Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Dinosaurs in the Speech Room with a {FREEBIE}

It's dino week in my speech room!  We are reading dinosaur books, doing dino crafts, and having fun with all things dinosaur!  Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links.


I got out a few of my favorite dino books.  With my preschoolers and kinders we read Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.  They LOVE this book, and I love it because I can target so many goals while reading it.  We talk about big/little, old/young, day/night, awake/asleep, etc.  Plus, my big book came with lots of cute dinosaur props that I make them do actions with.


My older ones read The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Backyard.  My first grader group was targeting reading for details, so we asked questions and wrote sentences on a giant dinosaur footprint I made out of bulletin board paper.


We also did a fun dinosaur craftivity that I wanted to share with you today!  Check it!


It's a super cute dino mouth!  Lol  Perfect for my artic and fluency kids especially.  We talk about the way we use our tongues and teeth and where we put them as we say our sounds.  :)  Here's how we make the craft.

1.  Print the templates and trace them onto construction paper (OR you can just print them directly onto colored paper if you have some that will fit the printer).


2.  Glue the red oval onto the center of the green oval.


3.  Print and cut out the teeth with regular white paper.  Write artic words on the teeth, fluency strategies, vocabulary, or just use as reinforcement.  Glue the teeth onto the edges of the mouth.


4.  Fold the mouth in the center and voila!  You've got yourself a big ole dino mouth.  I sent mine home with my kids and had them practice their artic words.


Cute right?!  You can download the mouth templates for free HERE!  Please leave a comment below if you download!  :)

Do you do any dinosaur activities in your speech room?

Monday, January 27, 2014

Love It & List It: Social Language

Time for another Love It & List It with Speech Room News!   This time it's all about Pragmatics and Social Language products.


Here are some of my faves:

1.  Thinking About You Thinking About Me


I'm currently making my way through this book by Michelle Garcia Winner to help me with my current pragmatics cases.  Amazon-affliate link below.


2.  Books by Julia Cook


These books are perfect to talk about social behaviors and appropriate conversations.  Read more about them at this blog post.

3.  All About Social Skills by Speechy Musings

I was privileged enough to proofread this packet for Shannon at Speechy Musings.  It's full of awesome stories, cards, and activities for your social language kiddos.

There are TONS more social activities from all my favorite speechie sellers on TPT.  So be sure and check those out too!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

S-Peachy Feedback and Jamberry Nails!

I've got TWO things to tell you about today.  First, I am loving doing my nails lately.  I have no idea why.  It must be something to do with all of the cutesie nails that seemingly always pop up on my Pinterest feed.  Which is why I'm having a JAMBERRY Nail Party!  Wooo hooo!

If you follow me on instagram, you might have seen these posts of my nails:



I've been having so much fun playing with Jamberry wraps that when Carrie over at Carrie's Speech Corner asked me to host a Facebook party, I jumped at the chance!

These nail wraps are heat-adhesive and stay on longer than any nail polish or stickers that I've used...plus, they don't damage your nails.  If you're interested in ordering some of your own, you can go to THIS LINK.  Be sure to click "Lauren's party" at check out if you order!

If you'd like to attend my FB party, you can go HERE.  You can click "join" so you can earn entries for the door prize!  The party ends on Friday.  :)


Now for the second thing.  I'm linking up with Nicole from Speech Peeps for her monthly S-peachy Feedback linky party!


My feedback winner today comes from the username Hales427.  Here's what she had to say about my Fluency Tools Treatment Pack:



Thanks so mich Hales427!  Email me at busybeespeech@gmail.com and let me know what item you'd like from my TPT store for free!  

Thanks everyone!  Keep leaving awesome feedback!  It means more than you know! :)


Monday, January 20, 2014

Language Trainer ~ Review & Giveaway!

I love apps that I can use to target multiple goals at once, and the new Language Trainer app by Smarty Ears doesn't disappoint.

Disclaimer: Though I was provided a copy of this app, the opinions and views are all mine.

P.S. I'm also giving away a free copy of this app!  Scroll to the bottom to enter the raffle!


When you first open up the app, a welcome page pops up and tells you a little about the app!


This app was designed to "help individuals improve their mastery of spoken language" and is "perfect for working on vocabulary, word finding, stuttering, and receptive/expressive language therapy" (according to the product description).  

The app actually has 4 different activities to practice language!
1. Picture Identification
2. Picture Naming
3. Divergent Naming
4. Sentence Completion


On the Home page, tap the "support" button at the top left corner.  Here you can back-up/restore data to iTunes, learn more about the app, contact the support staff if you need help, learn about more Smarty Ears app, or watch the video tutorial.  I always start by watching the video tutorial so I don't miss anything!

Tap the "practice" button at the bottom right to move to the next screen and get started!  


To add a student, you can either import your data from Therapy Report Center (see bottom left button) or add new.  When you tap the "add user" plus sign, you are prompted to enter the student information and add a picture or avatar.


Once the info is entered, you can change the settings (top right) or click on the student and press "next."  


You can then choose which of the four activities that you would like the student to play.  


1.  Picture Identification

The student finds the appropriate picture among an array.  For example, a voice will say "baseball," and the student has to tap the correct picture.

You can change the number of pictures choices from 2-5 pics through the settings.  You can also set it to where the difficulty/number will increase as the student is more successful.


Notice the buttons at the top of the screen.  On the left side you can monitor how the student is progressing with a visual bar and percentage.  The blue center button causes the stimulus to be repeated.  Tapping "done" at the top right will end the session.  These buttons are the same on all 4 activities.

2.  Picture Naming

A picture pops up with the stimulus "Name this picture."  The student is then required to expressively name the picture.


The right side bar buttons give you the option to record their response and tell whether the response was correct, incorrect, or cued.  

*Another way I thought to use this would be for my fluency students.  You could have them record a sentence about the picture using their FEB strategies.  Then play it back to them so they can give themselves feedback.  You could also use these for describing with the EET, vocabulary defining, etc.  Lots of possibilities for this one.

3. Divergent Naming

For this game, the student is required to name a number of items in a given category.  For example, the stimulus might say "Name four vegetables" or "Name 2 chores in your house," and the student lists them.


You can control how many items you'd like the student to list (2-6) in the settings tab on the student screen.  Mark whether the student got each attempt correct by clicking the check or the x in each square.  There is also an option to record the student's responses.

4. Sentence Completion

For this activity, the student has to complete the sentence given.  If the voice says, "Hillary rang the ___," the student responds with "bell" or another appropriate answer.  


 Record their voice or mark their attempts on the right side bar.  You can play this activity as is, or you could also use it to break apart the grammar - identify the verb, tense, add to it to make a compound sentence, etc.  

Tapping the "done" button will terminate the session and bring you to the Reports page.  You can also access this page from the home screen.


Here you can review a student's data.  It gives you the date, activity, percent accuracy, and specifics of the task.  Share this in either TRC or email it to yourself by using the top right button.

You can grab this app on sale in iTunes right now for $14.99 here

*Things I dig about this app:
-You can target a variety of speech and language goals
-Change the settings to use on a variety of clients with different levels of difficulty
-The record button that allows you to record student responses (great for fluency!)
-Straightforward and easy to navigate
-Provides lots of good data in app and allows for easy sharing

*Things that could make it better:
-Right now you can just use it with one student at a time.  Maybe allowing for the chance to change between students might make it better in the future.  

Smarty Ears has also given me an extra code to giveaway!  Win a FREE copy of this app by entering in the rafflecopter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, January 19, 2014

100 DOTS of School with a Freebie!

This week we celebrate 100 days of school down here in my little neck of the woods.  That means we are over halfway done!  Woohoo!  To get my kiddos geared up and excited, I've got a fun new project all ready to go for them.


My students love Do-A-Dots!  This summer I went to Houston with my family, and my mom (who is a preschool teacher) and I got the chance to go to the Lakeshore store.  I know, right?  Though the store was a bit overwhelming, I did manage to grab some dot markers and a couple other things on sale that day!  Let me tell you, I'm so glad I did because my students love them.

All that to say this product combines a couple of favorites - dots and 100 days of school - to give you 100 DOTS of School Articulation!


Each worksheet page has 100 dots on it.  There are 5 blank worksheet pages that can be used with any target sound or speech skill.  You can have them practice their fluency sentences 100 times, list 100 adjectives, read 100 sight words, answer 100 questions (though that might take longer than 1 session), etc.  The list goes on!


The bulk of the packet targets articulation words.  Your students can mark 100 dots - one for each artic word they say.  How's that for getting a lot of trials in one session!  I've got dot sheets for R, S, L, K, F, Sh, Ch, and Th included.



*Tip:  You could also print out 2 sheets: one for the therapist and one for the student and mark on your sheet which words he/she says correctly for an easy way to take data.


As an added bonus, I'm letting my students make "100 days of school" bookmarks after they say all of their speech words.  They can decorate it and add a ribbon for a cute take-home reinforcement.

You can grab this packet at my TPT store HERE!

Also, you can grab 1 blank sheet and the L sheet for FREE!  Just click the "download preview" button at my TPT store.  :)

Enjoy your 100th day of school (whenever it is for you)!

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Therapy Fun Find of the Week

As a therapist I feel like I have to think outside the box A LOT.  I guess it's because each child or client is different, and though two might have the same goals, the way they reach them are never the same.  You have to take into account what motivates them, their abilities, their limitations, their age, etc.  It seems to go on and on.

I'm always looking around for new things or ideas to try, whether it be a game, new toy, helpful article, video, craft, etc.  I thought I'd share with you some fun things I find from time to time...just in case you're in the same boat as me.  :)  


This fun find is for your little ones or your low functioning friends.  Youtube is actually great for therapy finds.  I found this channel called PelicanTalk that has cute preschool themed videos for speech!  I think it's supposed to be promotional clips for their other products, but they have several uploaded on their channel.

Check out this cute oral awareness video.



This is actually perfect for my preschoolers that just have no awareness of their mouths or faces.  Mirrors can only go so far, so clips like this make it a little more fun and interesting for them.  I don't really do a lot of specific oral motor activities with my kids, but I do like doing activities to increase oral awareness when they have deficits in that area.

PelicanTalk has about 6 videos for teaching prepositions, vocabulary, or other concepts.  It's definitely worth checking out if you work with preschoolers.  Plus, they have cute Australian accents in all of the clips.  ;)

What do you think?  Any interesting finds you'd like to share?

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Oldies But Goodies: Winter!

Brrrrrr!  It's cold out there!  I hope all of you are bundled up and drinking something hot while you read this.  Sounds like it's colder than average everywhere today!

'Tis the season for winter activities for sure.  Don't worry...I got you covered for when you get back from your snow days (unless you still have to go in to work, like me)!  Check out these oldie but goodie activities all themed for winter!


They've definitely made back to school planning super easy!

1.  The Three Snow Bears Book Companion Pack


I love The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett.  It's a cute story that's a winter version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  This companion pack covers a variety of communication goals that I can work in with all the kids on my caseload.  Read more about it at this blog post.

2.  Penguin Preschool Language


Work on your preschool/kinder objectives with these cutesie penguins!  I actually use this pack all throughout the year because the content is really useful for my caseload this year.  Read more about this one HERE.

3.  Penguin Phonology


This pack is for your severe artic kiddos.  It targets several phonological processes using penguins and snowballs with visuals.  Check it out HERE.

4.  Do Not Break the Ice Blocks - Articulation, Preschool, Sight Words


My kids LOVE the game Don't Break the Ice.  It's great for this time of year as well.  Here is an alternative way to play while working on speech skills at the same time!  Check out the round up post with links here!

5.  Hot Cocoa Speech Freebie!


This open-ended reinforcer is made to be played with real marshmallows!  If you haven't grabbed it, go get it!  Read about it at THIS post.

Welp, hope some of these items help you this winter!  What are your favorite winter activities?

Stay warm!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Secret Santa Gift Exchange

Christmas break always flies by way too fast.  As I enjoy my last day before I go back, I think about all of the fun and sweet memories with family and friends.  One of my very favorite parts of break this year was exchanging Secret Santa gifts with several of my close SLP blogging friends!

 
So fun right?  When Kristin from Simply Speech came up with the idea, I jumped right on board!  And amazingly enough, Kristin ended up being my Secret Santa!  Check out what I got:

I was SO excited the day this cute green package came in the mail.


It was from Florida, so I knew it could only be one of 3 people lol.  When I opened it, this is what I found.


So cute!  I opened the card to find Kristin's cute family Christmas card.  The other packages included:

A super nice and personalized clipboard that matches PERFECTLY with my speech room!  :)


Aaaaand an adorable red and green lanyard (sorry the pic is a little blurry).  Love love love them both!


This was SO much fun!  A big THANKS to Kristin for her awesome gifts.  Be sure and check out her blog and TPT store!  

I got to play Santa to...wait for it...Katie from Playing With Words 365!  I kind of went crazy with her gifts because I kept finding cute things I wanted to give her!  Lol  Be sure and keep an eye out for her post to see what I gave.  :)

Friday, January 3, 2014

2013 Favorites!

Oooh the last day of my break!  Why do holidays off school always seem so short?  Leading up to it they feel like they'll never get here, but when the holidays finally arrive, they always fly by.  Oh well, maybe a few freebies will help ease the transition!  


Last year was a great year!  I posted several freebies throughout the year, so in case you missed a few of them, here were my top 10 in no particular order!







4.  Lots of Biscuit Freebies!  Click on the pics to take you to each one!





















Well, that's a few of MANY freebies that you can find throughout last year.  Hope you can use some of them!  Which ones were your favorites?  :)
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