I will try...

I'm linking up with The Frenzied SLPs hosted by All Ya'll Need for a 2016 link up. While many people love the concept of resolutions, I love this idea of "I'll try," since I haven't been very faithful with fulfilling resolutions in the past. While Yoda says, "Do or do not. There is no try," I heartily disagree. How often have I told my students, "I'm so happy with that try." In therapy, it's not about perfection, but helping my students try their best and make progress even if it is so very slight. Perfection is too high a standard, plus only Jesus was able to obtain a perfect life. 

Before I go on ranting, here is my Try for 2016.

I, Caroline, promise to try to sanitize my work space and put away therapy materials each day.

I hate to say that I have not been very good at this. I know many teachers have their class clean at the end of the day, however, I can't bring myself to sacrifice the last few minutes of a therapy session to make students clean up my mess. Therefore, my lofty goal is to put away everything each day and at least wipe down the main work spaces. This, along with my Airborne gummies should help me lead a healthier and less stressful spring. 

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

Lord, Be My Guide

Welcome to 2016! This morning, I am sitting on my couch watching the sunrise and savoring a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee. I would love to say that my cat is beside me cuddling, but instead he keeps interrupting my writing by meowing and jumping on the counter-tops, forcing me to spring off the couch and chase him onto the floor.

Last night, I slept right through the new year and it was fabulous. Many bloggers post this time of year with their resolutions or goals. Growing up, my mom taught me a different approach. Each year she chooses a Bible passage to lead her and cling to during the year. This year, I have chosen Psalm 25:5 to be my "motto."

May the Lord bless you, keep you, and guide your year.

Let It Snow

Last week in my Minnesota classroom, it was snowing. Not real snow mind you, but snow that we created inside.

I found a recipe for this "snow" on Pinterest. The ingredients I used were baking soda, glitter, and white shampoo. I was supposed to to buy conditioner, but I accidentally grabbed shampoo. The good news is that it turned out ok!

Here are two of my elementary school groups that are working on describing and following directions.The snow came in handy for articulation groups, language groups, and even social skills groups. Here are some of the targets and activities that were compatible with this "snow day."


-Following directions
-Articulation (/s/ especially)
-Describing skills
-Sequencing
-Retelling events
-Making predictions
(what do you think we're making)
-Compare/contrast
-Practice with the EET
 (expanding expression tool)
-Following a group plan (social skills)

Surprisingly, this winter has been very mild in Minnesota. We had only rain until last Tuesday. As soon as I saw some snow accumulate on the ground, I scurried outside and scooped up a cup of snow to help my students compare and contrast the snow we made with real snow.

For my articulation students and groups, we either wrote letters to share with families or created books retelling the events in speech/language today. I underlined words containing speech sounds for easy identification and practice at home.

Here are a few things I learned during this snow making adventure.

-This project is super messy! Make sure you have a broom ready to go. I'm planning to bring in treats for our custodians after all the baking soda they cleaned up last week.

-This activity was perfect for the week before Christmas. At the school where I work, we are not allowed to celebrate the holidays or do Christmas based activities. Since my students had energy and limited attention spans, this was a great culturally sensitive activity.

-This requires more baking soda than I would have guessed. I ended up going through almost 5 boxes. A tupperware container helped keep the snow fresh as I added more and more batches as students created snow in their sessions.

 -One more thing I learned - Don't wear black pants on days where you are creating this snow!

Wishing you a white and blessed Christmas and a happy New Year!





Clipart within photos used with permission from Krista Wallden

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Christmas is almost here and busy schedules are full of report cards, Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and consuming vitamin C in an attempt to stay healthy. As I sit on my couch, watching my sleeping kitty in the glow of the Christmas tree, I am thinking back to a year filled with blessings. My husband and I  are very blessed to have a nice place to live, wonderful jobs, and finances to support my newly opened teachers pay teachers store.

This time of year, I always enjoy watching The Sound of Music for which I know many of the songs by heart. So, in spirit of the holidays and an amazing song, I am sharing some of my favorite TPT related things from 2015.


1) Parts of Speech Sentence Flips by the Dabbling Speechie
The uses for this product are endless. I have seen my students make so much progress in a very short amount of time with the help of these sentence strips. The visual presentation gives students the cues they need to make great sentences and the number of cards allows for lots of repetitions!



2) Smarty Symbols
Where would I be without Smarty Symbols? In May, I was able to scoop up a year's subscription on sale for better hearing and speech month and I have not regretted it.


3) Prompts on a Stick by The Peachie Speechie
A visual for every situation. These have been perfect to have around when practicing carrying over skills into the classroom or during conversation. It's a great way to fade verbal prompts and encourage students to monitor their own speech and language skills.



4) Stuttering Mini Unit by Natalie Snyders
I'm still trying to figure out how this is a mini unit. I have several new students with fluency disorders and I started using this unit earlier this fall. I still haven't made it through the unit and there are so many wonderful portions of this product.



5) Speech Scripts by The Peachie Speechie
One of her newer products, Meredith has made a fun and interesting way to practice articulation for my students who are almost ready to graduate from speech.





6) Grab 'n Go WH questions by Kristine Lamb
How many questions are there in this packet? Too many to count. For my students who have difficulty answering questions, having 3 visual options allows my students to be successful answering questions.

7) High Stakes Testing Vocabulary Jr. by Natalie Snyders
Vocabulary is hard to target and having this product is wonderful! I had the upper grades version last year and now having the version for my younger students is giving me the opportunity to better support them in the classroom and prepare them for tests and academic activities.




9) Interactive Vocabulary Books by Jenna Rayburn
Jenna keeps making these wonderful interactive vocabulary books. At first, I was hesitant to purchase these because I don't work with very many younger kids. However, I am so very glad I did! These books work well for my younger students who really struggle with language concepts. They are wonderful for my English Language Learners as well.

There you have it! Several of my favorite things. And to round it off at a nice even 10, here's my favorite project creation and blogging buddy.

10) Odin

Cyber Monday Sale on TPT: What's In Your Cart Linky Party

SAAAAALE!!! Teachers Pay Teachers is Having a Cyber Monday sale site-wide. While I have never braved the crowds on Black Friday, I love to surf for deals from the comfort of my couch and Cyber Monday is the perfect way to do so. Jenna over at Speech Room News is hosting her What's in Your Cart Linky Party and I wanted to join in the fun.

Many Stores, including mine - Speech Is Heart - will be 20% off. Don't forget to include the code SMILE during checkout for an additional 8% off!

To start you off, here's what you need from my store to get you through to winter break.

These visual strategies posters are perfect for decorating your speech/language room while at the same time reminding students of their strategies. Current version includes strategies for playing board games, greeting others, following directions, active listening, and more.




My Would You Rather for articulation R practice has been updated to be more readable, more colorful and to include better questions. Check out the whole bundle on Monday for a fun carryover activity for your students.

Finally, make sure to grab my Feeling Charades game for your next social skills group. This fun game is a great way to practice reading facial expressions and body language.


Now for some shopping. Here's what's sitting in my cart for the Cyber Monday Sale.

Articulation Smash Mats by Simply Speech.

Speech Scripts from The Peachie Speechie.

Talk to the Hand for problem solving by SLP Runner.

Time to get shopping. While you're at it, download my latest FREEBIE and let your fellow SLPs and co-workers know how much you appreciate them around these stressful amazing holiday times by giving them a Kudos note to celebrate their amazing-ness!