An ode to chipper chats....

I have been slowly amassing Super Duper's Chipper Chat series every time they have a 50% off sale. I thought I would share a few of my thoughts on them...

 I was a little disappointed with the Auditory Processing Chipper Chat. It comes with a book & CD that have all the task cards rather than the pre-made laminated cards we're all used to. As a school-based therapist, it is not exactly the most convenient thing in the world to make & laminate cards for a store bought material. I had to back all of my cards with poster paper and try to make them evenly cut. Not cool, Super Duper, just not cool. I still haven't managed to get all of the cards made and it's almost October. However, I do have to say that the cards do have some good activities even if they have been a pain in the behind. My favorite are the recalling sentences and paragraphs as you can tie those into wh-questions.

 The Social Skills Chipper Chat comes with various picture scenes and little paragraphs in its handy-dandy manual. I printed out copies of the little stories and have adhered them to poster board as well. Once they are laminated, I plan on hooking them to a key ring for easy use. I do like the targets with this product and the bright visuals. I plan on using it to supplement my social skills lessons so the kids don't get sick of coloring books.

 The Wh- Questions Chipper Chat. Honestly, I haven't looked at this one yet because I've been trying to make cards for the other two. It comes with a manual instead of target cards as well. I think by this point, I may as well admit that I read more about what each product targets than the fine print that talks about the cards being something you have to fix on your own. Part of me really just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. I know it has gotten outstanding reviews on their site as well as by other bloggers. I'm just going to trust their opinions and my own positive experience with my district's copy of Wh- bingo (I LOVE that game).

 The Vocabulary Chipper Chat.....How many ways can I say how much I love this product? Probably not enough. I don't use any of my Chipper Chats on a regular basis as I like maintaining their novelty and I just prefer book based therapy. However, the Vocabulary one has terrific cards that can be used for multiple targets. I like the category cards as I use those to talk about similarities and differences too. The context clue one is a little too hard for my students right now, but hopefully we'll work our way up to it this year.

 The Artic Chipper Chat is the most used out of all of my collection. I've had it for about a year now and love using it for phrase and sentence level practice. My articulation groups are always very competitive. I don't know if that's because I have them keep tallies with me or if it's just that entertaining. Whatever the case, I love using this as a motivator when drills get to be too much.

The best part about the Chipper Chats are the magnetic chips and the wand. Super Duper even sales them separately so you could make your own boards if you want.