An ode to Ikea, from an SLP to be!

The MALA is $14.99!!!

So this isn't a Speech post per se, but I needed to share my great finds! I went to our local Ikea (the only Ikea for that matter on Long Island..sad..) for furniture and left with tons of great speech things!

DUKTIG - $7.99

If you've never been (gasp!), Ikea is a giant, brilliant marketing plan. You have to walk through EVERY section to get out of the store -- which is why I spent more in the children's section than I did anywhere else!

Here are a few of the things I picked up:

Easel - for writing, art, etc.
Play food - these were great because they were soft and realistic looking!

PYSSLA - $5.99

Beads - the kind you can use for jewelry and those great patterned, ironed on crafts.
Finger Puppets! - use these for making stories, using proper pragmatics, role playing, using proper articulation, and more.

TITTA FOLK - $4.99

I'd highly recommend either checking out Ikea.com or going into the store yourself! Where else can you buy a couch AND speech gear???

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Winter Adapted Book FREEBIE!

With the crazy weather here in NY (see house pic nightmare of snow!) I wanted to share my adapted free book for winter clothing! This will be one of those short, late-night posts, so I apologize! I wanted to make sure this one got out to you guys!

I created this for use with an AAC device, but it really can be utilized for so much more! I've also used this activity to target vocabulary with an ESL student, following directions with a student targeting auditory comprehension, and as an introduction to the topic of winter!

The options are endless! Plus, I wanted to make this a freebie since I know I have been using tons of awesome freebies on TpT from fellow bloggers - gotta give back!

Click HERE to download this freebie adapted book on TpT!

Halloween Following Directions Print-N-Go Packet

Just a quick check-in before I wander off into Sunday chili and sweatpants! I wanted to share this following directions packet I've been using for the month of October. I have a lot of kinders this year who came in with following directions goals. I've been trying to target them each session with fun, coloring crafts each time so they can see their work.
This packet is four pages, black and white, and FREE! It includes following 1 and 2 step directions, following varied directions, and following conditional directions. All the sheets are halloween themed and of course black and white for low-ink usage! Check out this scarily fun packet HERE on TpT!

FREE Parent Handout for "Self-Talk" and "Parallel Talk"!

This summer I pledged that I would work with more of the little little guys in my private practice - early intervention and preschool age. I love this age group and really missed working with them (currently I see preK through second grade in a school setting). Working in a home-based environment is incredible because of all of the great parent-training we get to do. I love being able to explain and show exactly what I'm doing and the strategies I'm using.

As all SLPs know, with this age group we are doing a lot of self and parallel talk. Sometimes I leave my half-hour sessions out of breath! Of course, talking is never an issue for an SLP!! I find that my parents are talking to their child, however their language needs to be modified, or they need to present things differently (i.e., giving options to elicit more language vs. yes/no questions).

I created this parent handout to familiarize my parents with what I'm doing and to emphasize effective carryover. I like to say …

Practically Speeching