The 10 Item Behavior Kit

So, I took a trip to town today.  The single goal was to buy all the items that I needed to create this awesome behavior kit.  That's right...tomorrow I shall be prepared.
  **See my last blog post on how I use this behavior kit!!**
So last week I asked a mom of a new student what kinds of things I could use for positive reinforcement.  Her response was simple.  "Candy." She said, "What three year old doesn't like candy?"  So, the behavior kit was born.  Here's what you will need to create your very own kit!
Supply list:
A bead sorter- I found mine in the sewing section (or a fishing tackle box will work)
Shiny, sparkly foam letter stickers
CANDY- lots of it...different textures and flavors...

I chose:
 1. Gummy Bears
 2. Sour Patch Watermelons
 3. M&M's
 4. Reese's pieces
 5. Smarties
 6. Skittles
 7. Starburst bites
 8. Hot tamales
 9. Jelly Bellies
10. Air Head Extreme Bites
Basically what you are looking for is small bite size pieces of candy for a quick reinforcement that doesn't take long to eat.

The reason you want them organized in a tool kit is because you want to be able to QUICKLY grab what you need and QUICKLY reinforce the behavior you are looking for.
Other items that I did not include, but that could be switched out with some of the above:
Stickers
Sour Spray
Smelly chapstick (put a little on the back of their hand)
Smelly glitter spray
Bubbles
Stamps
Tickles
High Fives
Goldfish Crackers
Raisins
Freeze dried fruit
Freeze dried vegetables
Popcorn
A quick look at a video on an Ipad or the computer
Chips
Anything that you can think of that is a small item that the student really likes.  Please note if your students have any allergies or medical conditions before you give them any type of reinforcer!  Now use your cute stickers to decorate the outside of your kit!  I hope that this helps you in your therapy adventures.

Take a look at my Behavior Intervention Strategies and Documentation on TeachersPayTeachers for more behavior management ideas!

Problem Behaviors...am I the only one?

So this year...I'm getting prepared.  It helps when your BFF is a preschool behavior guru.  She's been such a blessing.  What has she taught me?

When I have that student who will not listen, they are being disruptive to the group, not focused on the task, up walking around the room...you know the kid...the one who is waiting for you to get up out of your seat before they listen.  Yep, this is my second year with that one.  So, this year I am giving the students who are behaving in the group a little sercy.  That's right, just a little piece of  candy, goldfish crackers, a sticker or anything small that they like.  But the kid who isn't listening doesn't get one quite yet.  This week that kid said, "I don't like candy anyway."  I smiled.  I knew the game.  So I told him, "Okay, well when you listen and follow directions like the others in the group, I will let you choose a sercy."  Guess what the student chose after his time of following directions was over?  Yep, candy.  I smiled.  This time because I knew that I had found a way to get that student to understand that you can be reinforced for your positive behavior.  Set out a visual timer and let them see how long they need to participate or sit still or play a game, then when the time is up, positively reinforce them.
Sometimes we find ourselves with students that just need some redirection.  Some need verbal cues, some need physical cues.  You just have to pull out all the stops to find out what the kid really likes and then use it to your advantage!  It could be something as simple as a tickle or a high five!
This also works for the new little ones that come in without any expressive language skills.  I have found that they have a great deal of behaviors that need to be addressed.  So you have a puzzle and you want them to place one puzzle piece into the correct place.  Just ONE, right?!  Well, pull out the reinforcer of their liking and say, "Do you want a (insert goodie here)?"  Let them see the item and think about it.  Most of the time, if the reinforcer is too yummy to pass up, they will attend to the task you asked them to preform.  Stay tuned for my next blog post: The 10 item behavior kit.
Image Credit: © Bialasiewicz | Dreamstime.com

Articulation Spinners

I'm joining the Frenzied SLPs to tell you about a super cool product of mine that you really need to grab during the sale!

I am so very excited to share my latest TeacherspayTeachers product with you!  It's called "Articulation Spinners."  It will keep your students engaged and excited about working on their articulation goals!

They are so easy to make and I know your students are going to have a blast playing with them while they practice their speech sounds.  Here's a video clip to show you just how fun they are to play with.

All you have to do is make copies of the product and then give each student a sound sheet that aligns with their speech goal.  Have them color the template!  Encourage them to choose bright colors and not to leave any white!  The more color you have the cooler the spinner will be!  The full color example you see in the picture below are for s blends.  This page is included in the product so that you can quickly print it out and assemble a visual for the students to go by.

TpT Back to School Sale Linky Party

That's right my SLP friends.  It's Back to School Time for me!  I'm super excited about starting the new year with some fresh products from the sale.  Check out lots of other SLP seller's carts at the TpT Back to School Sale Linky Party.

I have been busy this summer creating new products and I would love for you to check them out!

I know you need this super cute Speech Sound Awareness Craft for the first week back!  I'm excited about giving my students a visual to take home and display as a reminder of what sound they are working on in therapy.

 The first thing I will do when I return will be to prepare to start tracking student data!  My Group Data Collection Tool is perfect for this!

Now, let me show you what I have in my cart for the sale:

I love the real pictures in Amy Haselden's Social Skills Bundle:

I really like A Perfect Blends Articulation Progress Trackers:

My kids will love this Dandelion Q-tip Painting from Speech Therapy with Courtney Gregg:

Some of my students would really benefit from a Picture Schedule from AGB Speech Therapy:

Have a blast shopping the BTS sale with me!!

Using stamps in speech therapy!

I will admit it.  I have a little problem with buying stamps.  I really like them. There, I said it.  My students LOVE using stamps in therapy.  Of course I have a few who will sneak and stamp their hands in the process, but I don't mind.  Here's my collection of stamps.

I have them organized by seasons, letters, numbers, and who knows how long I have had Chuckie and Reptar?
If you have stamps, you need stamp pads.  Here's my collection.  The ink in the cheaper seasonal stamps doesn't last very long at all, so these are my back up for those and for all my wooden stamps.  I have noticed that the large stamp pads dry out pretty quick.  I have a small water bottle and I just give the pad a spritz when it gets too dry.  Works like a charm.

Now, how do I use stamps besides using them for reinforcement?  Well, look below.  Below I am working with a group of three students who all have different speech sounds.  I have them choose the stamp that they would like (making sure they are all different) and then stamp the back of their image or word cards.  We then play a game where I mix up all the cards and they have to find their image and pull one of their cards.   

While we are playing the game, I use the stamps to mark the envelopes that I make so they can take their cards home.  I take a sheet of notepad paper, fold it in half, staple the sides and then after the game I stuff their cards inside and tape the top with some cute washi tape.  Yes, I have a washi tape obsession.  I'll save that for another post!  If you don't have the notepad stash (I should blush here), then just cut a sheet of paper that needs to be recycled into four sections and use that.  I sometimes will use a brad to close the envelope instead of the washi tape.

I also have used stamps for just about anything that you could use a paint dauber for.  It's really fun to create scenes with them!  It's always fun to see what the students can come up with if you give them a few stamps to create a scene.  I hope I have given you a new tip that you can use with your stamp collection!  Thanks for stopping by!

Enter to win a Fujifilm camera!

I have joined several TeacherpayTeachers friends to give away a super cute Fujifilm camera!  All you have to do is follow us on Instagram!  Enter the rafflecopter on the sidebar to the right for a chance to win this awesome giveaway!

Martin Luther King, Jr. in Speech Therapy

So, I am posting this late, but that's okay.  This week in therapy we made beautiful MLK crafts to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday on Monday.  Here's peek at my Lesson Plans and the craft set up.

You can find the craft in my TeacherspayTeachers store.  It's called: Martin Luther Speech Therapy Crafts.  My kids really enjoyed it!  I hang my samples on the board.  I also love to have a visual for my students see.

Here are some of my student creations.  Are they cute!  They have the speech words hidden under the hair curl or on a feather.  We practice our words as we glue the words on.  They take the crafts home for extra reinforcement.  The product includes all sounds in all positions plus blends and a blank sheet that you can use if the student is working on language or fluency goals.

The second therapy session of the week we used my Martin Luther King, Jr. Speech Therapy Social Game.  We discussed all the characteristics of a good friend by using my chart that is included in the unit.  Then we played the fun game and decided if the friend on each card was a good friend or a bad friend.  I noticed that it help my students with processing.  They had to think about what was read to them.  I let my readers read the card and we listened for words that contained their sound.  I drilled their speech sounds before they were given a card.  They really enjoyed the game and I hope that they will think about how they treat their friends.  This unit has an included homework sheet for articulation or language.  It also includes the lesson plans that you see in the first picture above.

Thanks for taking a look at my week in therapy!  I hope you had an awesome week!

Frenzied SLPs Linky: Favorite Organizational Tips

How do I "try" to stay organized?  First and foremost, I can NOT live without my speech data binder.  It stores all of my students and billing forms.  They are organized by group.  I'll even tell you how I organize my schedule to make using my binder super easy.  It really helps me!  I have the step by step to creating a binder in my TpT store if you need some help.
Here's my beautiful Speech Therapy Data Organizer...

  I keep all of my student data and attendance on my super easy Articulation Progress Data Forms.  The forms have all the sounds that I need in all positions.  I have them at the word level, phrase level, and sentence level.  I just choose the form that I need and place it in my binder.  Bam.  Data taken.  I love these forms, can you tell?  They also have a graph to show progress or regression.  Here's a FREE SAMPLE!  Try it and let me know what you think.  

The second way that I stay organized are my binders.  I take my products and place them in a binder in a way that I can easily find what I need.  Here's my Speech Language Screening Binder as an example.  I always clearly mark what's on the inside.

Then, I buy separators with pockets and label them accordingly.  This binder marks all the grade levels in my screening protocol.  I use this about once a week.  When the student comes in I can quickly grab the form I need.  

 I place all of the screening visuals in the front of the binder.  I put each sheet into a page protector.  My screening forms tell me which visual I need at the bottom.  It makes screening so smooth for me!

My third and final way that I stay organized is not a binder or a form.  It's my favorite cousin Rachelle.  Our school nurse had to leave in the middle of this year and Rachelle has stepped in to help all our little ones.  She's the smartest nurse I know.  I tell her that I really should have paid for half of her nursing classes because I use her wisdom daily.  She makes me laugh EVERYDAY.  I just love her.  We have known each other forever.  Really.  She is a hyper focused, super organized woman.  She won't leave work until every single child has been documented.  She has been my inspiration to bill each and every day so that I don't let things pile up and get overwhelmed.  Can you tell we are related?  This picture just makes me happy.   

Frenzied SLPs January Linky

I'm excited be a part of the Frenzied SLPs January Linky Party!  Thanks so much to all who host this!

So, it's a new year.  Time for changes and resolutions.  The Frenzied SLPs would like to know what I will do this year to make my life easier.  I am a very new blogger.  As in only a few weeks newbie.  I hope to start posting at least once a week about what I will be doing in therapy the next week.  If I do that, then I will have to write my lesson plans a week in advance.  That will be a huge deal for me.  I am the "wait until after church Sunday night" kinda lesson planner.  I have heard of SLPs who have their whole month planned out ahead of time.  What a dream.  The thing is, I feel trapped by a planning my lessons ahead of time.  I have done it before and I will always find something else that I would like to do.  All it takes is a cute craft or something that I know my students will love and the plans go out the door.  But isn't that part of being a therapist?  Constantly changing and adapting?  So, I think I will "try" to plan a week ahead this year.  You should be able to hold me accountable by checking to see if my blog post plans match up with my Instagram shots.  I give it my best shot.  Let's see, I'm writing this post on a Saturday...so let me go and get started on those plans!

I hope you have an awesome New Year!