10 Speechie Resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  Here marks the start of another page in the book called 2014.  Woop woop!  At the start of a new year, people traditionally set resolutions or goals of what they hope to accomplish.  Despite the fact that probably 99.8% of resolutions do not actually get achieved, here are a few more anyway - speech style!  :)

Resolved in 2014 to. . .

1.  To stay organized

Who doesn't want to be more organized?  Here are a few posts that can help you out in your resolve to keep it together:
-5 Organizing Essentials for your Speech Room
-Speech Therapy Organizing Planner
-Keeping Your Materials Organized (Super Power Speech)
-Katie's Speech Therapy Room Organization pinboard on pinterest is full of ideas

2.  To have better time management

Time management.  I'm always looking for new ideas and resources on how to get the most use of my time in therapy.  Effective planning usually equals good time management, for me at least.  Here are a couple of resources that might help:

-I'd like to do something like THIS in my sessions, but revamped for my speech room.  :)
-ASHA has an article with some scheduling and management tips that you can find HERE.
-Some things that I also find helpful include using my planners and syncing all my calendars to my various devices, that way I'm constantly up to date with where I'm supposed to be.

3.  To stay in touch with parents

Keeping the line of communication open with parents is important.  Stressing the importance of home practice and informing them of their child's progress can really help kids to improve more quickly.  Unfortunately, this has not been my year for answering my phone calls.  Maybe I'll just stick with letters like the ones in my Parent Letters in Spanish/English packet.

4.  To set more short term goals

Something else that I hope to do this year is to set more short term goals for both myself and my students.  I know I'll feel a lot more accomplished if I can actually see myself achieving some of the things I set out to do and crossing items off my to-do list.  :)

5.  To have more fun in therapy

If you are bored in your sessions, then you know your students are.  This year, I want to be sure and find ideas and activities to keep it upbeat and fun in my speech room.  It's sure to be more motivating for them.  A couple of places that I constantly go to for fun ideas are Erik X. Raj, Crazy Speech World, and of course Pinterest!  

6.  To inspire and motivate my students

Ok it's true.  We all struggle with being motivated at times.  But, when my kids are struggling with understanding a language concept or don't believe that they can do a task, I want them to see me and know that they can do anything.  I want to give them strategies and ideas, so that they feel confident and motivated to work hard.

7.  To be an essential resource to teachers and parents

I also would like to make myself more available to provide ideas and resources to teachers and parents. It's sometimes hard for teachers to understand your job or even realize how much you know.  Most of the time they probably don't even think about asking for your advice or help, just because they are running around like crazy trying to meet their own goals.  This blog post tells more detail how I feel about being there for teachers.  I hope to be able to provide lots of suggestions, ideas, and information to both parents and teachers this year.

8.  To speak up and not be afraid to share my ideas

Sometimes I hold back on making suggestions at meetings or even one-on-one.  I don't know why.  Maybe because I'm afraid they are going to think it won't work or that it's a dumb idea or something.  This year I'm going to make a point to at least throw ideas out there, even if others decide not to use them.

9.  To be an important contribution to the IEP team

Every member of the IEP team plays a relevant part of the decision making process.  I want to make sure I'm a valued member of that team with lots of resources and ideas to share.

10.  To go to work with a positive attitude every day!

Sometimes a positive attitude makes all the difference.  Looking at tasks and students through the correct lens can help put things in perspective and keep your motivation high.  :)

Well that about wraps it up!  I'd LOVE to know what resolutions you set for this year...even if it's not for just your speech room.


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