Kristen B. Speech Therapist

12/22/2021

I get it, using crafts in speech therapy can seem daunting. They’re messy, have tiny pieces, include some prep work and can take away from the learning…. Unless they ARE the learning.
Don’t focus on actually having a craft to send home. Focus on all of the language they are learning while making the craft together.
In this picture we have a lopsided Christmas tree with falling Pom poms and scribbles. That doesn’t matter.
Why? Because for 30+ minutes I had complete attention from my two year old. We focused on:
verbs-cut, color, draw, put,
Adjectives- sticky, big, little
The craft isn’t important, the learning is.

12/09/2021

I always want to sent a Christmas gift with my students… but I never wanted to spend over $50 😫

This year, I’m sending home these little gifts which cost me less than $20 total.
I found a mega pack of 30 mini play dohs for $8. 2 packs will cover my caseload.
Now all I have to do is print out the Christmas cards + a mini smash mat to target their goals.

✅done!
As my students say “easy cheesy lemon squeezy”

11/29/2021

Spreading some Christmas cheer AND getting 100 trials per session? Yes please.
This color by number has two color scenes and 6 sounds in multiple positions. Just print and go, articulation therapy planning is done ✔️
You can find this link in my bio or DM me for the link.
And extra bonus- it’s 25% off today and tomorrow with code CYBER21 on teachers pay teachers!

11/29/2021

The first day back is tough for everyone.
Let’s keep it simple. I’m thinking no prep materials and literacy based therapy for everyone.

11/26/2021

🚨Be wary of “educational toys”When you walk into a toy aisle you can quickly be overwhelmed by exciting. singing, moving, blinking “educational” toys. But they can actually have the OPPOSITE effect. 😳
It’s more beneficial is to step back, ditch the batteries, and allow your child to play with toys that allow them to explore and learn. They will learn more from building, pushing, exploring, and pretend play.
Need some ideas?
Try blocks, kitchen play sets, balls of different textures, pull toys, shovels, play doh and stacking blocks.

09/30/2021

Want a simple, fun and engaging stuttering lesson plan? Here ya go.

When I feel overwhelmed with therapy planning on top of everything else we are required to do… I simplify. I refocus on teaching the concepts my students need to know and care less about cute worksheets and sensory bins.
Today’s unglamorous, yet super effective session was brought to you by a 99 cent store makeshift whiteboard and some old verb cards in my closet.

My stuttering group came up with different ways we can play with our voices. We wrote them all down on papers, cut them up and put them in a container.
Then, the students got a picture card, said what’s happening in their “regular” voice and then picked one of our “silly” voices.
Not only were my students super engaged, we laughed almost the entire session.
❓What does this therapy do for our kids? Helps them desensitize to stuttering, gain awareness, and have an open space to “talk about talking”. Because how freeing is it when you finally get to put a name on something you’ve been struggling with?

Please share your tips with me! What is one very simple, yet effective therapy day you’ve had? I can use all the simplification right now.

09/23/2021

Learn the 4 steps of Literacy Based Therapy and some practical examples of how I used one book for PK - 3rd grade.
Bust out your Little Blue Truck and enjoy a month of language therapy with one book.

06/08/2021

The first step to teaching children their speech sounds needs to be phonological awareness.
There can’t be any sort of generalization without it!
Use these “Dot My Sound” worksheets to help your students identify their speech sounds. 12 sounds in initial and mixed positions.

The first step to teaching your student's their articulation sounds is making sure they can hear and detect it in words. Build phonemic awareness skills with these no prep worksheets. It's perfect for teaching your students their speech sounds, or to use as a warm up before they start their articula...

06/08/2021

If I could boil this post down to one sentence it would be this “If you’re concerned about your toddler’s language, advocate for a speech and language evaluation and don’t take no for an answer.”
Getting early intervention will never harm your child. But delaying intervention CAN lead to negative lasting effects.

06/03/2021

Teach your students how to identify the patterns of verb tenses with this differentiated verb tense kit.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Verb-Tenses-Kit-Differentiated-Visuals-Activities-for-Past-Present-Future-6846919

03/15/2021

Hear me out,
I will eventually focus on teaching a kid the importance of “please”. It’s nice pragmatics, it helps a child learn how to ask instead of demand, etc. etc.

But if a child has limited vocabulary (less than 200 words), it is far more useful to teach a child preferred nouns, verbs, and adjectives to communicate their basic wants and needs and participate in a conversation BEFORE they ask for something politely. I’ve got a great list you can find in my bio (“Early Intervention Vocabulary Words)

I see this a lot.
Kids start to ask for something (ex. bubbles). And we say to them.. “what do you say? bubbles PLEASE!”
The child repeats “please” to get what they want. Yay!

But wouldn’t it be far more useful to teach that child “blow bubbles, pop bubbles, no bubbles, where bubbles?” instead of “bubbles please”? All of these have more meaning!

Not sure what you could teach a child instead of “please”? Click the link in my bio for a list of “Early Intervention Vocabulary Words”.