Garden of Your Mind

I just had to share this video. I love it! I'll probably play it on the first day of therapy for all of my groups next year.

In other news, I found an Eric Carle game today at a yard sale for .50 . The reviews of the game itself are rather horrible (didn't know this until afterwords) due to vague directions. However, I'm planning to use it more in line with story sequence (have the kids point to which food came first or pick out the card that matches the page in the book) rather than confuse my younger students. The cards are a good size for little hands and the illustrations are stunning. It's for the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

There's a Moose in the House!! Oh no!

Today, wasn't a great day in the world of thrift store shopping. Sure, I found two brand new ties for my father. (He's constantly ruining ties by spilling food or ink on them.) I didn't have much luck in the way of therapy materials though. It happens...a lot. There can be weeks where there seems to be nothing in sight. It's very frustrating for me as I know my kids enjoy new toys. (However, they always return to old favorites.)

I did manage to find one game today: There's a Moose in the House for .99. I won't get to use this game until next year, but I like that the kids can learn around the house vocabulary with this activity. It also looks like it will encourage cooperation and being a good winner/loser. (Maybe we can try using prepositions with this game too?)

In the meantime, here are some old favorites of my students:


Piranha Panic Game 

This game is great for cooperation, following directions (move up two in a straight line or move to the spot beside the green fish), and can be used as a reward for articulation drills. My kids constantly ask for this game and they LOVE pulling the lever. (great vocabulary word btw) I bought this game for $1 at a charity thrift store. 

Tomy Pop-Up Pirate Game

Always a favorite in my room. It's great for drills, a reward for language activities...etc. 

Green Eggs and Ham Speedy Diner Game

This one is great for following directions. The kids go wild trying to "quickly" feed the animals without realizing that they are learning at the same time.

Door Hanger Paradise

I'm hoping to use the concept of culture for a year-long theme next year. I want to introduce my students to a different country/culture each month. I haven't figured out all the places I want to work on just yet.

September- USA: build on their vocabulary (city, state, country)
October-
November-Native American
December-African
January- Chinese
Febuary-Japanese
March- Ireland/UK
April-
May-Mexico (most of my students are ESL) or another South American country
June-Wrap ups

In the meantime, I went to one of my favorite hot spots-- The Mighty Dollar-- and found the perfect craft for an Asian theme. It's a panda door hanger from the Oriental Trading Company. It was a steal at $1 for 10-12 (hard to tell because of the packaging) This will be excellent for following directions and sequencing steps. I couldn't find the exact project on their website, but the link will take you to their door hanger crafts.

What are some crafts you like to do?

Goin' to the Salvation Army

I made a recent post about one of my favorite thrift store haunts, but it is not the only thrift store that is near & dear to my little SLP heart. I also enjoy finding good deals on games and books at the Salvation Army.

Via wikipedia: "The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over 120 countries.

It was founded in 1865 in the United Kingdom by William Booth and his wife Catherine as the north London Christian Mission and with a quasi-military structure.^[3] The theology of the Salvation Army is "mainstream Protestant".

I have been going to the Salvation Army store in my community since I was little. It was the little run-down store I got dolls, stuffed animals, and jewelry at until I reached middle school. At that point, I thought my thrift store days were over unless you count used bookstores. This was helped by the decision to close the store's downtown location and relocate a larger building on our "major" road. The new location brought the store major traffic as well as turning into a target for donation theft. My mom and I no longer felt entirely safe going to our favorite thrift store. 

I started going back to the Salvation Army a few months ago with the expectation that I would find nothing of use. Life, however, likes to surprise  us with the unexpected. I found a Guess Who? game for two dollars as well as some brand new scholastic paperbacks for .69 cents. I was hooked. 

Top 5 reasons I love Salvation Army

1. Their games are ALWAYS cheaper than the ones at Goodwill. I can buy games for $1-2 dollars there when I end up paying $2-4 at Goodwill.

2. Their books are TYPICALLY cheaper than the ones at Goodwill. Paperback books are usually .69 cents and hardbacks are $1. I have gotten some new hardbacks for $2. (This is similar for their school supplies too) 

3. I'm collecting random objects for an phonics tub/alphabet tub (similar to picture below from Teaching Treasures) and small toys are .29-.50 cents

4. I can usually find crafting items (Goodwill in my area never has them) that I can use for therapy art projects for .50-$1

5. In general, everything (except for their clothes and "antiques") are cheaper than Goodwill (and yes, this does vary from store to store)

Cons:

1. The clerk at our store is usually in a bad mood. 

2. It's always crowded and the parking lot is crappy.

3. After hours donation theft (which makes me worry about people trying to break into my car during store hours). 

New to me

Yesterday, I felt like I hit the jackpot during my lunch break. One of the EC teachers cleaned out the closet in her room and left three huge boxes of old supplies in our workroom. I don't know if all schools do this, but at my school this is an open invitation to grab some new materials for my room.

I snagged several old phonics readers from the 1970s that are PERFECT for carryover activities with my articulation groups. (The Seal, Spot, Tim, Ed, The Mitten, The Surprise). I like that the text is simple, repetitive, and has several sounds that I can target in each book. I used one today, The Seal, with one of my kindergarten groups. It was a great way to have them speak in sentences about Neal the seal as he tried to go home to his owner. We also retold the story, which is great for sequencing activities.

The next thing I snapped up is a wh- question game. The kids can develop questions or formulate sentences. This will be great for a student that I'm about to pick up.

Lastly, I grabbed a brand new social studies card deck. Each card has a picture of a person performing some type of activities. There are so many ways to use this kind of material. Have the students ask each other questions to figure out which card they have, using pronouns, building vocabulary, formulating sentences...etc.

It was a great haul!

Hey everyone,
      It's been a while since my last post. I've been overloaded with last minute screenings/evaluations. However, I want to post today about being a thrifty SLP. (I think that really should be the name of my blog..TheThriftySLP).Today I will share with you some insight into one of my favorite places........................: GOODWILL.

According to their website:

"Goodwill Industries International's mission is to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals, families and communities by eliminating barriers to opportunity and helping people in need reach their fullest potential through the power of work."


This mission is a noble one indeed. One, that I value considerably due to the current economic state of our country and the socio-economic status of the majority of my students. Many of the students at my school come from families who are unable to purchase clothing (of any type be it new or used) and school supplies. They also get very little contact time with their parents as they are working overtime in the hopes of making ends meet. This is a very disheartening and eye-opening state for me to be in as someone who is in the "privileged" middle-class family.

Anyways, I like what Goodwill stands for: OPPORTUNITY. Shopping there has such a dual purpose unlike larger chain stores that shall remain nameless. Plus, I've gotten tons of great stuff at a great price for therapy in the course of a year. The EC program facilitator's jaw dropped when she learned that I had gathered a room full of materials in just one year thanks to goodwill shopping (among a few other stores, but most of it is from goodwill).

Some of the highlights: games for .99-2.99
                                   toys for .69-3.00 (including Melissa & Doug)
                                   puzzles (both wooden & cardboardish kind) for .69-2.00
                                   books (scholastic- like new, golden books, etc) for .75-2.00
                                   stuffed animals/puppets for animated literacy  .99-3.00
                                   storage containers for .69-3.00
My favorite finds:
          Laura Numeroff books (http://www.amazon.com/You-Give-Mouse-Cookie-Give/dp/0060245867) for .80 cents with my mom's discount card.
          Picture dictionaries/encyclopedias- my kids love to look at animals and talk about them
          "Sammy" Snake puppet which I use for beginning /s/ articulation drills with my younger students
           Namits Junior game which is awesome for categories (http://travelwithkids.about.com/b/2006/11/01/namits-car-travel-game.htm)
          Melissa & Doug dress-up set which is popular with the girls. It's great for naming & language expansion for lower level students
          Pop-up pirate- hands down a favorite in my room. It's a great way to trick the kids into cooperating with artic. drills for swords.

What good buys have YOU found at a thrift store?

spring break

Today is the last day of my Spring Break. It's been a wonderful week-long episode of freedom from meetings, noisy hallways, and rooms with no windows. (Yes, my speech room has no windows and was a closet at one point in time.)

Accomplishments- Sleep - Reading books for fun - Day trip - Pinterest Exploring - Quality time with my cats

This coming week I will be learning about kindergarten transitions. Eek! Two days of testing kids with the new DIAL and praying my students will go easy on me. I was going to do a pirate themed week, but I will have to delay that until next week. My kids will be doing a graffiti art project instead that I can hang out in the hallway for May's Better Speech & Hearing month as I don't have any decorations out right now. 

I am up to my eye-balls in IEPs & billing for the next two months. Praying I will survive.