Love It & List It: Language Apps

Joining up with Speech Room News today and sharing some of my favorite language apps to use in therapy.

Here are the apps that I've used and liked the most (in no particular order):

1.  Language Empires - This app is really good for groups.  It targets 8 different goals such as figurative language, vocabulary, predicting, sequencing, inferencing, and how/which/why questions.

2.  Describe It to Me - This app allows you to work on receptive or expressive language focusing on the ever-important vocabulary development.  Love that I can use this with my EET as well!

3.  Pocket Lexi - This one contains interactive ebooks that target specific language skills.  You can find books that target figurative language, comprehension, vocabulary, adjectives, prepositions, and more.  I always like using books in therapy, and this just makes it easy.

4.  Question Sleuth - This is a super fun app that the kids love.  It's great to practice asking and answering questions, categories, attributes, functions, articulation, or whatever!  You can create and customize it as you need as well.

What are some of your favorite apps?  Be sure and head over to Speech Room News to check out all of the link ups!

Word Vault: App Review & Giveaway!

There's a fun new app in town called Word Vault!  You may have read some reviews by several of my lovely bloggy buddies, and today I'm going to give you my take on it.  Plus, you'll have a chance to win a copy of your very own!

Word Vault is an app by Home-Speech-Home and is great for students working on articulation, language, and social skills.  This app is all about words!

The above slide is the home screen.  There are four categories of word vaults to choose from: Articulation, Language, Phonology, and Social vault.  Inside each vault are word lists, probes, sentences, and/or stories associated with the topic.

Let's peek a little inside each:

1.  Articulation Vault

There are word lists associated with all phonemes in the artic vault.  Tapping "S Words" (for example) will bring your to a list of words containing the /s/ sound.

The lefthand toolbar allows you to zoom in or out on the screen as well as divide the lists into columns (1, 2, or 3).  The righthand toolbar lets you see words in initial, medial, and final position and add or take away syllables.

2.  Language Vault

The language vault contains all of the above categories listed as well as pronouns, sequencing, short stories, story starters, synonyms, WH questions, and verbs.

Check out the WH questions as an example.  Inside choose which type of question you'd like to see, then a list of questions will pop up!

3.  Phonology Vault

So many fun lists!  I'm really liking the minimal pairs one right now.

4.  Social Vault

For your kids struggling with pragmatic skills, the social vault has several lists that target social language.  Check out what happens when you tap on inferencing:

The buttons at the bottom of the screen are always present and available throughout the app.  The question mark at the bottom right tells you the function of each button.

You can even set up multiple lists at a time when working with a variety of students in a group.  Just tap on the little page icon at the bottom to access the multiple screens.

The i icon at the bottom will show the intended uses for the app with lots of suggestions for each targeted disorder.

You can also email the lists to yourself and print them, in case you wanted to use them as handouts.

What I dig about this app:

• It's super easy to navigate and find the list you are looking for.  Very straight forward.
• It works for a variety of disorders and exceptionalities.
• You can set up multiple list screens when working with a group.
• The toolbars let you view the lists in different ways and you can easily change the syllable/placement for artic.

What could make it better:

•  It'd be nice if I could make my own list specific to an individual client, or at least add/delete from a list when certain things don't apply.
• My non-readers have a hard time benefitting from this app since there are no pictures.  Pictures or other visuals would make it more relevant for them.

Overall, this is a great app and will come in handy a lot!  You can grab it from iTunes HERE for $9.99.  Plus, enter to win a free copy of your very own using the rafflecopter below!!  :)  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bilingual Resources Linky!

I'm linking up with the Dabbling Speechie to talk about all things bilingual!  We are sharing any resources or ideas that we have to help our multi-cultural kiddos.  If you have the privilege of working with this type of population, you won't want to miss this linky.  :)

Well, it just so happens that I've got a few products in my TPT store that are geared toward Spanish/English speaking students.  These have really come in handy for me.

1.  Spanish Articulation Screener

Sometimes it's hard to find materials for Spanish articulation skills.  I created this screener to help me determine if further testing is needed and to give me a nice overview of where their artic skills break down in Spanish.


2.  WH Question Pirates - Spanish

This pirate-themed game targets asking and answering questions in Spanish.  My kids love pirates, and SO many of them have trouble with questions.  This one and the English one have been a big hit!  :)


3.  Parent Letters for Speech Therapy - English/Spanish

This resource has been great for my students whose parents do not speak English.  I can now send home all of the same letters that I send throughout the year, and they can read them and respond with no problem.


4.  Apps

Bilingual or spanish apps are also great resources for your speech room.  Here are a few of my favorites:

-Bilingual Articulation and Phonology Assessment (BAPA)
-Adjectivos Remix
-Speech with Milo (Spanish): Verbs and Prepositions
-Lego Duplo Zoo --> This one is a wordless interactive story/game that's super cute!  I can always get tons of language in with this app (no matter the language they speak).  Plus, it's free!
-Check out THIS post from GeekSLP for 5 of her favorite Spanish apps

Well, that about wraps up my list.  Be sure and visit the Dabbling Speechie for lots more resources!  What are some of your favorite bilingual products?

S-Peachy Feedback Linky!

It's feedback time again!  For each feedback party we choose a feedback comment from our TPT stores that was extra-special and informative.  Check out Speech Peeps by clicking on the image below to visit all of the posts and see if you won!

This month's winner from my store goes to the person with the username lmerchant1122!  It was SO hard to choose this time, but I loved what this person said about my Fluency Tools Treatment Packet!

Thanks, lmerchant1122!  Please email me at busybeespeech@gmail.com to receive a free item of your choice from my TPT store!  :)

For more info about this Fluency Packet you can visit THIS blog post.

Oldies but Goodies: October Style!

Today I'm sharing with you a little round up of some previous posts that are October themed.  :)  Here are a few ideas for you to take away to your speech rooms...in case you missed them before!

1.  DIY Speech Cave -  Make your own creepy speech cave just in time for Halloween!  Just follow the tutorial on the blog to find out how.

2.  Halloween Following Directions - This fun TPT game has been recently updated and perfect for October.  Kids draw a card and practice following directions while trying to steer clear of the "spooky" cards!

3.  Happy Halloween, Biscuit - Here's a cute mini book companion to accompany this Biscuit book!  Oh, and it's FREE!  Go grab it.  :)

4.  Football Fluency Games - Another fun thing about fall...football!  This game is great for your fluency kiddos.  Follow the link to read more about it.

5.  Monster Smash Articulation - Do the Monster Mash!  Here's a cute monster-themed articulation game that your kids will LOVE!  :)

Have you tried any of these?  My kids' favorite has got to be the speech cave!  I actually have to hide the speech cave when I'm not using it.  The kids ask to play it all the time!

Helpful Books by Julia Cook

I recently purchased several books from Amazon that have been A-Mazing to use in therapy!  (Speaking of Amazon, this post contains Amazon-affiliate links for your convenience).  Julia Cook has authored and co-authored several books for kids that directly target problem behaviors or social difficulties that so many of my students find themselves in.

Here are some of the ones that I have:

• The Worst Day of My Life Ever

This book focuses on listening and following directions.  It tells a cute story about RJ who has accidents and gets into trouble but finally learns that his problems are because he does not listen or follow instructions.

Many of Julia Cook's books have an activity guide for teachers available for purchase.  I have the one for this book and have loved using the coloring sheets and writing prompts with my kids.

• My Mouth Is a Volcano

I love this one!  It targets appropriate conversational skills like not interrupting and respecting what others have to say.  

In this story, Louis has trouble keeping his words in.  He constantly wants to tell his thoughts and interrupts others constantly.  He learns how to turn take and hold his words inside until it is appropriate to speak.  Cute!

I have the teacher's activity guide for this book as well.  There are some really creative activities and ideas for the classroom.

• I Just Want to Do it My Way

This one focuses on staying on task and asking for help.  It's great for kids who have a problem staying focused and organized.

RJ is having trouble in school finishing his assignments and staying focused in class.  He is constantly distracted by others and doesn't like to ask for help.  Luckily, his wise parents teach him a thing or two, and RJ learns some great strategies to focus and finish his work.  

Love it.

• I Just Don't Like the Sound of No

This one targets accepting no for an answer and disagreeing appropriately.  Several of my kiddos struggle with this skill.

RJ hates hearing "no" and constantly turns conversations into an argument.  His teacher then invites him to join her "say yes to no" club and teaches him how to except no and disagree the right way.  It offers some great strategies to parents, teachers, and students on how to deal with this behavior.

• It's Hard to Be a Verb

Another great one.  It helps teach kids who struggle with sitting still how to focus and control themselves more appropriately.

Louis is constantly having trouble focusing and is always on the move.  His mom helps him by telling him some great strategies with how to control himself and deal with his constant jumping around.  This is a great resource for those affected by ADHD.  

What do you think?  Do you own any Julia Cook books?  I think I'm going to try and eventually get ALL of them!  Lol.  Love em.

Winners!!

Thanks so much for participating in my bloggy celebration last week!!  I had so much fun giving away fabulous products and materials!  Here are the winners:

Happy Columbus Day!

Final Blogiverary Giveaway!

I hope you've enjoyed all of the fun giveaways and celebrations this week!  I've got one last giveaway for you.  :)  I so appreciate all of your support of my little blog and TPT store, so this one is from me to you!

The first winner of this rafflecopter fun will receive anything they'd like from my TPT store!

The second winner gets a $10 gift card to iTunes,

and the third winner gets a fun TPT activity from MrsTslp!

Just enter below!  Good luck and thank you!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

SLP Product Giveaway and a FREEBIE!

Have you been enjoying this week of blogiversary celebration fun?  It's not quite over yet!  I've got a cute new freebie and an AWESOME giveaway happening today!

If you follow me on instagram, you might remember me posting this pic of my cutesie speech tote:

Well, I am so excited to tell you that Dean Trout, the creator of these cute bags, has generously given one of these fabulous totes to share with you!  Check out how cute they are :)

Just enter to win in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post!



Now to check out a cute new freebie!  You may remember my hot cocoa speech game last winter or my Easter treat game last spring.  Well, Candy Corn Speech is along the same premise...just October themed!

This game is open-ended and is made to be played with REAL candy corn!  Super motivating for my kiddos.

To play, each student gets a treat bag mat.  Students then perform the desired task (i.e. answer a question, say their target sounds, use a fluency strategy).  If they respond correctly, they choose a candy corn card.

These cards tell them how many candy corns they can put on their treat bag mat.  But watch out!  Mr. Pumpkin loves candy and will make you give your candy corn away.

Also included in this pack is an open-ended candy corn themed game board!  Isn't it cute?

I just finished prepping these materials to use next week!  All I need is the candy corn!  Haha!

What do you think?  You can grab this game for free HERE!  Don't forget to enter the rafflecopter for the cute tote bag!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

TPT Product Giveaway Pack #2!

Happy hump day!  It's time for another blogiversary giveaway!  A special thanks to ALL of my SLP bloggy friends for donating some amazing products!

One lucky winner will receive a big bundle of the following products:

• Articulation Game Show by Simply Speech

• Football Pursuit by Home Sweet Speech Room

• Yesterday, Today, & Tomorrow Verbs by Carrie's Speech Corner

• Fall Describing Fun by Speech Time Fun

• Open-Ended Gameboards Aug-Dec. by Putting Words in Your Mouth

• Flying Broomsticks by The Dabbling Speechie

• Where Do We Belong? by Speechy Musings

You can win this big bundle of products by entering in the rafflecopter below!  

a Rafflecopter giveaway