My 5 Favorite Super Simple Songs to Teach Core Vocabulary

 

I am a big proponent of using visuals during my speech therapy sessions. For my caseload, visuals may be as simple as a sticky note. It can also include a mini-schedule, choice board, core boards, or high tech AAC, such as TD Snap or LAMP. I am currently assigned to a large elementary campus with students from PK-4th Grade, and includes an early childhood special education classroom and a life skills classroom.  Most of my students in the early childhood classroom are minimally verbal or non-speaking.  I provide push-in therapy to my 3s and 4s this year, and serve them in a small group. My sessions are small and short, but we have a lot of fun and engage in meaningful language opportunities.

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.

5 Reasons Why I Use Lift-the-Flap Books in Speech Therapy

There is something about using lift-the-flap books that draws in children and creates opportunities for engaging language and fabulous therapy sessions. Lift-the-flap books are typically promoted as "baby" books. However, I have found that toddlers and preschoolers are intrigued by these sturdy interactive books with flaps on every page.

So why do I love lift-the-flap books? First of all, they are interactive. Early language learners have short attention spans and learn through experiences. They want to touch, feel, and interact with people and objects around them. Lift-the-flap books offer a platform for young language learners to run the show. They are able to shift joint attention from book to adult readers rather quickly.

Grab Your Students' Attention with Button Nail Art

I first heard of Button Art from my ABA SLP friend Rose Griffin. After I ordered this play set from Amazon, I was thrilled with the bright colors and motivating pictures. After using it a few times with my preschoolers, I wanted to share this engaging activity kit with you as well as highlight a few speech therapy goals that you can target with your young learners.(Amazon affiliate link). Toddlers and preschoolers will be highly motivated by the Allas Button Nail Art Play Set.  This product has 46 chunky plastic buttons, 10 pictures and a storage tray. I'ts appropriate for ages 2 years and up and requires supervision for toddlers who still put small toys in their mouths since the buttons could be a choking hazard. I love the variety of picture cards. The set includes common objects (umbrella, tree, house), animals (ladybug, frog, dinosaur, bird), and transportation (boat, underwater submarine, truck). The bright colored mushroom-shaped buttons are the perfect size for little hands to grip and snap into place. The cards and buttons fit inside a storage tray and can be easily stored with or without the box.

See You at TSHA 2018

Do you live in Texas? TSHA 2018 is coming to Houston, Texas. I hope to see you there! Several SLPs from the Texas Panhandle are  attending. I'll be driving about 10 hours from Amarillo to Houston and looking forward to meeting the other Texas SLPs.  This is my first state conference to attend and I am thrilled to be presenting on the topic "Supporting Literacy and Language Skills in the PPCD Classroom." 

Why do SLPs Love Play Dough? PLUS a FREE Download

Play dough is a staple with any speech-language pathologist. You can find it in our bags, our drawers, our cars, our crates, and cabinets. We stock up at the beginning of the year, replace it at the winter break and even make our own when we want to add fragrance or glitter. But what is it about play dough that makes it a "must have" for SLPs? You will want to read on to discover the secrets behind play dough in speech therapy, and then download the BEST recipe for home made play dough at the end of this post.

Play dough engages the senses in learning opportunities. Using play dough enlightens sight, smell and texture. If you make your own play dough (see recipe below), you can add fragrance for the seasons and glitter for the holidays. One of  my favorite play dough add-ins is pumpkin pie spice. My students really enjoy smelling the pumpkin pie seasoning in my play dough during the months of October and November. In the spring, I add lavender oil or rose oil for a floral aroma. Learning experiences become meaningful with sensory activities.

Why do SLPs Focus on Categorizing Skills?

Have you written a goal like this: "Given the name of a familiar category, student will name at least 3 items in the category (ex: vegetables, fruits, pets, etc.) on 7/10 trials." or "Given 3 related items, student will identify the category (ex: cow, horse, pig) on 7/10 trials." As a speech-language pathologist, I know that students with weak vocabulary skills may exhibit difficulty categorizing pictures, objects, words and concepts. So when a child demonstrates difficulty grouping like items together, further assessment and intervention may be warranted. So why do speech-language pathologists need to focus on categorizing skills? At an early age, young children begin to recognize shapes, colors, and familiar people. The ability to sort, add order and create working systems is key to developing a rich language foundation. In this post, I want to explain 3 reasons why speech-language pathologists and classroom teachers should strategically focus on categorizing skills as part of their instruction and intervention.

Speech Therapy Activities to Teach Basic Concepts Using "Rosie's Walk"

Basic Concepts are essential for success in school. Early concept development begins as young as six to nine months with “more juice” and “all gone.” For school age children, basic concept knowledge is needed for following directions and participation in every aspect of the classroom.

Here is a list of basic concept categories that students need to comprehend and use in the classroom. Most concepts should be well developed by first grade (age 7-8 years).

Building Language with Free Play

I have an amazing group of PreK students that I serve on my campus. One group in particular, my group of 4-four year old boys, taught me all about being flexible this week. Like so many other days, I had a specific lesson planned, the book picked out, manipulatives ready and my outline of my IEP-driven lesson planned out. When those boys, however, walked in my room, they quickly reminded me that they had already done "work" in the classroom and wanted to PLAY. I heard the words, "Can we play instead?" Who am I to argue with the requests of 4 year olds to play?

Free Play is child-centered, and students choose the activity and direct the play. Free play elicits problem-solving skills, fosters social-emotional development, and allows for creative thinking to flourish.