Farmyard Slam!

I've just completed a new addition to my Slam!  game collection.  Introducing Farmyard Slam!  I'm really excited about this one because my games keep evolving, and this one has a couple of great extra features.  And, since this one isn't holiday themed, I can play it all year long!   I can't wait to share!

Farmyard Slam is most similar to Snowman Slam! game in that it has game boards in addition to playing cards.  There are four boards, each with a different farm scene.  Here's an example of two of them:

Aren't they cute???  I used the On the Farm collection from KPM Doodles, which couldn't be more perfect!  

I made the direction cards a little different this time, too, to throw in a little categorization work along with following directions.  They look like this:

Each card contains a symbol for the category, and color or feature symbols so pre-readers can give the directions, too.

So what are the bonus features?  You can use this activity to work on following auditory directions that contain categories and features, but you can also use it for other goals, too. 

This scene is at the top of the blue board.  You could use this to work on prepositions such as in, on, next to, behind and between.  You could have each child tell you three things about his or her farmyard scene using auxiliary and -ing verbs.  Or how about pronouns?  Each scene contains plenty of opportunities to work on these concepts and others.

Another fun bonus feature is a little hide and seek game.  Rascal Rooster is hiding somewhere in each farm scene.  Can you find him?  He's pretty easy to find in this scene, but he's pretty tricky to find in others.  Go back and look for him on the orange game board...you know you want to!  That is, if you haven't already!

I've also included three category cards that can be used for sorting the square picture cards by category. They look like this:

 So many ways to play!  And so many goals that can be targeted in one simple game.  Love that!

You can find Farmyard Slam and all my other Slam! games on my TpT site.  To go directly to Farmyard Slam!  click here.

Let me know what you think!

Pam

Balloon Bop-o-rama

I saw this pin on Pinterest today from The Weekend Homemaker blog and got inspired!

I taped tongue depressors to the back of a couple paper plates, blew up a balloon and quickly thought up several ways to play.  I used this activity ALL DAY LONG with kids as young as 2 and as old as 13!  Talk about multi-purpose fun!

I'm dying to share my ideas with you!

Let's start with my littlest ones.  I've got several little guys working on producing bilabials and CVC words.  I simply gave them a paddle and tossed the balloon gently to them after they said a word like "bop" or "pop" or "boom". We chased the balloon down, and did it again (and again and again!).  After awhile, we ditched the paddle and went on to "kick" and "bump".  Lots of laughter and giggles for sure.

Here's what I did with my preschoolers.  Do you remember the Christmas gift activity that I made using sets of cards from LessonPix?  I made a balloon version that looks like this:

I made a set of 12 balloons (click the link...it's a freebie!)  with cute graphics from a cute freebie by Kelly Leatherman and cut them apart.  I slid several Picture Card sheets that I made on LessonPix into a sheet protector and taped the balloons over the top.  By the way, did you know that you can make custom picture sets in minutes on LessonPix?  It's so easy!  And then, you just put the ones you need for the day inside the page protector and they're all lined up, ready for a quick change between kids!  Such a time saver!

Next, I hid a little picture of a balloon popping under one of the balloons.  The child then tried to find the hidden balloon by looking under one balloon at a time, saying each word 3 times before looking under another one.  When the hidden balloon was found, we both grabbed a paddle and moved to an open space.  I set the timer for one minute, and then we bopped the balloon back and forth.  We either said the target word under the hidden balloon for the entire time, or we counted how many times we hit the balloon back and forth before it hit the ground, and then had to say that number of targets the next round before bopping the balloon again.  The kids wanted to play this ALL DAY!  I cannot believe how many reps I got in this activity alone.

Now here's what I did with my older kids.  I made these cards to use with decks of picture cards that I already have.

Here's how to play:

1. Print 2 copies of each page. Cut and laminate cards. 

2. Mix the Action Cards with the Number Cards and place them face down in a pile.

3. Choose a set of target cards; Place them face down in a pile next to the Action and Number Cards pile.

4. Players take turns turning over a card from each pile.  If the card is a Number Card, the player says the target word/phrase/sentence that number of times.

5. If the card is an Action Card, the player must bop the balloon with a partner using the body part indicated by the arrow while saying the target for one minute.  To make it even MORE challenging, the players must bop the balloon using a paddle and the selected body part!

6. Play continues as long as you’d like :-)  

Isn't that fun?  I'm using it for articulation targets, language targets/concepts and resting posture activities.  Who knew you could get so much mileage out of a balloon???

You can download this super fun game here.  Be sure to leave feedback!

Have fun,

Pam

Valentine Slam!

 I have had so many requests for another version of my popular Snowman Slam!  and Santa's Cookie Slam! games.  As soon as I saw KPM Doodles' cute Valentine graphics, I knew exactly what that next version would be.  So here it is, Valentine Slam!

It's another great game for following auditory directions, played just like Santa's Cookie Slam.  This one is a little more difficult, however, as some of the directions contain as many as three attributes.  I find it helpful to review both the description cards and the heart features before we play the game, because many of my kids are unfamiliar with  the words "lace" and "checks".

 This is how to play.  The heart cards are scattered face up in the center of the table.  If there are 2 players, players take turns reading a direction card, and then both players race to slap the card that matches the description of the direction card.  If there are 3 or more players, one player is designated as the reader for the entire game.  This player reads the direction cards to the other players, making sure to hide the card from their view.  Again, players race to slap the card that matches the directions.  The player who collects the most Valentine cards wins!   Cards look like this:

You can find this game here.  Be sure to check my Facebook page for an especially "sweet" deal on February 7th (hint, hint!)

Pam

Take Out Topics for Articulation Carryover

One of the hardest things I face as a speech-language pathologist is coming up with effective ways to get my students to generalize their articulation skills to their spontaneous speech.  Anyone else find this difficult???  It seem that they master their sounds in structured treatment activities and even during games, but yet they struggle to make that final leap to using them all the time.  Frustrating!  Here's one thing I'm trying:

Take Out Topics for Articulation Carryover is designed to help students generalize newly mastered speech sounds to their spontaneous speech by using structured conversation topics.

Students bring home a takeout box filled with cards that help facilitate use of their target sound in conversation, along with a Helpful Hints page for parents that explains how to use them.  The cards look like this:

***As of July 2016, this product has been re-designed. Same content, new look! Read on...

Each card either asks a question or instructs the student to tell about certain objects.  Target words are highlighted in blue.  The student takes out one card at a time from the box and reads the card, being careful to use the target sound correctly.  The student then answers the question, again concentrating on saying the target words correctly.

The cards are meant to be a starting point for a conversation around a topic.  Encourage the student to add more to the conversation by asking questions about the topic or sharing the student's opinion about or experience with the topic.

The parent or SLP using this activity should try to have the student use the target words as many times as possible in their responses for each card.  Many of the cards instruct the reader to start or end with a particular phrase, but some do not.  For the ones that do not, try to suggest phrases or sentences to use to help facilitate more opportunities for target use. For example, the card in the photo above instructs the student to tell three things about a golfer and a skater.  You could instruct the student to use separate sentences for each detail and to begin each sentence with, "A golfer/ice skater..."

I send home 10 cards at a time rather than filling the box with 30 cards all at once.  I also practice some of the cards with the child during our treatment sessions so he or she will be familiar with the topic and (hopefully) be more successful when this topic is drawn from the box at home.

This set targets vocalic /r/ in the final position of words and is available at my TPT site.  It includes 30 conversation starter cards, instructions for use, labels for the box and a Helpful Hints page for parents or professionals.  Chinese takeout boxes are readily available at craft stores such as Michaels and usually cost around a buck apiece.  You could use any small box or envelope if you don't have a takeout box...it just won't be as fun.

Guess what?  You gave me feedback, and I listened!  Due to popular request, I made a set of cards for the /ch/ sound that are ready to go!  This set contains 40 cards:  20 initial /ch/, 10 medial and 10 final.  You can find it here.  I'm working on other card sets, too, so check back again soon.

What do you think of this idea?  I'm planning to make more for other sounds and word positions, but I'd like to know what you would use.  Please leave a comment and I'll see what I can come up with.

Have fun!

Pam

Scratch-Its for Rewards

"Miss Pam, is it a sticker day or a prize box day?"

This is the question I hear most often from my kiddos.  They just love to dig through the prize box to take home a treasure at the end of our session.  But here's the dilemma:  I do not offer prizes every session (but I DO offer stickers) and I have no real system for determining which days are prize box days, except that I try to offer it once per month.  It often depends on how many prizes are left in the prize box and if I've had time to shop.  But, the kids are relentless in their asking, so I came up with a solution to develop a system.

My solution:  Sticker or Prize Box Scratch-Its!  Let me tell you how they work.

First, I made several different reward cards and printed them on card stock.  I've got snowmen, monsters...

 ...winter...

...fire station and camping.

Next, choose a card and write "sticker" or "prize" in each of the circles with a black pen.  Choose random locations for each, and make each card different in terms of placement of the "prize" words.

Fill in the circles using a white crayon.

I color over the words a couple of times, making sure there's a nice layer of crayon wax on top of the words.

Then, paint over the top of the crayon wax using acrylic paint.  I chose light blue, but you could use any color you'd like.  The paint tends to dry streaky, so I usually apply 2-3 coats, especially over the middle of the circle to be sure to cover the words.

Let the paint dry for at least an hour.  Then you're ready to go!  I let the kids chose their own reward card, write their name on it and keep it in their chart.

This solution is working really well for me.  I don't need to keep my prize box stocked enough for all the kids on my caseload to hit it in one week, and it's not my decision as to whether it's a prize day or sticker day.  No more needing to explain my rationale!  Whew!

Would you like to give this a try?  You can download my reward cards here.  If you do download them, let me know what you think.  Graphics for these cute little charts are from Scrappin Doodles and KPM Doodles.

Have fun!

Pam

Kicking and Screaming

That's me, right there in that old photograph, kicking and screaming because I wanted to go swimming. That's my dad, the man with the smile as he gently tries to put my shoes back on and take me where I don't want to go.

I'm kicking and screaming again, after all these years.

My dad passed away on January 3, 2013 after a 13 year battle with cancer that left his body with literally no immune system.  He gave it a valiant effort, but in the end, the fight was just too large and his body just too weak.

I boarded a plane on January 2 to fly across the country to be by his side in his last days.  I'd never been down that road before, that road that ends with losing a parent, and I found myself kicking and screaming as I was being dragged down it against my will.

The days that followed are nothing but a blur now.  I'm back at home after twelve days, feeling like I'm slogging through mud.  I'm trying to decide which road to go down now.  How does one go down any road when their world is no longer the same?  I'm kicking and screaming yet again, at the thought of carrying on with the tasks of every day life that seem insurmountable right now.  How will I do it?  Hopefully with grace and perseverance, as was modeled by my dad, one day at a time.

In the meantime, please know that one day soon I'll be back to posting on a regular basis.  For now, please keep me in your prayers.

Pam

Snowman Slam! Game

My kids and I had so much fun with Santa's Cookie Slam! Game that I made a snowman version with a twist.  This game has the basic same idea as the Santa version, where players race to slap cards that match an instruction card.  The difference is that in the snowman version, each player collects their cards on a game board.

This is one of four different game boards, each with a unique snowman to build.

Players must collect the six pieces that match the ones displayed on their game board.  The game is designed for 2-4 players.  If you only have 2 players, the players take turns turning over an instruction card so both players can see it at the same time.  If you have 3-4 players, one player is selected to play the role of the reader and he or she reads the cards to the other players.  The reader must make sure to keep the card hidden  from the other players' view so the instructions are auditory instead of visual. This player does not collect cards.

Here is an example of the instruction cards:

...and the pieces to slam and the instructions.

Snowman Slam can be used to target a wide variety of goals, including:

     * Following auditory instructions

     * Auditory and visual processing skills

     * Articulation 

     * Language skills:  use of descriptors, colors, winter vocabulary, auxiliary verbs, plurals

     * Early Literacy:  instruction cards include colors and pictures, making it easy for even pre-readers to "read" them

     *Social skills:  turn-taking, winning and losing

This game includes 4 game boards, 24 matching cards, 24 instruction cards and instructions for play.   Here's what it looks like when it's all set up:  

You can download this game here.

Have fun!

Pam