Fall Worksheet Packets and Bundles!

I love worksheets!  They come in SO handy in therapy when I need to grab something quick.  Plus, they double as fun homework to send home with the kiddos.  :)

Several of you have been asking for more worksheet packs since I made some last spring.  Well, here you go!  These are fall and seasonal themed and ready to use.  No laminating or colored ink necessary.  Just print and go.

Three worksheet packs are available:

1.  Fall Worksheet & Homework Packet

2.  Halloween Worksheet & Homework Packet

3.  Thanksgiving Worksheet & Homework Packet

OR you can grab all 3 packs bundled together at a 20% discount.  

Each one comes with 12 generic worksheets that includes:

-Do-a-dots

-Coloring sheets

-Cutesie cut and glue activities

-Say it 5 and syllable sheets

-Tic Tac Toe

-Roll a sound

These are geared toward artic, but they can be used for other goals as well.  Just fill in the blanks with the target words you need.  I also included ready-made worksheets for /r/ and /s/ in each pack.  

You can grab a few worksheets from the FALL worksheet pack free!  Just click the "download preview" button on my TPT page!  

I'm also giving away a copy of the Autumn Worksheet Bundle for free!  Just enter via the rafflecopter below.  :) :)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

S-peachy Feedback Linky!

Yay for feedback!  I just want to say again how unbelievably THANKFUL I am for all of you who purchase from my little TPT store.  It means so much to have your support, and I hope that you get some good use out of the products you purchase.

I also want to say THANK YOU to all of you who consistently leave feedback.  I love hearing from you, even though I'm not always able to respond to your comments.  Please know that every word is read and appreciated!

I'm linking up with Nicole Allison over at Speech Peeps!  Just click the above graphic to head over to her blog and check out the party!

Here's the winner from my feedback:

Username sbm127, you can choose anything you'd like from my TPT store!  Yay!  Just email me at busybeespeech@gmail.com with your choice of product.

Find more info about the Fall Worksheet pack HERE!  {Also available in a bundle pack}

Love It & List It: Vocabulary

Linking up with Speech Room News today for this month's Love It and List It linky!  Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

This time we're talking about our favorite vocabulary products.  I'm excited about this one, since SO many of my students have a vocabulary goal.  It's always fun to see what is working for everyone else!

Here's what I'm loving right now for my students:

1.  Vocabulary Quiz Game Show

This game is by Lakeshore.  The one I have is actual cards and a game mat, but unfortunately it's discontinued.  They do, however, have an interactive software program for this game though!  It's called Interactive Vocabulary Quiz Game - Gr. 1-3.  I like to take the card decks from mine for the different categories and use them outside of the game as well.

2.  Quick Take-along Vocabulary

I use this cute little booklet all the time for classroom therapy, RtI, or to quickly assess a skill.  Love!

3.  TPT Book Companions

I love using books to address vocabulary!  To me it's the most natural way to discuss words and use context clues.  Most TPT companion packs have a vocabulary portion.  These are perfect for defining, describing, or making sentences.  Here are a few from my store:

The Three Snow Bears
The Umbrella
There Was a Coyote Who Swallowed a Flea

I also have freebie companions to several of the Biscuit books!

4.  Tic Tac Toe Vocabulary

This is another one that the actual game is discontinued, but the interactive one is now available.  Here is the link to Vocabulary Interactive Tic-Tac-Toe Game.  It's so cute, and all my kids love Tic Tac Toe!

5.  Stimulus Pictures for Group Therapy (K-2 & 3-5)

These cards are awesome!  They include cute scenes on the front and questions on the back.  Great for vocab practice and group therapy!

Hope you enjoyed my list!  Head on over to Speech Room News for lots more ideas!  :)

Fluency Enhancing Behaviors Freebie!

There are several programs and practices out there to address fluency.  Most involve some types of strategies or fluency enhancing behaviors (FEBs) to teach those who stutter how to manage their fluency.  I use these strategies daily with my fluency kiddos and have found them to work very well.

I try to spend time practicing each behavior with them, so we can find the ones that they are the most comfortable with and that works best for them.

Here are the most common FEBs that I use:

My fluency student and I came up with visuals that help him to remember the strategies.  These remind him of what the strategy is and how he's supposed to use it.

• Slow rate = turtle:  We needed something that was known for being slow in order to remind him to slow down his rate of speech.  He decided on a turtle (a snail would also work).
• Light contact = feather: We used feathers to remind him to keep his articulators light and loose and not tense.
• Easy starts = green light:  In order to explain this one better I used the green light example.  You know when a car is stopped at a traffic light and then it turns green?  Cars should begin to go again slowly and easily.  If they gun it quickly without looking or thinking, they could cause an accident.  If we start talking quickly and without thinking, it could cause our speech to be bumpy.
• Pausing = stop sign: This strategy is also called grouping.  We used the stop sign analogy to help him remember to stop and pause every so often when speaking.  This strategy is most easily practiced during readings.
• Stretchy speech - rubber band:  Rubber bands are a perfect visual for stretchy speech.  We practice with an actual band and stretch it out when we start speaking and slowly let it back it.
• Full breath = whistle: My student chose this one.  I think he just wanted to play with a whistle lol. You breathe in when you get ready to blow a whistle and we practice relaxing our mouth and throat as we blow out. 

I also made these cards, so that I can refer to them often.  It gives him a quick, handy visual of the strategy that we are practicing.

If you think these are something you can use with your fluency kiddos as well, you can grab both of these sheets for FREE!  Just head over to my TPT store to download.  :)

What do you think?  How do you address fluency strategies with your kids?  

I'm Obsessed with Washi Tape

When I first saw washi tape I was kind of confused.  I didn't understand what exactly you were supposed to do with it, but I knew I loved all of the fun designs and colors.  Since then, I've discovered SO many ways to dress things up with washi tape.  I've been sticking it all over the place lol.

Check out some of the fun things I've been doing with it to "prettyfy" my speech room.

1.  I decorated my laptop with it.  Now, this is actually my home laptop, but you could decorate your work computer with it too.  Find washi tape with your room theme and go nuts!  Lol.

2.  I cutesied up my room clips and hall passes.  My school uses clips for hall and bathroom passes.  It's just a regular wooden clothespin with washi tape on top.  Loving them!

3.  I even decorated old pencils lol...sometimes it's the little things.

4.  I found a $.99 toothbrush holder and spruced it up to make a fabulous sharpie cup for my desk!  Love!

I've even used it to frame artwork and photos to my white board and bulletin boards.  The possibilities with this stuff are endless!  Stay tuned for more washi tape ideas in the future!

Do you play with washi tape too?  What do you do with it?

FAQ Friday: Hearing Loss

Hooray for Friday!  Is it too early to start counting down until the next vacation?  Lol...I think ours is Fall Break in October.  Glad I don't have to wait until Thanksgiving for a couple days off!

Today's question is all about hearing loss.  I actually do have a couple of these types of kids on my caseload this year, and their parents usually wonder what effects a hearing loss has on their child's speech.

Hearing losses can actually affect your child's speech and language in several ways.  According to ASHA, some specific ways a hearing loss can affect a child include:

1. Vocabulary - Typically, vocabulary develops slower in children with hearing loss, as they often have difficulty with abstract and function words.  
2. Sentence Structure - Complex grammar is usually difficult for these kiddos, since they better comprehend sentences that are short and simple.  They also often have a hard time hearing word endings and suffixes, which further complicates their grammar development.
3. Speaking - Children with hearing loss often have difficulty hearing high frequency or voiceless sounds (like s, t, k, or f).  This causes them to leave these sounds out when speaking, making it difficult to understand them.  Other factors that could contribute to being misunderstood include not hearing their own voices when speaking, poor inflection, or poor syllable stress.
4. Academics - Hearing loss can potentially affect all areas of academics, especially reading and math.  The level academic difficulty varies and is influenced by several factors including the degree of hearing loss, parent involvement, and support therapies and services.
5. Social Functioning - Kids with mild to moderate hearing loss sometimes report feeling lonely or isolated around other hearing children.  

As always, early intervention is key.  Getting the right services early on and staying involved in your child's treatment plan can make a big difference!  Always ask your therapists and pediatrician what things you can do at home to help.  :)

As an SLP, here are few tips on how you can help boost their communication at home!

• Always make sure you are facing the child and they are looking at you when you speak to them.
• Repeat or rephrase directions or information when needed.
• Minimize background noise during conversations (i.e. turn off a noisy fan or microwave).
• Use lots of pictures and visuals when you can.
• Make them feel comfortable letting you know when they have trouble understanding something. Always keep the lines of communication open.  

Here are a few more fabulous articles on hearing loss and how it affects speech and language:

-This article by Vanderbilt Health lists the possible affects hearing loss can have according to the degree of the loss.  Great read!
-HERE is an article by Gallaudet on the different types of hearing loss.

In this video, Audiologist Anne Oyler explains how even a mild hearing loss can affect a child's speech and language skills.




Hope you found some of this helpful!

Superhero Comic Book Companion Pack!

Do your students adore superheroes as much as mine?  I had one client who was convinced he was spiderman and was crazy obsessed with all things to do with him.  We were afraid he would start climbing the walls lol.

The good thing about kids that love these characters is that it gives us a great motivational tool to get them to work and READ!  Lots of my kids love comic books.  I think they love the fact that it's mostly pictures.  What they don't realize is I can get SO much language and communication skills from these books...even though they are full of illustrations.

You can usually grab comic books from your school or local library.  I actually scored a couple of comics from Chick-fil-A kid's meals lol.  It's SuperCow!  Bahahaha...saving the world one chicken at a time.

I also grabbed a few of these magazines from the school library.  The stories are short and perfect for a therapy session.  :)

These are just a few reasons why I created my new Superhero Comic Book Companion Pack!  Check it out. .  .

This download is packed with tons of activities to use with those comics.  It includes an open-ended game board,

-Graphic organizer worksheets that address story elements, main idea, cause and effect, inferencing, summarizing, sequencing, and compare/contrast.

-Vocabulary sheets for finding new words, synonyms, and antonyms.

-WH question cards, onomatopoeia worksheet, and simile/metaphor worksheet.

-Complete the comic strip and create-your-own comic strips.  I love these sheets!  So fun for them.  :)

-There's also story starters/writing prompts, composition sheet, and articulation cards for words and sentences.

-Pragmatic activities include sort the appropriate/inappropriate behaviors and character feeling worksheets.

-Finally, there's a section for students to create and illustrate their very own comic books as well as open-ended homework sheets.

What do you think?  I'm excited about using it with my kids this week!  Grab those comic books and get busy!  You can snag this download at my TPT store HERE!  

*I've also got a FREE copy to give away to one of my fabulous followers!  Just make sure you follow my blog, FB page, or TPT store and comment below to enter.  :) :)