Valentine’s Day Speech Therapy Ideas Using “Love Monster and the Last Chocolate” Plus a FREEBIE

If you love using books in your speech therapy sessions, then you will LOVE this Valentine’s Day FREEBIE. I’ve included Amazon Affiliate Links in this post if you would like to add these books to your therapy library. Several of the elementary teachers on my campus read Love Monster by Rachel Bright to their students and follow up with craft and writing activities. So instead of using the same book (which I absolutely adore), I follow up with Love Monster and the Last Chocolate. With themes of friendship, worry, compassion, and sharing, this book provides opportunities to address all your student’s  IEP goals with just one book. By including extension activities, you can easily stretch this book to 2 or 3 weeks of therapy. Now you have your entire month of February covered with just one book!  I’ve used this book with students in PreK through 5th grade targeting both speech and language skills. Here are a few ideas on how you can use Love Monster and the Last Chocolate during the month of February.

My Favorite Preschool Winter Songs

 Music and movement can be used to introduce young children to thematic units; link literacy, art, and movement; and create home to school connections. In a previous post, I shared my favorite preschool songs for following directions. In another post, I shared my favorite picture books for young children about winter clothing.

How I Use a Mini-Visual Schedule for Push-In Speech Therapy

Push-in speech therapy in the preschool classroom can be a little scary at first. After all, you are walking into someone else's classroom twice a week and teaching a lesson in their classroom.  I admit, working with three and four year old students can be exhausting and rewarding at the same time. These little ones make me smile and laugh everyday. They really do feed my soul. As speech-language pathologists, we know that preschoolers learn through playing, singing, moving, creating, and exploring the world around them. By asking questions, and building relationships with others, they develop the skills necessary to be successful in  school and at home. When I push into the classroom for preschool therapy, I am able to see how they function in their real life. Sometimes, I like to walk in a little early or stay after my lesson just so I can observe my speech students in their natural environment.

In this post, I want to share how I create and use a mini-visual schedule to structure my speech therapy sessions in an inclusive preschool classroom. The visual schedule provides my students with a routine and clear expectations. The speech schedule provides the support they need to know what is happening, what's coming next, and a means to stay engaged in activities. 

3 Ways to Target Core Vocabulary with Dino Fine Motor Toy

Preschoolers love dinosaurs! Whether it's a dinosaur book, game, movie, or plastic egg with a toy dinosaur inside, preschoolers love learning about and playing with dinosaurs. They are fascinating, fun, and can be played with year-round. I found this Dino Fine Motor Toy  on Amazon, and immediately thought this would be a fun toy to target Core Vocabulary throughout the year with my preschool students in speech therapy.  This toy helps preschoolers develop fine motor skills by grasping the small spikes and placing in the dinosaur. They  also learn colors, quantity concepts, and problem-solving skills through play. In this post, I want to share with you 3 ways you can target core vocabulary using the Dino Fine Motor Toy. 

My Favorite Preschool Songs for Following Directions

From their earliest interactions with caregivers, infants and toddlers enjoy cooperation and turn-taking activities. Early turn-taking games, songs, and finger plays, such as: "Patty-Cake." "Where is Thumbkin?," and "Open, Shut Them," establish the foundations for following directions and social interaction. It is important that infants and toddlers are engaged in playful learning with copycat games. They learn how to listen, attend to speakers, imitate actions, expand vocabulary, and share joint attention. 

How I Use "Chrysanthemum" By Kevin Henke in Mixed Speech Therapy Groups

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henke is an uplifting story a about starting back-to-school and learning to love and accept yourself regardless of what your peers think or say. In this post, I will share how I use Chrysanthemum in my mixed speech and language therapy groups to target multiple goals. 

3 Ways I Use My Movement Dice in Speech Therapy

I LOVE a good Dollar Tree haul. I found these foam dry erase dice and immediately thought of the endless possibilities for my preschool and elementary students. I needed an activity that would engage all my students, and could be adapted to target several different goals. I also wanted a go-to activity that could be adapted and repeated throughout the year. In this post I am going to share with you 3 different ways I use my movement dice in speech therapy.

6 Picture Books About Winter Clothes for Speech Therapy

Winter is here! that means cold days, comfy slippers, and warm blankets. Snuggle up with a good book and share your love of reading with your students. Read alouds and repeat readings with students are the perfect way to build background knowledge, share common experiences, target multiple objectives during speech therapy sessions, and spark a passion for reading. In this blog post, I want to share with you my top 6 favorite picture books about winter clothes. (Amazon affiliate links are included)

5 "Easy Does It" Practices at Work

The new year is the perfect time for me to reflect on what was successful in the workplace and set goals for the new year.  It's also a great time to evaluate my mindset and approach to teaching. 

As speech-language pathologists, we love to teach idioms to our students. Teaching figurative language such as: "It's raining cats and dogs," "hot off the press," and "feeling under the weather" are just a few of the common idioms we teach students. This year, I want to approach the new year with an "easy does it" attitude. What does "easy does it" mean? This idiom simply means, slow down, relax, and take it easy.

In this post, I want to suggest 5 "easy does it" practices you can apply in the workplace.

How I Use "Lucky Ducks" in Speech Therapy

Who's the lucky duck in your classroom?
Parents, speech-language pathologists, and classroom teachers can target color and shape recognition, social skills, and critical thinking skills with the moveable memory game Lucky Ducks ™ (Amazon affiliate link) by Goliath Games U.S. This game is appropriate for children ages 3 and up and includes a motorized pond with 12 ducks.  The game requires 2-AA batteries for the “pond” to rotate clockwise. Players choose which shape they want to look for (circle, square, triangle, star) and take turns picking a duck from the pond to see if it matches the shape they are looking for.

In this post, I want to share with you how I use Lucky Ducks™ in my speech therapy sessions, as well as ways to differentiate instruction to meet students' needs.