures or objects are hidden in a tub of sand/corn/etc…  “I found” or “I see” are great carrier phrases to use with these types of activities!

What are some of your go-to activities in using pivot phrases during your therapy sessions? I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Gobble Till Ya Wobble! Paint Chip Turkeys in the speech room!

There's tons of paint chip crafts all over Pinterest.. You can do SO many things with paint samples, and the best part-- they're F-R-E-E at your local hardware store! 

One of the crafts I've done with them the last few years is make paint chip turkeys in the speech room. It's super simple but super cute!

I use this with my artic kiddos mostly, but you could adapt it to work on a lot of other goals! I went to Lowe's and grabbed a bunch of fall-colored paint chip samples and cut them in half vertically to make the feathers.  The turkey bodies are just brown construction paper cut into circles via large and small circle die cuts from our teacher workroom.  

For every word they practice, I write it down on a paint chip and they get to glue it onto the turkey's body.  Simple as that!

Some other ways to use the turkeys...

*Have each turkey body be a category, and then as students name items in that category, write each one down on a feather.  Glue feathers on the body, and voila! Category turkeys!

*Use longer paint chip sample strips and glue on pictures of their speech or vocab words as they practice

*Use with EET- Write down the item you want your students to describe (i.e. "turkey" or "Thanksgiving") on the turkey body.  Have your students describe the item, and each part they describe gets written on a feather for them to glue on.

Have you made any crafts with paint chips? How else could you use these paint chip turkeys? I'd love to hear your ideas!