Appy new year!! This is my first official post in 2015. Do you follow Yapp Guru? If you don't and you use apps with your students, you should definitely check them out. Yapp Guru is a group of SLPs (yours truly included) that rate and review apps. I decided to link up with the Yapp Guru blog to share my Top 10 Apps for 2014! Click on the icon below to check out the original post and read about more apps that SLPs loved to use this past year.
Below is my list of apps that I used the most in therapy this year. This past year I worked mainly with kids ages 2-10, so the apps listed will reflect that. In no particular order, here are my Top 10 Apps of 2014!
First up is Articulation Station Pro. I know that at first glance the prince may seem a bit steep, but imagine all if your articulation card decks in one app. This app includes 22 different speech sounds in the word, sentence, and story level (rumor has it they will be adding phrases, too!) In addition to flash cards, there is also a matching/memory game included for each sound. The pictures and graphics within this app are very clear, clean, and inviting to students. I love to use this app along with a board game and have the students practice some targets before taking a turn in a game.
Toca Kitchen Monsters- FREE
This app is so much fun. Who am I kidding? All Toca Boca apps are! In this app, students choose a monster to prepare food for. They choose a food from the refrigerator (mushrooms, tomatoes, steak, hotdogs, broccoli, etc.) then cook it up! They can cut it, blend it, boil it, microwave it, or put it in a skillet. After they cooked the food, they feed it to the monster! I have loved using this app with my food aversion students and picky eaters! Just another way to show them how to have fun with food!
Speech Stickers- $14.99
Speech stickers is a great app to motivate the little ones to practice speech sounds. This is ideal to use with apraxia students because it focuses on individual phonemes and syllables (CV & VC combinations) After the child imitates the sound, they get to put a virtual sticker sticker on the board. The adorable little stickers have their mouths positioned to make the correct speech sound. You can check out my full review on this app here!
Need a break from regular skill and drill articulation practice? Articulation Scenes lets your students have fun playing games while they practice their speech sounds. This app is often requested by my students- they love the movie theme! You can check out my full review on this app here!
Hiding Monsters- $1.99
I love this app! These not-so-scary monsters play hide and seek with your students in different scenes. The app changes up their hiding place so it's not so predictable. I love using this app to engage the kids in expressive language- especially prepositions (the monster was IN the washing machine!) They get so excited when they find the monster!
Timbuktu Pizza- FREE
This is a very fun app for following directions. Each pizza has a list of ingredients that the student has to include on the pizza. The list includes both pictures and words, so it's even great for non-readers. After the student finishes making the pizza, he/she bakes it then serves it to Igor (a monster.) If the student followed directions, Igor is happy and eats the pizza. If the pizza was not made correctly- watch out- Igor will throw the pizza!
This is another very fun app that breaks up the dull skill and drill routine. Students are prompted to practice articulation targets (in the word, phrase, or sentence level) before they get to play some fun carnival games!
You can check out my full app review here!
I just realized I posted a lot of articulation apps in this post. But I really enjoy apps and games that can get kids excited about their goals. Erik's apps are no exception to this. All of his apps put a fun twist on practicing articulation targets. I love this one because it reminds me of the game, Simon!
Make a Scene: Farmyard- FREE
This is a great app to use during a farm thematic unit. Kids get to create their own farm by adding animals, food, tractors, and more. This has been a fun way to work on following directions, prepositions, and teaching new vocabulary.
BeBop Blox- $1.99
Last but not least, BeBop Blox! Even the little intro song on this app is catchy. I mainly use this as a fun, end of the session reinforcer. In this app, kids can build (elephants, dump trucks, trains, whales, etc.) with cute blocks that have these adorable creatures inside of them that sing and play. Seriously, one of the cutest apps I have seen in a while!
There are SO many great apps out there, but these were the ones I used the most in 2014. I cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store for the app world! Appy New Year!!
