Common Core Goal Banks

I'm finally finished with all of my Common Core goal banks. You can access them using the tabs or clinking on the links in this post. 

Basic Concepts (part of language)

and Reading
3rd Grade
4th Grade
5th Grade

It's a happy friday

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I'm starting to slowly gather up supplies for my next crafting project. It can take me a while to find pictures that I really like in old newspapers and magazines. However, that is NOT the problem with my Super Duper catalogs. I usually find too many things that I want to cut out and use in my projects as they have some of the best children models around. (The best toy pictures usually come from Rhode Island Novelty and Oriental Trading.) I don't have quite everything I need yet and I've got to back the pictures with sturdy paper. 

While I am waiting to get my crafting stuff together, I am still out hunting for bargains over the summer. I found these Crack the Codes books from Childcraft on Monday at my favorite discount store. They were $1 a book which is a very good deal. The majority of the books deal with basic concepts while a few work on syntax. 

 I love that each page is focused on one target so my students won't get overwhelmed. They also get the benefit of guessing the answer and having it "magically" appear with the help of the wands.

I've never heard of Childcraft before so I did a little research. It's one of several companies within School Specialty, Inc. It was formed in 1946 and specializes in educational materials for early learners (pre-K to 2nd grade). They have a lot of neat products such as the literacy tutor boxes. Sites like theirs are what help inspire many of my crafting projects.

Completely unrelated to speech but............

We've had thunderstorms every evening so far this week. It makes working on the computer a little difficult. I'm also just starting to get back into my creative spirits. So this post is for all the dog lovers out there. 

My parents have two medium sized dogs (now that we lost our mini dachshund) who LOVE to go on walks. 

I'd estimate that they both weigh around 65 pounds. This usually means that they walk us on a frantic smelling journey. It takes a toil on my hands. So I was thrilled to find this thing called Master Grip at the pet store on discount for $1. It's just a soft piece of plastic that slips onto the leash and feels like a handle. 

It's been three days so far and I love this thing. The dogs still drag me down the road at breakneck speed but my hand doesn't hurt as bad afterwords. 

Happy trails for happy tails.

You can't go wrong with crowns.

The best craft projects are those with the potential to create a little bit of a mess. Any child will tell you that although we adults often loathe the prospects of cleaning up the damage. Traditionally, I stick to things that don't involve the prospects of damaging clothes or cleaning. My inner scrapbooker enjoys tasks that stick to sharpies, tape, and magazine pictures. It's high time that I ventured slightly out of crafting comfort zone. 

 So a bottle of navy spray paint later and 18 cherry red burger king crowns later......my fears were conquered. I did minimal damage to my backyard and gave some old newspapers a new purpose.

 The crowns are great blank slates for projects once they're spray painted. I plan on making a set for the EET using die-cut circles similar to the ones in this previous post. I just don't have access to a die-cutter at the moment so I can't show you the results of that. You could also make one for each articulation sound so the kids always know who is working on what sound today.

However, I have started on a pronoun set. I am making two girl crowns and two boy crowns. One set will feature just plain models and the other set will have them completing actions. This way, I can use the crowns for double duty with wh-questions/syntax (who and what is "who" doing). I took small pictures and simply taped them on to the crown. There's no need for writing on the crowns with the pictures.

The total cost of the project was $1 for the paint. Burger King was awesome enough to give me the crowns for free!

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be....

I'm not ready to post quite as frequently as normal but I need something to take my mind off of last week. My reading rate has jumped from 1 book a day to 1.5 books a day. Reading has always been a great source of solace for me as has music.

In the rare times that I have been on the computer, I stumbled across this adorable nesting doll clip art. I created this file mostly as a distraction and knowing how many activities I'll need next year for following directions. It's a bit of a hodge-podge of things that I expect to target next year.

 You can grab your copy here.

Life is never easy....

I lost two pets in one week. One was expected as she wasn't in the best of health, but the other was completely unexpected. We and the vets did everything we could to figure out what was wrong. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough and we'll never truly know what went wrong. 

I'm a little raw emotionally right now so this will probably be my only post for the week. 

http://queenbeeknits.com/?attachment_id=2533

Oldies but goodies...(doesn't just apply to music)

I realize that there are many people out there in the world who crave "new"- new cars, new books, new furniture, new houses, etc- and disregard older things. Don't get me wrong, I love to get new things too. There's nothing like that new car smell or the fun of learning how to use a new camera. However, I've found that when it comes to therapy materials there can still be much said for older items.

Got lots of old tests? You can't use them for standardized test scores, but they may be a great way of collecting some informal data using subtests. 

Got old magazines/books that are falling apart? Use the pictures to make new story books, picture cards, or perhaps even magnets. 

Got old therapy materials- Use them to supplement your normal supplies. I like to add some variety into my articulation sessions by using the ancient Peabody cards and several old picture target books purchased via ebay. It's a teachable moment when they run into objects they've never seen before. I use an old deck of ESL conversation starters to work on social skills. They still had brains back in the 70s and 80s. 

See some old games lying around....look at them because they may be prefect for working on a target. 

 I showed you a picture of this game already. It's one that I picked up at a garage sale last summer. It is a prime example of how Milton Bradley inadvertently helps therapy sessions over the years. It also taught me to look past the crumbling game boxes to find hidden treasures on the inside. (The picture is post-extreme makeover Scotch Tape Edition.)  This game is from the 1980s and they don't make this version of Memory anymore. I wish they did because it is PERFECT for therapy. My students love telling story sequences using this game. My regular card decks are not always so popular.

Have a happy weekend!

Comparisons....gotta catch 'em all!

Summer starts tomorrow afternoon for me. I have to go to CPI training all day (basically how to deal with students in crisis situations) and then it's the sweet taste of freedom for me. I cannot wait to have free time to get back to crafting and giving my eyes a much needed break from the computer. One thing they don't warn you about in graduate school is how bad florescent lights are for your eyes. It looks like new glasses are in my future. 

In the meantime, I thought I would share some suggestions for yard sale season. I am by no means an expert at yard sales even though I've grown up going to them. These ideas are just how I tend to navigate the murky hours (6am-9ish am) of Saturday mornings to find awesome goodies.

                          

1. Look at your local newspaper for sales the night before. I also check craigslist sometimes to see if people post pictures of their items. Highlight the ones you are interested in and print off maps if needed 

2. Have an idea of the things you are looking for before you go. I know that I am going to be looking for three things: 1) Games 2) Kids books 3) Toys   I ignore everything else until I finish looking for these items. 

3. Take a buddy- I go to yard sales with my mom (and sometimes grandma). She knows my general list and will keep an eye out for me while looking at other things. 

4. Go early. The best selection will be there when the yard sale starts. You probably won't be able to haggle the price down but I'd rather get the good stuff than see someone else walking off with it.

5. Once you have something in your hands, don't put it back down unless you are absolutely sure you don't want it. 9/10 times someone else will pick it up. 

I am really bad about buying random/weird things at thrift stores and yard sales with just a slight inkling of how to use them for therapy. I bought these little Pokemon containers for .49 cent guessing that I would find a way to use them later. I ended up using them with my category/comparison cards. The kids have to tell me either what group the three cards fall into or two similarities/differences for two pictures. The person who gets the most cards wins my game and the surprise factor in each turn is a huge bonus. 

I think the cards are produced by Learning Resources as part of their Word Families & Rhyming center. I've never used them for their intended purpose with the pocket chart. I've always used them for categories and comparisons as they are easy to hide in *most* containers (except small Easter eggs) and are visually stimulating. (Note to Learning Resources....please come out with a set of tons of these cards as they are super useful for all kinds of therapy goals.)

June Link Up

It's time for the June link-up! June is going to be my relaxed month before the storm of summer professional development in July. 

Here's my line up:

So what else is exciting about June, I would say the SLPs Care for Ok. fundraiser. We've already surpassed our original goal! Thank you so much to everyone who has purchased one or both of the bundles. If you haven't had the chance yet, they are available on TPT for $15. To find out "Moore", go here. Bundle #1 is here, and Bundle #2 is here.

Ready to link up? Here are the rules:

1) Give credit where due - link to original ideas/blog posts, TpT/TN stores, etc.

2) Feel free to mention your own products, but please include items from other people. The purpose is networking.

3) After submitting your blog, visit four more blogs and make comments.

It's not far to Never Never Land No reason to pretend And if the wind is right you can find the joy Of innocence again....

I'm sad to say that I've broken my one can of soda rule the past two weeks. There's really no rhyme or reason to why all of this End of Grade testing has been such a source of exhaustion. You would think it would be more tiring to serve 20-some energetic children 5 days a week....Oh well, that's my embarrassing frustration for the week. I fell off the diet wagon for about 2 months and I've worked hard this past month to get a grip on the situation. 

When I haven't been cooped up thanks to overly long tests, I've been trying to work on some RtI planning for next year. I still think that the 5 Minute Articulation is one of my top solutions. I love the quick assessments even though it is taking forever to make sheets for the earlier developing sounds that the program lacks. 

I should be an expert at making graphs in Microsoft Word now. The ones for /p/ and /b/ are complete. I still have two more to go. At this point, I really don't even what to begin thinking about that project. My desperation for a distraction led me to an awesome website that covers the major areas one might run into for RtI.

Now, to get all of that lovely RtI stuff off my brain here's nice throw-back to my middle school days...

Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings Of the bluebird as she sings. The six o'clock alarm would never ring. But six rings and I rise, Wipe the sleep out of my eyes....

I'm afraid it's going to be a short post for tonight. I wore myself out today trying to get my room prepped for EOG testing. The next two days will be spent outside of my little room as it will serve as a 1:1 room. In trying to get anything that could possibly get knocked off or thrown, I ran across some very old articulation cards. I've used these a few times on my cart but usually I stick with my Giant Webber books. 

 The other reason I avoid using these card decks is the ever popular, "What is that???!," from my students. I have no idea what year these are from but my guess is between 70-80s judging by the looks of the record player.

The second thing I want to share with you tonight is another dollar store craft that really doesn't involve much crafting. It's a conversation tree to target staying on topic/turn-taking. The EC teacher who works with 4-5th graders found the idea on pinterest and created one just using simple squares of construction paper. I fell in love with the idea but decided to buy these neon die-cuts from Dollar Tree. They come in packs of 30 and appear to be intended for yard sale signs. I like the fact that they're in different sizes/shapes so students can earn bigger pieces for initiating topics vs. maintaining. All I had to do was get them laminated. The branches (for when they break off topic) and tree topper had to be made by hand using construction paper. It took about 45 to make those due to my need for details.

The result of one session. I can honestly say I know more about snakes now than I ever want to....ugh.

SLPs Care for Oklahoma

“Even the smallest act of caring for another person is like a drop of water -it will make ripples throughout the entire pond...”― Jessy and Bryan Matteo

Image by Putting Words In Your Mouth

I'm sure by now, you've noticed that the SLP blogging community has been buzzing about a special project dealing with Moore, Oklahoma. The project is two bundles of popular products and some new that will be sold for the month of  June for $15. It's a great way to purchase a variety of materials at a very low price. All of the proceeds will be going to the Moore, Ok. SLPs who've been affected by that horrible tornado. It's a serious honor to say that I made a product for this and had the opportunity to interact with many AMAZING SLPs in the process. You can check out Major Speech Pathology Fun by a Minor Girl for a detailed account. The bundles can be purchased here.

“It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of person-kind  bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.”-Leo Buscaglia