Materials:
- a cardboard tube from a paper towel or toilet paper roll for you and each child (decorating is optional)
- stimulus cards or pictures

Use:
Word level – Have the child look through a tube at stimulus cards (or around the room to find objects with the target sound) and then say the word.

Sentence level – Depending on what level you are working on, the child could simply say, “I see a __.” or a more complex sentence such as “The __ is next to the window.”

Groups – Play the game “I Spy” with the tubes and have the children guess what the person has spotted. Be sure to let them know what sound is being targeted.

Extra ideas:
Use this activity in pirate, explorer, and astronomy themes.

To make your own, go to http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/

I’ve made some pages of “r” and “l” Valentine’s Day words on hearts for you to print.

L Valentine’s Day words on hearts

R Valentine’s Day words on hearts

Enjoy your week!
Becky

Why are bubbles so great?

They’re cheap, fascinating, low-tech, and a wonderful therapy tool – a must have for Speech-language Pathologists working with young children.  The effect bubbles can have on a child is amazing!  By blowing bubbles, you can quickly gain and hold a child’s attention or calm a fussy child.  You can work on early words and concepts, practice turn taking, and work on things such as air flow and lip rounding – while having fun!  They are also very portable and can be used in any setting.

How do you use them for language therapy?

When working on requests for action, I use bubbles to teach the child to sign or say:  bubbles, blow, more, my turn, and all done.  I also use them to work on basic concepts such as up, down, big, little, wet, dry, and body parts.  For up and down, big and little, I model these by commenting on bubbles I’ve blown.  They can, however, become requests by the child on how to blow the next bubbles. 

For the concept of wet, we feel the table after blowing some bubbles on it, then wipe it off and feel “dry”.  Practicing body parts with bubbles begins with commenting on where the bubbles are landing (e.g., head, hand, finger, foot) and can become requests for where to blow bubbles.  Of course, be careful not to blow them in the child’s face.

Hints:

I recommend getting a no-spill bubble container so that you can hand the bubbles off to a young child without worrying about a big mess.  They are available for a few dollars at many stores and are refillable. 

If caregivers are present for therapy sessions, have them take turns with you.  This is an enjoyable activity that can easily be part of a home program.

Have fun!

Who is Sam?

“Ssssam” is my new best friend for working on the “s” sound with children.  He is simply a sock puppet that I made with my sons and recently took to work.  And he was a hit!

What do you do with Sam?

I use Sam is different ways depending on the child I am working with. 

• For the child who is stopping “s” as “t”, I use him to get production of the “s” sound in isolation.
• For the child who is “lisping”, I use him to demonstrate keeping the tongue “put away” by tucking Sam’s tongue underneath him.  The child helps “teach” Sam and can “catch” Sam with his tongue out, which works on awareness.

The beauty of Sam is that the children put him on and demonstrate the therapy goal.  And they have fun doing it!

How do I make one?

This is the easy and fun part, and can even become a therapy activity.

Materials:
Sock (ladies’ socks are a good size)
Eyes (googly eyes or paint)
Red felt (very little is needed)
Scissors
Glue (fabric glue is best)
Decorations, optional

Steps:
1. Cut the red felt into a forked tongue shape, leaving a long base for gluing to the sock.
2. Glue the eyes (or paint them) on the “top” of the sock near the toe end.
3. Glue the tongue underneath the toe end of the sock.
4. Decorate with paint, thin ribbons, or other decorations, keeping in mind that the sock will stretch when put on the hand.

There you have it!  A fun, inexpensive therapy tool!

For a printable download of step-by-step directions with pictures, click on the link below.

sam_the_snake_directions_with_pictures