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.

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.

When I think about all the winter topics we can sing about, they include: snow, snowmen, hot chocolate, penguins, polar bears, hibernation, winter clothing, arctic animals, and more. In this post, I've chosen my favorite preschool winter songs. These songs can be used in individual sessions, during small group lessons, or during whole class instruction. Target articulation,  vocabulary, categorizing skills, following directions, descriptive language, sentence length (Mean Length of Utterance), rhyming, and auditory memory. Pair these songs with gestures,  props, and AAC to target core vocabulary, model gestalt language phrases, and build background knowledge.

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.

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. 

By age three, children begin to follow multi-step directions and work cooperatively with others, build social relationships, and take on roles in their family (picking up toys, putting on and taking off clothing items, etc.). Music provides the bridge between learning and fun. We know that children learn through hands-on experiences, and engage different parts of their brain through music. Music also provides the springboard for social-emotional and language development.

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.

Top 10 Gifts for Young Children

The holidays are just around the corner and we made it through the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in one piece. But for many of us, there is still a list to check and shopping to finish.  As a speech-language pathologist, I am always looking for toys that stimulate language and literacy development in young children. Young children learn through play. Play stimulates speech and language, social-emotional, cognitive, and motor development. Since play primarily revolves around toys and a child's imagination, I wanted to share with you my top 10 gift recommendations for the holidays. 

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.

TPT Back-to-School Site Wide Sale!

For many educators, summer vacation is almost over. For others, you may still have a month of rest and relaxation. Regardless of your contract start date, you do not want to miss the Teachers Pay Teachers Site Wide Sale!

August 1st and 2nd are special days for educators and TPT, and I want to share this sale with you! During this 2-day sale, you can save up to 25% off your total purchases using the #BTSReadyWithTpT code at checkout.

I want to highlight some special additions to my store for back-to-school and fall.

How to Adapt Books for Speech Therapy

One thing you should know about me is that I love to shop at thrift stores. I am not careless in buying just anything, but I do like to find some hidden treasures. That is where I find the BEST books to adapt for my therapy sessions.

Next time you drive by your local thrift store or Goodwill, turn around, go back, and check out their children’s book section. Most thrift stores in my area sell children’s books for 25 to 50 cents each. Hardback children’s books are typically 75 cents.

In this blog post, I'll share how I choose books to adapt, as well as the easy DIY steps you can follow to adapt your own books for speech therapy.