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.

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.

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.

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.

What I came up with, was the idea of creating movement dice. The first thing I needed to do was create the 6 exercises to attach to each side of the die. My favorite resource for picture symbols with a vast library of content is Smarty Symbols. Under the category of "exercises" and "actions" I found "squat, clap, marching (I renamed knee lifts), hop, jumping jacks," and "arm circles." Each dry erase spot measured 2-1/2 inches in diameter. I printed the circles on cardstock, laminated them and glued them to the die.