Therapy Fun Find: Simon's Cat

I'm one of those people who hates digging for things.  I'd rather go into a small boutique and glance around instead of digging through the clearance racks at TJMAX (though I do make myself do it to get good deals from time to time).  I'll admit that I get mildly annoyed when I have to google something and scour through website after website when I can't find what I'm looking for.  It's less of an impatience issue and more of a I-have-a-million-other-things-to-do-right-now issue. Or maybe that's the same thing.  Lol.

So, I always get a little flutter of excitement when I stumble across something cool accidentally.  I feel like I won the gift of time AND cool new idea.  Such is the case with this new fun find.

I came across a super cute series on youtube called Simon's Cat.  Maybe you've heard of it before, since it seems to have been around a while (like a few years!).  It was new to me, so I thought I'd share just in case you wanted to check it out.

The videos are short 2-3 minute episodes of stories from the perspective of Simon the cat.  Two things I love about them: they are short and WORDLESS...perfect for facilitating language and narrative discourse.  I use the Story Grammar Marker tools with them, since most of the videos make a "complete episode" for narratives in SGM language.  

They are also great for working on social language skills, such as emotions, facial expressions, problem solving, unexpected behaviors, and more.  The possibilities with wordless books and videos really are endless.

There are like over 30 videos, so head on over and use away in therapy.  Be sure and subscribe to the youtube channel, so you can stay updated when they post new episodes.  

Thrifty Finds and a Sale!

Linking up with Speech Room News today to show my thrifty finds!  I have to admit my local thrift store was a little underwhelming this time.  It really took some digging to even be able to come up with the things that I did purchase!  

Here were my fabulous items that I scored!

1.  Operation!  It's even the new version and it was only $2.  Great reinforcement for my kids.  Maybe I'll even stick tiny foam shapes in there with their artic words on them!  :)

2.  A magic hat set.  Also for $2.  I figured this would be fun to use by placing objects in the hat or under the cups for describing, identifying, artic, etc.  Cute!

3.  Lots of cheapo kids books!  Any SLP can always use more books, right?  It's what we do best!  I love them and am always on the lookout for good ones that are short enough for a therapy session yet appropriate for my kids.

These were some of my favorite finds.  I've also found some pretty decent pretend play toys in the past and books of course.  Since I'm not at work these days, I can't post pics of those.  ;)

Be sure and head over to Speech Room News to check out all of the other amazing finds!

Oh, and I'm participating in the SLP 4th of July Sale!  Be sure and visit my TPT store to get a head start on those things you'll need for next year!

Therapy Fun Find: Busy Bag Exchange

It's time for Therapy Fun Find, where I showcase an idea or activity or anything that catches my eye as useful for therapy!

And oh. my. goodness.  I am loving this idea that I came across from Second Story Window.  It's called a busy bag exchange, and I am digging this in so many ways.

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First of all, I love the bags that they made.  They are great for your littles and most of the bags target lots of fine motor and can easily be adapted to elicit language.

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The ideas for use of some of these cute activities are endless.  I especially liked the "No Sew Fishing Game," the "Race Car Shapes," and the "Play Dough Mats."  Ok ok I liked them all!  

Another reason that I am in love with this idea is that it's an excuse to have a party...aaannnd to revamp it to make it more relevant for us, a speechie party!!  The premise behind the bag exchange is similar to that of a cookie exchange (if you've ever been to one of those around Christmas time).

Each person signs up to make and bring enough bags for the amount of people going.  In our case, it might be speech therapy material bags (handmade activities would probably be the most economical).  Everyone gets together and explains their bags and gives them out.  Soooo, if 10 people come to the party, you'd walk away with 10 new therapy activities!  Cool, right?  Check out more ideas and tips on how to host over at Second Story Window.

I think one of my speechie friends and I are in the process of setting up one of these bag exchanges!  Be sure and stay tuned for what we come up with.  :)  Oh, and if you decide to have a party of your own, pretty puh-lease email me a pic so I can feature it!

What do you think?  Are you as excited about this idea as I am?  I really wish I lived close to all of you.  Then we could have one gigantic party!  ;)

Therapy Fun Find: Olympic Craft!

From time to time I like to showcase a speechie product, craft, toy, idea, etc. that I've come across and found cute or useful for therapy.

For today's fun find and in honor of the Olympics starting today, I found this super adorbs Olympic-themed craft!  Check it out. . .

These are little Olympic skis made out of popsicle sticks from Icanteachmychild.com!  She attached upper and lower case letters, so preschool/kinder aged kids could match them up.

I think these matching skis would be perfect for artic words, synonyms, antonyms, words and definitions, etc.  You could even keep the letters and have the kids practice spelling and decoding skills!  The possibilities really are endless.

Anyway, you can find a whole tutorial on how to create these HERE at I Can Teach My Child website.  What do you think?  Cute, right?

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?