Quick Tip Tuesday: Delegation can be a Beautiful Thing

Quick Tip Tuesday: Delegation can be a Beautiful Thing

by | Feb 20, 2015 | Quick Therapy Tips for the SLP and SLPA

CleanHouse
Okay this might not work for everyone but I want to tell you what I did recently that brought a big improvement to my energy level and my outlook.  Like all of you, many days I feel like I am pulled in so many different directions. I want to do it all, be it all AND I want to have a clean house while I do it.  I’ve dreamed about hiring someone to clean my house for years but always have a million excuses for why it won’t work (cost being at the top of the list). Many of the motivational and business books I’ve been reading lately talk about the importance of delegating and paying others to do tasks that you are not that good at (or that you don’t enjoy).  I thought … you know, I don’t buy Starbucks everyday anymore and I pack my own lunch.  Hmmm, maybe I can afford this investment in my self. So last week, I took the plunge, hired a wonderful woman and I came home on Friday to a clean house. Such an amazing way to start the weekend! My time was free to enjoy the days and to create some new Teachers Pay Teachers products, which just made me so happy.
This “tip” is part of Kim Jarvis’ Quick Tip Tuesday.  Click here to head over to her blog and get some more great time-saving ideas!quick Tip Tuesday
Quick Tip Tuesday: Cheap Prizes!

Quick Tip Tuesday: Cheap Prizes!

by | Feb 10, 2015 | Quick Therapy Tips for the SLP and SLPA

quick Tip Tuesday
 Here is this Tuesday Quick Tips, part of the School SLP’s Tuesday Linky Party (Thanks Kim Jarvis). Be sure to click on the button above to find more amazing quick ideas!
I use a sticker incentive chart for good behavior and the kids love it. I use the Whole Brain Teaching Rules, which are amazing!  I got this free download at TPT. So basically if they follow the rules during their session, they get a sticker for the chart. For every five stickers they get a prize and they get really motivated by this.  Lately, my prizes have been getting a little boring; the kids can only get so excited about pencils or erasers. But, I don’t like to spend much on the prizes because I have a BIG caseload (usually 60-80 students, K-8). My awesome niece and Saturday assistant Liz, found 2 packages of Angry Bird puzzle erasers at the dollar store and the were a HIT!
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We will keep searching dollar stores for them but in the meantime I found some online at good old Amazon. For your convenience here is a link: Angry Birds Puzzle Erasers.
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Since I am addicted to Amazon Prime, there was no shipping and I got these within a few days. They come 3 to a package, but I am taking them out of the packets and putting them in the prize jar. That way each prize is under 50 cents a piece. Magic!
Beautiful Speech Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Just letting you know.
Lead By Example

Lead By Example

by | Feb 9, 2015 | Inspiration

Lead By Example How many people have known you your whole life? Of course your parents, grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles, and some cousins.  When we are kids, we’re surrounded by these people.  They all play a special role in our childhood years.

     As we grow up, geography may come into play and miles may come between us.  If we are lucky and put a little effort into it, the ties remain strong.
     Then, slowly, the roles begin to morph.  The child becomes a parent, an auntie, a grandma.  What prepares us for these new roles? Really, we don’t take classes on how to be a supportive sister or an awesome aunt. Most of us learn by example.
     What I am thinking about today is the gift of being an aunt.  I was fortunate enough to be given five amazing women to call Auntie.  When I was a kid my aunts were magical; part fairy godmother, part Mary Poppins, always my heroes.
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     Dad’s older sister, my Aunt Lynn, was so glamorous to me.  With her high cheekbones and flawless skin she looked like the movie star Jane Wyman.  Always nicely dressed with impeccable hair, makeup and manicure; she was so strong and grounded.  I always felt safe when I was with her.
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     Consistently loving and generous, Aunt Lynn was a pillar of our childhood.  When Dad’s families farm was no longer profitable and had to be sold, Aunt Lynn said come to Las Vegas, we’ll help you start over.  And she did.
     My brothers, sisters and I, two by two, got to spend a week at Aunt Lynn’s house each summer.  This was a much anticipated event for so many reasons. At the top of the list was the pool in the backyard. My sister Mary and I would swim all day, just getting out of the water to eat.  And the food! Breakfast pastries, layer cakes, pies, ice cream, ham sandwiches and pizza; we were in heaven.  At night, exhausted and sunburned, we climbed under the cool sheets of the pullout couch and watched tv past our bedtime.
     Looking back on this as an adult, I am really struck by Aunt Lynn’s generosity with her time. I have seven siblings, which means she spent a month of her summers with her nieces and nephews. What a remarkable, conscious gift.
     Aunt Lynn quietly led by example.  Devoutly catholic, she had strong religious beliefs but she didn’t preach.  She had a ready, infectious laugh and she always had time for us.
     We all have the power to shape the lives of the children we come in contact with.  it doesn’t have to be loud or flashy.  There’s much to be said for showing up, being present and being generous with our time and our love.
     We lost Aunt Lynn this week, and I move closer to being the older generation.  The torch has been passed and I hope to follow Aunt Lynn’s example giving time, laughter and love to the next generation.
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Quick Tip for Paperwork

Quick Tip for Paperwork

by | Feb 3, 2015 | Quick Therapy Tips for the SLP and SLPA

Here is the Tuesday’s tip to go with Kim Jarvis’s quick Tip Tuesday

Quick Tip Tuesday Linky Party.

 AJ

When I am finished scoring a student’s testing protocols, I grab an my evaluation results sheet,  a goal sheet for the teacher and a (I like this one by Kim Shepard on TPT) data collection sheet.  I place them all with the protocols. That way, when I am writing up the evaluation and the IEP they are all together and easy for me to complete.

SpeechLanguageEvaluationResultsataGlance

I am a big fan of Evernote for storing my drafts and templates. Never using the students birthday or last name keeps everything confidential. I just write a new note for each task, making notebooks by school year.  Another big plus is that Evernote syncs with all your devices.  If you haven’t tried it, I really recommend you have a look.  It’s FREE.

Evernote

I hope you can use these tips to make your workday a little easier! Or maybe to spark another great idea. Keep doing what you do to make the world a little brighter.

Valentine’s Day Verbs Freebie

Valentine’s Day Verbs Freebie

by | Feb 1, 2015 | Freebies

Valentine's Day Past Tense Verbs

I created this product to help students practice verb tense.  Click on the picture above to see the product on Teachers Pay Teachers. So many of the kids I see really struggle with this. This activity is aligned with Common Core Standards for 3rd through 5th grade.
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Includes:
-16 pairs of matching verb heart cards
-24 verb sentence cards

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Heart Cards:
Cut out the heart cards, glue them on a backing and laminate.
To use as a Memory/Matching Game: place cards face down, mix them around. Players take turns flipping over two cards, saying the past tense version of each card.  If they say it correctly and get a match they take the cards.  If not turn the cards back over. Object of the game: be the player with the most pairs.
Alternate: When students are at a higher level they need to use the past tense version in a sentence.

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Black Heart Game: Shuffle heart cards and place face down in one pile.  Player one chooses a card, reads the word and says the past tense version. Then it’s the next players turn.  If a player chooses a black heart, he has to give back one heart  but if he can say the past tense version of the verb on the black heart he can keep the black heart. When there are no more hearts the player with the most hearts wins.
Alternate: When students are at a higher level they need to use the past tense version in a sentence.

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Sentence cards
Cut out the sentence card, glue it on a backing and laminate.
Thumbs Up or Down
Place cards in a pile or spread them out face down. Player 1 chooses a card and hands it to SLP. SLP reads the sentence and student gives thumbs up for a good verb and thumbs down for a bad verb. Student keeps card if he was correct, puts it at the bottom of the pile or back on the table if he was incorrect. Student with the most cards wins.
Alternate: Students read their own cards.

I hope you enjoy this FREE product and if you download it, please take a couple minutes to provide a rating.  Also if you want more freebies and fun therapy ideas, sign up to follow Beautiful Speech Life on Bloglovin’ or sign up to receive email notifications of all new posts.