Easy, Breezy, Summertime Speech! Some ideas to get you outside and moving in your sessions!

So I'm trying to get out and about with my speech life! When I was in my grad school's clinic (not too long ago...) during the summer we would all itch to do sessions outside when it was nice out. Things haven't changed too much now. I'm constantly trying to move outdoors! SO, here are some ideas to get you outside in your sessions! You might be privy to these already, but a refresher never hurts!

1. The Amazing-ness of Bubbles
We all know bubbles are the holy-grail of outdoor Speech activities. We use them for everything! "Up", "Pop", "Big", "Small" etc. Oh and you can't forget the oral motor wonders that bubbles bring! I happen to love using bubbles in a life skills way as well. We all know bubbles are a disastrous mess and the clean up or request for help is an important life skill to practice. Also, the stick can often be difficult to maneuver/manage for a child with poor fine motor, so teaching terms like "help" can be  targeted with bubbles!




2. Water Balloons

If you're like me and don't mind getting wet, Water Balloons can be a great choice! You can sort colors, shapes, sizes. Inference what will burst faster, even put together a science project about color of balloon vs. how fast it pops! Make an outdoor grid with sidewalk chalk and inference the day away! Another fun idea for Water Balloons is to involve a peer model (sister, brother, neighbor) in your session. Target some pragmatics and appropriate "play behavior" while having a "toss-off" of the balloons in different buckets.

3. Paper Airplanes
I discovered the wonders of paper airplanes when I used Science Bob's Super Hoop Glider. It's simple to build and it's fast! The boys love it! Set up a mini airport in the grass and then race your airplanes! I've used this activity for articulation, following directions, inferencing, and problem solving. It's a definite keeper!

4. Bean Bags
A bean bag can go a long way! It's a great sensory activity and it's great way to turn anything you'd typically "drill" into a fun game! Need to drill /r/? Grab a bucket and a bean bag and start drilling and throwing! Want to create an entire sensory activity out of these suckers? Make your own! Grab an old pillowcase, a ziploc bag, and whatever you want to fill it with and go to town! There will be a blog post on DIY sensory bags posted ASAP. These are great ways to integrate a sense of fun and familiarity into a sensory activity!


5. Bear Hunt!
It's simple to go on a bear hunt when you're outside! If you can, hide a few things around a backyard and then start hunting! You can Bear Hunt song (there are a number of them so take your pick!) and target the action words and spatial concepts! You also can read the book found here and bring that into your session as well! I happen to think this is a great summer activity, and the kids love it!

6. Picnics!
If you have any feeding/sensory cases, now is the time to throw a picnic! Or, even if your session isn't
targeting feeding and you just want to have a little snack! Obviously OK it with the parent first! I have found that having the student "collect" what you would need for a picnic is a great brainstorming functional activity! If you can, cooking something simple outdoors at your picnic is also great - sandwich, lemonade, s'mores. If you're looking to integrate a sensory portion, outdoors is the best way to go! You can mash it, smash it, squish it, push it, etc and it's an easy clean up! Plus, throwing a few road blocks in while you're outside (bugs, wet grass, heat, sun) is easy and can help you target problem solving!


So get out there and have some fun!

Top of the Pop: A Summer Vocabulary Game - 1 day freebie!

As I'm eating a popsicle last night the inspiration for this summer activity hit. What's more summer-y than popsicles!? If you're looking to teach some summer vocabulary you'll love this game!

The game board is used with the cube and cards. The cards have summer vocabulary words and the cube tells you what to do with those words. The cube consists of things such as "synonym" and "make a sentence!"

You can use the worksheet as a follow up, or as an introduction to the vocabulary words!

Download this great activity HERE for FREE until tomorrow (6/15).

A Father's Day Freebie!

Have some tech-y parents that your students might need to craft for? Use this cute freebie as a take-home activity, or a do-now. Have students fill in the "app" boxes with the corresponding sentences below! This is a great, printable freebie - grab it quick!

Download this freebie HERE.

My love affair with "Compare and Contrast Double Dice Deck"

I am a really big fan of these "Double Dice Decks" from The Speech Corner. I was introduced to them by my student teaching supervisor, and at the end of the year I loved them so much that they were gifted to me. She's a pretty awesome SLP! I used them yesterday with my middle schoolers and we had a lot of fun!

They're a blast, they're flashy, and they target a bunch of common goals for compare/contrast. They also make one for categories that I have - that one is pretty great as well!

I don't know if it's the double dice that make it fun, or that I turn it into a Family Feud-style game show every time I use these, but the kids are always into it!

Basically each card has a shape on the front and then numbered questions on the back. The student roles the double dice and then either answers the corresponding question or reads it aloud. There are specific ways to play this, but I've found the kids really just want to roll the dice LOL.

I did see on their website that they have a book filled with worksheets that can be used with the dice...that may be my next purchase! I will of course report back! :)

Price-wise I think it's pretty reasonable. Each add-on deck retails for $16.99. You can buy a pack of 2 double dice for $11.95.

The link for the deck is HERE.
The link for the dice is HERE.

We're baaaaaaaack!

We're back in NY from our lovely Hawaii vacation! I'm still on Hawaii time I think! I will be bringing you some very fun activities this week, so just hang tight! Aloha :)

Hawaii Bound AND a SALE!

Pirate's Prattle: Customizable Articulation Game

All Pirates, All the time. Right!? I'm loving my new Pirate clip art that I got from Scrappin' Doodles. I'm having a blast making activities for you guys with it!!! This activity is chock-full of great, customizable articulation games!

Here are the instructions straight from the packet: 

To play this game: Throw the cube and see which pirate object you land on. You have three options to play. 1) Whichever object you get you must answer 3 questions to achieve the object (use the pirate ship sheet). 2) You answer the question to get the object. 3) Utilize markers and move one by one depending on what you roll. Once you get the object, place it on your board and you’re one step closer to the treasure! SO, if you roll a pirate hat, you must either answer three questions correctly and fill up your pirate ship OR you must answer the question correctly to get the object. Fill up the board, or reach the end and win the treasure! 

 To prepare this activity: print out the cube and laminate it. Then, print out a treasure map for each student. If you chose to print your own questions for the back of the objects, there is a blank sheet in the pdf (you can laminate on the back of the object sheet). If you chose to play the 3 questions for 1 object way, print out a pirate ship for each student.

Here are some more uses! 

1) Use the pirate ship boards as behavior modification visuals (red, yellow, green behavior!). 
2) You can also use the treasure map as an actual treasure map and hide the objects around the room! Have the students hide the objects and describe where they put them for a seriously pirate-y language activity!
3) Use the cube and objects for an "I-have, You have" game.

Download this great activity HERE on TpT!