I just love this time of year. The weather cools down and the holidays are right around the corner. Since I work at a private school, we don't go all out for Halloween. However, this is the time of year that I love teaching about creepy crawly critters....especially spiders!
This was a really fun project to make with the class. It was fairly simple to make and used supplies that I already had in my classroom. To get started, I took a piece of card stock paper and a bottle of glue (don't use a glue stick) I drew out a spiderweb with the glue on the paper. A white crayon works too, but the glue method turns out so much better. It also gives the web a 3-d texture! I did this during the kids rest time and let it dry overnight to avoid little fingers touching the wet glue!Not So Spooky Spider Craft
Tuesday, October 17, 2023Teaching Life Skills
Wednesday, July 5, 2023I'm Teaching PreK!
Wednesday, June 14, 2023Using Bite-R in Speech Therapy
Friday, October 1, 2021
Happy Friday! I am really excited share a therapy tool that I have been using with my students (and my own son!) called Bite-R with you all. Before I start telling you all about my Bite-R experience, I want to introduce you to Susan Haseley. She is a speech-language pathologist and the creator of Bite-R. Susan had two students that were unable to achieve the R sound and ended up being her inspiration to invent this device in 2013. I met Susan at ASHA a few years ago. I was intrigued by her demonstration and the research she presented on her invention. At the time, I didn't have many articulation students on my caseload so I did not end up purchasing a kit. But fast forward to this year where I have a ton of kids with only R on my caseload... I reached back out to Susan about giving Bite-R a try, and here we are today!
What is Bite-R?
The Bite-R is a tactile therapy device that helps bring awareness to the movement, tension, and stability needed to produce the /r/ sound correctly. The device is made with an elastic tension band that helps create sensory motor memory. /R/ has always been one of the hardest sounds to teach because it is produced in the back of the mouth making it more difficult to show our students correct placement. The Bite-R gives the student the tactile cues of correct placement along with our verbal cues for correct production. I am definitely more of a visual learner, so if you are like me and want to see how this works, you can check out Susan's video demonstrations, here.
I personally own the Start Up Kit. The Kit includes 2 Bite-Rs with Cases, 1 Practice Deck, 1 Manual, 1 Instruction Booklet, Charting Form and Sentence Analysis forms. The Practice Deck provides a list of 30 functional words that contain R in a variety of positions and contexts (vowels, blends, consonantal) and the common misarticulations for each word with instructions for remediation. The Manual includes a chapter specifically on vowels and a chapter that goes in depth with those children who don't make successful productions right away. All kits come with a certificate for free live online training with Susan, which I highly recommend.
My Favorite Fall Jokes!
Wednesday, September 22, 2021Q: How do you fix a broken pumpkin?
A: With a pumpkin patch!
Q: How do trees get on the internet?
A: They log in!
Q: What is a scarecrow's favorite fruit?
A: STRAW-berries!
Q: Why do trees hate tests so much?
A: Because they always get 'stumped!'
Q: Which season is the cutest?
A: Awwwwwtumn!
Q: What do you get if you drop a pumpkin?
A: Squash!
Q: Why did the scarecrow win the Nobel Prize?
A: Because he was out-standing in his field!
Q: What has ears but doesn't listen?
A: A cornfield!
Q: What do you get when you cross a turtle and a giraffe?
A: A turtle-neck!
Q: How do leaves get from place to place?
A; In autumn-mobiles!
Q: What happen when winter arrives?
A: Autumn leaves!
Keeping my Student Information Organized
Friday, September 17, 2021Hey there, friends! I hope the start of the school year has been smooth and productive. Even though I am not school based, the school year always brings me schedule changes and motivation for some organizing. I recently received a message from a reader asking for information on how I store my student information. It had been a few years since my last post on this topic, so I thought I would do a little update. (To see the original post, click here: A Peek Inside my Therapy Binder)
This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. This means if you purchase something using my link, I may make a small commission (which is always incredibly appreciated!)