Look at my Lessons 3/30/15

Hi Friends! 
I am counting down the days... our Spring Break is next week and I absolutely cannot wait! Work has been busy and life has too! I'm in need of some slow-down time. I'm actually considering going into work one day next week to organize and make my life a little easier, but we'll see. :)

Anyway, I didn't quite get to this last night... but it's still Monday so hopefully this post will be helpful to you!

Here's a "Look at my Lessons" for the week! 

DISCLAIMER: I know everyone has caseloads made up of varying ages and abilities… so my lesson plans may not apply to everyone. However, I often use open-ended reinforcement activities and those can be utilized for many different therapy groups. I should caution that I've listed mainly the materials I'm going to use- I don't include behavioral strategies, prompting and modifications in my lesson plans… they are VERY general. But, they give me place to start when it comes to therapy for the week!

I have some photos and a list below of my lesson plan activities and where you can get them! :)

 Easter Egg Hunt

I'm so excited to do a real, live, Easter Egg Hunt with my preschoolers and kindergarteners! I snagged these cute Easter Bunny headbands at Michael's Craft Store, along with some eggs and Easter bags. I'll be using Mommy Speech Therapy word level worksheets to cut up and put target words in eggs! I'm planning to hide the eggs in a garden area on our school grounds! The kiddos should love it- I'm a little nervous that their excitement will trump speech word practice, but we will see!

Easter Bingo 

Crazy Little Projects has a cute Easter Bingo that is so colorful and simple! I love to use this as an open-ended reinforcer for my articulation groups! I use bingo chips from my Chipper Chat games and the kiddos get to draw a card after their designated articulation sentence/target. It keeps their little hands busy and, everyone loves BINGO! :)

Easter Egg Craft

I got these cute and easy black & white eggs at Hobby Lobby last year! I'm sure you can find a version of this at any craft store or you can just find an Easter egg coloring page online to use! Once again, an easy open-ended reinforcer to use with any target! I'll be using this with my articulation kiddos this week!

Spring Themed Taboo

This is by Keeping Speech Simple on TpT! I'm so excited to use this unique yet simple game with my Social Skills kiddos to target inferences, perspective taking and nonverbal communication (e.g. eye gaze and body orientation throughout the activity)! I will likely make modifications to this activity for my younger kiddos vs. older kiddos. 

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure 

I posted about this last week, but I'll be using it again this week because I couldn't get through my whole book companion pack (see below) last week. :) I purchased this book a  at Target, but you can also get it on Amazon. It's a super cute book about Pete having to fill-in for the Easter bunny on Easter morning. 

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure Book Companion

My book companion targets "WH" questions (basic & advanced), sequencing, comparing & contrasting and includes open-ended games and activities! If you have the Pete the Cat:Big Easter Adventure book, you've got to check out the companion pack in my TpT store! :)

 Spring Articulation Carryover Paragraphs

My carryover paragraphs have been a total go-to therapy material these days! This packet targets the carryover of later developing sounds ( S, Z, R and "TH") and has a spring time theme. This is designed for upper elementary aged students who are in the carryover phase with their articulation targets. I love using these- it's such a quick and fun way to sneak in numerous productions of target sounds!

I have many other Easter themed ideas in my Look at my Lessons post from last week - so check it out if you haven't already. :)

Throughout my work week, I often post pictures of what I'm doing in therapy on Instagram! It's my favorite way to share, so be sure to check it out!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!!

Look at my Lessons 3/22/15

Hi Friends! 
First of all, thank you to everyone who took part in our blog hop! It was a great success and I'm so glad all my readers were able to snag such amazing FREE materials! Yay!!!

So, it's Sunday and that means it's time for another "Look at my Lessons" post! I'm sorry I didn't post one of these last week. I had all the blog hop craziness going on and I've been sick since last Monday, so I've been a little off track. I'm still sick and crossing my fingers that this cough and sore throat goes away ASAP…. I'm in a wedding on Friday! 

Here's a "Look at my Lessons" for the week! 

DISCLAIMER: I know everyone has caseloads made up of varying ages and abilities… so my lesson plans may not apply to everyone. However, I often use open-ended reinforcement activities and those can be utilized for many different therapy groups. I should caution that I've listed mainly the materials I'm going to use- I don't include behavioral strategies, prompting and modifications in my lesson plans… they are VERY general. But, they give me place to start when it comes to therapy for the week!

I have some photos and a list below of my lesson plan activities and where you can get them! :)

Jumping Jack game

I just got this game a couple months ago at Target! It's super cute and very similar to Pop-Up-Pirate! I use it as an open-ended reinforcer during therapy. It lends itself perfectly to my Easter theme this week and I already know that my kiddos LOVE it! If you're interested, you can get it on Amazon!

Egg Hunt

Check this item out in my TpT Store! Use as an open-ended reinforcement for any activity! The students can earn one Easter egg for each task you ask them to complete (e.g. articulation cards, language cards, math facts, sight words, etc). The students will pile the Easter eggs on their Easter basket mat as they complete the tasks.

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure 

I purchased this book a week or so ago at Target, but you can also get it on Amazon. It's a super cute book about Pete having to fill-in for the Easter bunny on Easter morning. I loved it so much that I made a book companion for it!

Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure Book Companion

My book companion targets "WH" questions (basic & advanced), sequencing, comparing & contrasting and includes open-ended games and activities! If you have the Pete the Cat:Big Easter Adventure book, you've got to check out the companion pack in my TpT store! :)

Easter Egg Sequencing

I found this cute freebie by The Deane's List when I was searching TpT for more Easter language activities for  my kiddos! I'm looking forward to using this!

Easter Expected vs. Unexpected

 This is a great activity with my social skills groups! I use these cards to target identification of Expected & Unexpected behaviors. Sometimes, depending on the attention level of my kiddos, I use this with some sort of simple point system or reinforcer as they respond to each card.

Spring Articulation Carryover Paragraphs

My carryover paragraphs have been a total go-to therapy material these days! This packet targets the carryover of later developing sounds ( S, Z, R and "TH") and has a spring time theme. This is designed for upper elementary aged students who are in the carryover phase with their articulation targets. I love using these- it's such a quick and fun way to sneak in numerous productions of target sounds!

Throughout my work week, I often post pictures of what I'm doing in therapy on Instagram! It's my favorite way to share, so be sure to check it out!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!!

Hopping into Spring: Newbie Blog Hop!

Hi Friends!!!

I am so excited to be hosting this blog hop with Jennifer from Speech Therapy Fun! It's been so great to collaborate with such amazing SLPs and newbie bloggers/TpT sellers!

If this is your first visit to my blog, thanks for visiting! I'm excited to have you!!!! 

A little bit about me….

I'm Chelsea. I live in Orange County, CA with my husband and our chocolate labrador, Olive! During my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband, friends and family!  

I'm a pediatric SLP. I've been working in the field since 2009. I currently work in the public school setting with preschool to 5th grade in Orange County, CA. I also see little ones for in-home private therapy. I am licensed and ASHA certified.

I've been blogging for just a few months, since January 2015. I've truly loved the whole blogging and TpT experience. I have been able to collaborate with some amazing SLPs and I truly feel it has not only made me better at what I do, but this whole process of sharing and seeing what others are doing in therapy keeps me feeling positive and excited when I go to work each day… even on the crazy days!

Please take a look around my blog while you're here! Every week, I share my lesson plans and links for those materials… it's a major time-saver when it comes to prepping for therapy each week! I also love to share about new ideas, go-to games and apps for therapy. 

Be sure to follow me (you can use the social media banner on the top right corner of my blog) to make sure you are kept up-to-date on new materials, blog posts and therapy ideas! My favorite way to share is typically through Instagram, so make sure to follow me there!

For our Hopping into Spring: Newbie Blog Hop, I'll be offering you an AMAZING spring freebie for today and tomorrow only! I'm so happy to be hosting this hop with Jen & I've loved getting to know so many new SLP bloggers!

My FREEBIE is.... drumroll please...…

Spring Articulation Carryover Paragraphs

My Articulation Carryover Paragraphs are some of the products I am most proud of in my TpT store! I've used them over and over in my own therapy sessions and I've been hearing great feedback from other SLPs that have used them!

It's so hard to find a great way to target carryover of target sounds once our older kiddos get to that point, so that is why I created these products! I plan to continue to make more Articulation Carryover Paragraphs.... but for now, I have Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day and Spring themed sets.

How do I use them? I print them out, cut them and laminate them. Then, I put them together on a ring. I use them during speedy speech sessions (10 mins, 2x per week) with my students that are 3rd grade and up. I always bring my "clicker" to count how many products we get in each paragraph. I sometimes bring a highlighter so my students can highlight their target sound throughout the paragraph before we begin.

My students LOVE these paragraphs and I do too! I always get 150+ productions of their target sound within a quick 10 minute session! The target sounds in each paragraph are in all word positions, while the stories are fun and silly.

If you grab my Spring Articulation Carryover Paragraphs FREEBIE today and you enjoy it, please leave me feedback and check out the other Articulation Carryover Paragraphs in my store!

In addition to the freebie I'm offering for today and tomorrow, I have other great spring-themed products in my TpT store. I've been printing and laminating all of these materials to use in my own speech room for the next few weeks! They are must-haves, so be sure to check these out, too!

Thanks for stopping by!! Be sure to hop to the next blog to snag some more freebies! 

P.S. Stop by my friend, Sparkly Speech Girl's TpT Store for a Spring Freebie as well! She may not have a blog, but she's joining in the hop fun! You can follow her on Instagram for some great ideas and materials, too!

Happy Spring!!!!!

The Power of Reflection

What makes a great general education teacher, SLP, OT, PT or special education teacher?

I'm sure many people would weigh in on this topic and have various things to say. The qualities on the top of that list would probably be:
-Passion
-Patience
-Education
-Experience
-Organization
-Communication
-Creativity

However, I feel that there is one specific quality that towers above all the rest. It is the most important quality that will turn a good teacher, SLP, OT, PT or SPED teacher into a great one.

Reflection.

Yes, all of the other qualities are important... but I think that the power of reflection is often overlooked and, it is the most important of them all.

The special education teacher at my school and I have found ourselves in conversations this school year where everything comes back to that one important quality. 

When we consciously step back and reflect on how we're conducting therapy, writing goals, assessing students, collaborating with other professionals and communicating with parents, THAT is when we are able to do our best work. 

I'm not talking about a formal write-up here. I'm talking about taking a second to reflect in your own mind. 

In your therapy session…. was your prompting effective? How could it be more effective? How about your behavior management? What worked today and what didn't? What tools can you utilize from today's session that can work next time? What totally flopped that you should never use as a tool again? :)

In your goal writing…. does the baseline for the goal reflect where the child is currently in order to truly measure progress down the road? Is the goal realistic? Is it specific? Did you consider prompting? And then, when you're working with the kiddos on this goal… even months down the road… does this goal still work or does it need to be tweaked?

In your assessment…. did you look at the WHOLE child? Did you observe the student in more than one setting? Did you administer informal and formal assessments? Is there anything missing from your assessment? If so (no one is perfect), what can be done next time to make sure your assessment is more comprehensive?

When collaborating with other professionals….. did you get their input on the student you both work with? Can you share information about what works for you that would work for other professionals working with that child? Did you listen effectively? What can you learn from them? What can they learn from you? If the interaction didn't go so well, how can you repair the communication breakdown next time?

When communicating with parents…. did you share strengths AND weaknesses? Did the parents understand the assessment/goals/service delivery? Did you remember to explain the IEP process if it's their first IEP? Did you listen? What can you learn from them? Did you provide input for how they can support their child at home?

Obviously the list goes ON and ON. No one expects anyone to cover all these things all the time. However, it has been my experience that the most effective professionals are those who continue to reflect on what they do and why they do it. 

I tend to be an over-thinker. Analyzing things just happens to be a part of my personality. I tend to always be thinking about the impression I'm giving others, whether my interactions and therapy sessions are effective, if I'm being clear… etc. So, having that type of personality has it pros and cons, but it obviously lends itself well to "reflection" in my profession. 

Being reflective is something we can ALL focus on doing. I think it is important to realize that no one is perfect. We don't always have the most effective therapy sessions- even if they are planned out to a "T". But, we can always reflect on those experiences to improve future sessions with that child and all future children. Sometimes parent or staff interactions don't go smoothly. That's okay! But, if we can take a second to reflect on what we did, it can hopefully make the next parent interaction better.

The power of reflection is that it keeps us from being stuck in the same place. Sure, our jobs get hectic and stressful. The path of least resistance is to just stick with the same routine when it comes to therapy, IEPs, collaboration, goal writing, etc. But, getting stuck in that pattern is not what is best for the children we work with. 

Reflection keeps us on our toes! It keeps us thinking, analyzing and moving forward!

Look at my Lessons 3/8/15

Hi Friends! 

How is March treating you so far? My girlfriend and I have officially deemed it "March Madness" in the special ed world. I just keep telling myself I need to make it to the end of March and everything will be okay. :) 

Today I'm doing my fifth "Look at my Lessons" post! :) I'm linking up with Old School Speech for her Week in Review linky, as well!

This week, I'll be using some of my own materials for therapy, along with other St. Patrick's Day materials. My lessons last week were all St. Patrick's Day themed… but it was "science week" at my elementary school, so unfortunately it was near impossible to pull some of the kiddos for speech. I didn't get to use all my planned activities so some of them are rolling over to this week. :) 

Here's a "Look at my Lessons" for the week!

DISCLAIMER: I know everyone has caseloads made up of varying ages and abilities… so my lesson plans may not apply to everyone. However, I often use open-ended reinforcement activities and those can be utilized for many different therapy groups. I should caution that I've listed mainly the materials I'm going to use- I don't include behavioral strategies, prompting and modifications in my lesson plans… they are VERY general. But, they give me place to start when it comes to therapy for the week!

I've listed the names of my lesson plan activities below and where you can get them! :)

St. Patrick's Day Craft - check out Hobby Lobby, Target or Michael's for cute and easy foam crafts! They always have great little holiday crafts that can be used as open-ended reinforcers in therapy! 

Lucky Tucker -  I purchased this book on Amazon last year. It's a super cute book about a dog and his lucky St. Patrick's Day. I used it to target inferencing, predicting, story retell, etc. Then, I found the Lucky Tucker Book Companion by WhitneySLP… now my "Lucky Tucker" book will likely be a lesson spanning over this week and next week. Yay!!!

Print 'n' Go St. Patrick's Day Packet (Includes "Roll a…. Clover, Rainbow & Pot 'o' Gold", "St. Patrick's Day game board" and "Pot 'o' Gold Boards") by SLP Chelsea (me)

I'm Lucky Because Activity FREEBIE by SLP Chelsea (me)

St. Patrick's Day Articulation Carryover Paragraphs by SLP Chelsea (me)

Sneak a Shamrock by SLP Chelsea (me)

Throughout my work week, I often post pictures of what I'm doing in therapy on Instagram! It's my favorite way to share, so be sure to check it out!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!! 

Look at my Lessons 3/1/15

Hi Friends! 

I'm back on my blogging and TpT game! Work is still insanity, but I've been able to hunker down and write a lot of reports that were hanging over my head, so that has helped! It sounds like many of you are feeling the same… hang in there!!

If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sure you've seen me post about all the new products in my TpT store! I'm so excited about all of these products and I can't wait to use them myself! :) 

Today I'm doing my fourth "Look at my Lessons" post! :) I'm linking up with Old School Speech for her Week in Review linky, as well!

This week, I'll be using some of my own materials for therapy, along with other St. Patrick's Day materials. I just love themes- it makes my job a little easier and a whole lot more fun! 

So… here's a "Look at my Lessons" for the week!

DISCLAIMER: I know everyone has caseloads made up of varying ages and abilities… so my lesson plans may not apply to everyone. However, I often use open-ended reinforcement activities and those can be utilized for many different therapy groups. I should caution that I've listed mainly the materials I'm going to use- I don't include behavioral strategies, prompting and modifications in my lesson plans… they are VERY general. But, they give me place to start when it comes to therapy for the week!

I've listed the names of my lesson plan activities below and where you can get them! :)

Shamrock Challenge by Peachie Speechie

Print 'n' Go St. Patrick's Day Packet (Includes "Roll a…. Clover, Rainbow & Pot 'o' Gold" and "Pot 'o' Gold Boards") by SLP Chelsea (me)

I'm Lucky Because Activity FREEBIE by SLP Chelsea (me)

St. Patrick's Day Articulation Carryover Paragraphs by SLP Chelsea (me)

St. Patrick's Day Inferencing Activity by Kari Radovich

Throughout my work week, I often post pictures of what I'm doing in therapy on Instagram! It's my favorite way to share, so be sure to check it out!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!!!