Initial W: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards

Initial /w/ Card Set

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

I recommend you print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Description

This articulation picture card set is designed to be more comprehensive than the typical sets you might find elsewhere. The target audience for this set is young children or children with more severe speech delays that need intensive practice with sounds at a one-syllable level. No blends or vocalic /r/ sounds are included in this set.

Key Features

• This set includes 30 therapy cards with the target word and picture on the front, and the difficulty level and a carrier phrase on the back.
• The words are all CV or CVC in syllable shape.
• The words are easily understood by or easily taught to young children.
• Combines the target sound with all possible vowel sounds at least once.
• Words are sorted by difficulty level for an easy progression from easy to hard.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this card set provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses this card set. Let me know if you find errors or there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page. Other card sets include /p, b, t, d, m, n, h, f, v, k, g, w, s, l, ch, sh, s-blends, and l-blends/ and more sets are being added regularly.

Card Set Activity and Game Suggestions

1. 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
2. Simple Speech Card Puzzles
3. Speech Card Stories
4. Speech Card Caterpillar
5. Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
6. Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)
7. Speech Card Set Activity: Magnetic Speech Cards
8. Speech Card Game: Speech Fours
9. Speech Card Game: Old Maid
10. Speech Card Set Activity: Bang!
11. Speech Card Set Activity: What's Hiding Behind Door Number...?
12. Speech Card Set Activity: Customizing a Homework Sheet
13. Speech Card Set Activity: Making a Simple Sentence Flipbook

F Sentences Homework Booklet: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Book

/f/ Sentences Homework Booklet: Finn Finds Number Friends

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

I recommend you print on cardstock for durability.

Description

This articulation homework booklet is designed to be an extension of my single-syllable card sets. This book is designed to be used as a tool to facilitate generalization of /f/ production to sentence level. The /f/ words included in this booklet include initial, medial, and final position of 1-2 syllable words. This booklet is designed to be read by a parent (or therapist, older sibling, classmate, teacher...) and child together. The helper reads then sentences and then pauses for the child to repeat the sentences back. Each time the book is read, the helper can put a sticker/stamp/checkmark in one of the boxes on the front of the book. This will encourage multiple practice readings. The child's fluency should increase with each repeated reading. Eventually the child should be able to tell the story spontaneously by just looking at the picture prompts. The target audience for these cards are children with speech delays who are ready to practice /f/ sounds in a more natural context.

Key Features

• This booklet features 17 /f/ words incorporated into a simple story to be read by a helper and child together.
• The target words are one-two syllable words featuring /f/ in initial, medial, and final position.
• The story is illustrated in pictures to encourage memorization for spontaneous retelling of the story.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this booklet provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses this booklet. Let me know if you find errors or there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More card sets and related printables are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page.

Here is a picture of a homework booklet (the /l/ booklet) printed on cardstock and folded into the booklet. It slides nicely in between board books to be pulled out and read during bedtime story time.

Other Speech Practice Booklets Available:

• Initial /s/ Homework Booklet - Sue's Tea Set
• Initial /l/ Homework Booklet - Lou's Busy Day
• Initial /sh/ Homework Booklet - Shy Shae
• Medial /f/ Homework Booklet - Alfie the Elephant
• Initial /fl/ Homework Booklet - Flynn Gets His Picture
• Final /k/ Homework Booklet - Silly Rhymes

Who Does Stuff Like This Anymore Anyway?

Oh wait... that would be me.

It happened like this. I was ordering art supplies for the children and on a whim I threw in a set of simple wooden looms. I thought the children might be interested and we'd never done fabric/textile art of any kind.

I set it up and started demonstrating it for the children (who were indeed fascinated, but that isn't the point of this story). As I continued to weave I found it a calmly entertaining activity. I was pretty sure there was much more out there than under/over/under/over and I went online looking for some more patterns. Next thing I know I was using a shed stick and creating a shed space and even trying to jury rig a heddle. (Don't ask, just interpret as a ridiculous amount of OCD obsession over a tiny child's loom.)



Then I discovered pages on a continuous weaving technique and I fell in love with the Hazel Rose looms. They're just so exquisitely beautiful. I wanted them. I needed them about as much as a bump on the head, but I wanted them anyway. Then, (thank you in-laws) some birthday money came my way and I was 95% sure I was going to get those looms with them. I decided I'd better make some kind of prototype and make sure I actually enjoyed continuous weaving before spending my birthday money on those looms. So I made this:

And it was fun. And what a pretty square...



Then I got these (aren't they beautiful?):



And made these:



Don't ask how much time I'm spending on weaving instead of doing something useful like creating more word lists for all of you.

Now, the pertinent question remains... What am I actually going to do with all these squares?

Slacker Parenting Win

Ava wakes at the crack of dawn. Ava has always woken at the crack of dawn. During the summer that is before 5am around here. Her first and second summer my husband and I took turns getting up with her, bleary eyed and a more than a bit grumpy. Her third summer, when she was 2 1/2 we split the difference. We got a tot clock and we'd set it for about 30-40 minutes after she woke up. She knew she couldn't leave her room until her clock turned yellow and that bought us an extra 30-45 minutes of sleep every day.

This summer she's been waking up just as early as always. She's older and more independent now though and I feel guilty locking her up in her room for over an hour after she wakes up. (I got used to the 7:05 wake up time we were able to get away with during the winter when it stays dark longer.) So we told her she could go downstairs and play quietly when she woke up but she can't wake anyone else up until her light turns yellow. If her light is blue, that means Mommy, Daddy, and Michael are sleeping.

Well, that worked when she was only waking up about half an hour before the alarm, but much longer than that and she'll sneak into our room wailing, "Mama! My light not turn yellow!!" Now, in a perfect parenthood world, I'd pop up happily whenever she wakes up and spend quality time with her, but I'm a night owl and I really wanted to try to hold on to sleeping in just a little. I had an idea...

I started setting out a bowl of dry cereal and some water by her computer before I go to bed. Now she knows that when she wakes up she can go downstairs and entertain herself and eat at the same time. It worked beautifully for a few days. My husband and I would wander down after our alarm went off and we leisurely got dressed/showered to find her happily eating Cheerios or Mini-wheats while playing educational software. That was pretty nice.

Then something even stranger started happening. My little early bird who has woken up with the dawn 99 out of 100 days for her entire life began sleeping in. She's slept till 7:45 for about five days straight (that was typed in a whisper to try to avoid the curse of saying such things out loud). My hopeful hypothesis is that now that she gets no attention for getting up early, she has no reason to get up when she surfaces with the light. Instead, perhaps, she has actually learned to roll back over and enjoy drifting back to sleep for one more cycle. Hmm. Slacker parenting = better sleep for my daughter. Who knew?

The Weekly Review: Week 64

SLP Resource of the Week

E.J. at toddlerapproved.com came up with a simple idea for using matchbox cars as a learning game to address early language concepts such as colors, counting, matching, directions, and prepositions. She simply printed out parking lots with rectangles the size of the cars. Pre-print some with colors already in, and leave some blank. Your child/student can color their own pattern and then park the cars in that pattern. She includes a link to some printables she's already made.

Blog Post of the Week

My favorite blog post this week was short and sweet, but I found it inspiring in a way I find difficult to articulate. I just enjoyed Jessica's son's ingenuity and her excitement and pride in observing it.

Ava this Week

So many things seem to be going on with Ava lately. The strong independent streak she's always had is blossoming further. I can't help her climb down from her carseat, help her choose or put on her clothes, or help her take her clothes back off. And yet, when she determines she'd rather have something done for her she can ask oh so sweetly. She's just so adorably manipulative.

Michael played "camp-out" one morning by spreading every blanket he could find on the floor of his room. Since then, Ava has been sleeping on her floor instead of her bed on a little pallet made of blankets. She seems quite happy there and sleeps the usual amount of time, so why not?

She was delighted to return to speech this week for the first of the four summer sessions provided by the schools. She loves going to "big girl speech" and the program is well designed and implemented so I couldn't be happier with the services we're receiving from the schools.

Weekly Michael

I was sitting on the floor working on a project and Michael wandered over. He clearly had something on his mind that he wanted to discuss and I was curious about what he wanted to share. "Mama..." he began. "If we have an accidental baby it can sleep in Ava's room."

Umm...

It took me a moment to process what exactly he was talking about. "Well, sweetheart," I countered, "We're not planning on having an accidental baby. Usually mommies and daddies plan to have babies when they want to start a family, or if their family isn't big enough yet. Our family is complete. There's you, and Ava, and Mommy and Daddy and that's enough for our family."

Michael was not to be deterred from his hypothetical sibling though. "Yes, mama..." he replied in an exasperated voice, as if I weren't paying enough attention, "but if we had an accidental baby we could let it sleep in Ava's room."

I'm pretty sure I heard by husband lingering in the hallway snickering to himself as he eavesdropped on the conversation going downhill from there. I would have done the same thing. It was actually pretty funny in retrospect.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

It's kind of been a slacker week on the home therapy front. I blame summer. :-)

Losing a Syllable: Bittersweet

Daddy has become Dad. Mama has become Mom. Michael articulates the single syllable distinctly and with a flavor of satisfaction. It feels right. He turned 4 1/2 a couple of weeks ago and I didn't even notice the half-year anniversary. He's getting older and more mature right on schedule. Somehow, I simultaneously enjoy hearing him call us by slightly more mature labels and feel a little twinge of sadness for the extra syllable I lost. I loved "Mama". At least I get to hold on to it a little while longer with Ava.

Article Response: 'Sensory Integration Therapies' Lack Evidence, AAP Says

I recently read a news article: 'Sensory Integration Therapies' Lack Evidence, AAP Says. Recently the American Academy of Pediatrics has announced that there is little research-based evidence for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and sensory integration therapies designed to address SPD. The article is well written. It begins with an anecdotal personal story about a now-grown child with SPD who greatly benefited from therapy. The article goes on to review the lack of quantitative research in the field. However, the author interviews experts in SPD who discuss the work going on right now and progress being made and so overall the article is very well balanced.

My response to this article is personal - not professional. I am not an expert in SPD in any way. When Ava had just turned two, she was an essentially speechless and fearful child. The few pseudowords she had been attempting were being abandoned as she turned to gesture to communicate. She was scared to go to daycare and would only play at playgrounds and indoor playplaces when they were empty. As an SLP, I focused in like a laser on the delayed speech and attributed everything else to side effects of her being unable to communicate.

We began speech therapy and she made great progress at first. Her phonemic inventory expanded. After using communication boards and sign language as a bridge for a few months, her dependence on gesture began to decrease. She began using words and then word combinations. I was elated. Then there was a significant plateau.

I finally began to pay attention to some other issues. Even though we were getting lots of verbal communication at home, she was still silent at school. At a noisy playground she wouldn't leave my side. At a relatively quiet playground, she'd go play only until another child approached her. Then she'd retreat. She loved the bath, but hair and face washing was terrifying for her. Brushing teeth was a nightly screaming and wrestling match. She was an extremely picky eater and getting worse fast. She was also extremely sensitive about touch. She always, even as an infant, preferred to eat with silverware rather than her hands. She wouldn't touch (and definitely wouldn't eat) messy foods. She wouldn't fingerpaint or otherwise engage in messy media. It wasn't until I brought up some of these issues at an IFSP meeting that our case manager and speech therapist noticed the huge red flags that were, in retrospect, extremely obvious. At that point we got an OT evaluation and began receiving services to address sensory issues.

The change in Ava following six months of sensory-based therapy was nothing short of life altering for our family. Ava is still a picky eater, but well within a typical range for a 3 year old. She plays normally on a playground and interacts typically with her peers. She enjoys participating in art activities even when that involves fingerpainting or helping me mix up a salt dough with her hands. We can wash her hair and brush her teeth without pinning her down while she screams. And those things are just items on a checklist.

Fundamentally, she is no longer overwhelmed by her world. It is a profound relief to watch my daughter experience her world comfortably rather than through the defensive shield she was trying to erect to try to protect herself from overstimulation. Not coincidentally, her communication improved at the same time. She began to use her speech in school and in social settings. The additional practice and carryover skills resulted in functional improvements and also broke the plateau in terms of learning new speech skills as well.

I know we are not the only family to experience profound changes as a result of therapy designed to address sensory issues. I talk to other parents who have had similar experiences regularly. I sincerely hope the specialists in this area continue to do quantitative research and begin to publish.

My recommendation at this time would be that an OT evaluation couldn't hurt. If sensory issues are an issue for your child do a trial period of therapy with an occupational therapist experienced in the area of SPD. Judge for yourself whether or not you are seeing changes. For us, I knew significant changes were in the works after about 2 months of therapy and we were discharged after six months of therapy. Post-therapy, Ava interacts with her world in a much more typical fashion. I also continue to use some techniques and strategies taught to me by our OT to maintain that progress (particularly in the area of eating). That six months of sensory therapy with an amazing OT was absolutely one of the best things we've done for Ava and I have no regrets or doubts about the therapy's effectiveness.

Initial F: One-Syllable Word List by Syllable Shape

Here you go. Over 360 one-syllable words beginning with the /f/ sound all on the same page. They are sorted by syllable shape: CV, CCV, CVC, CVCC, CCVC, CCVCC, CVr, CVrC, CCVr, CCVrC, and CVrCC (Vr=Vocalic /r/). I chose to go with comprehensive so a lot of these words are a bit obscure and there is some repetitiveness across syllable shapes (i.e. face/faced, fry/fryer/fryers). However, if you need to practice CCVCC initial /f/ words, you'll find a bunch of them here. I've included a color handout and a printer friendly version. Take your pick.





Chime in with a comment if you like this resource. If people are finding this useful I'll make some more. I haven't chosen which sound I'd do next, so if you have a request, this is your chance to put in a vote.

Permissions:
I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this resource provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

One Manipulative - Multitude of Concepts and Skills

(I apologize for the overly bright colors in the pictures. Photography is not my area of expertise. They give you the general idea though.)


Concepts:
colors
shapes
big/little
same/different
more/less
prepositions (on, under, over, by, up, down, etc.)
simple arithmetic (counting, simple addition and subtraction, etc.)
simple and more complex patterns

Skills:
Counting
Sorting
Compare/Contrast
Description
Fine Motor Skill of Lacing (using laces or pipe cleaners)

My children love lacing beads onto laces. I have some animal/transportation beads in my crafting supplies that I used when making busy book pages and the children beg to do the activity.

I was ordering some more art supplies and some bright foam beads caught my eye. I thought the children would enjoy some new beads so I tossed them in my order. The children loved them. I enjoyed lacing them as well. I also realized how useful they can be as a math manipulative or when teaching early language concepts in therapy (they are a choking hazard though - closely supervise or only use with older children).

Homemade "Deluxe" Kitty Condo

Michael has recently developed an obsession with dragging things out of the corner where we tend to pile recyclables until recycling day to use in "projects". As one example, I walked around the corner one morning to find soda can dog (please ignore messy piles of random things behind soda can dog).

As an aside, to alleviate the problem of being buried under huge piles of abandoned art projects I have had to introduce the concept of some projects being practice projects while other projects are keeper projects. The practice projects, we make and then throw away or recycle perhaps taking a picture of it first. The keeper projects are displayed, but only after taking something else down off the wall, or off the table to make room first.

I decided to redirect Michael to a project that might actually be useful. We collected sturdy, decently sized boxes and built a four story, six room, double-wide kitty condo. The boxes are held together with packing tape. Scissors cut openings in the boxes and we used pipe cleaners as toys to tempt the kitties in. I did most of the work while Michael "helped" by enthusiastically bounding around, decorating the condo by taping on scrapbook paper (often covering entrances), and twisting up pipe cleaners into interesting shapes and calling them kitty toys.

The kittens (now a year old - see them when they were tiny) were definitely intrigued and the entire project kept Michael engaged for at least an hour. Hmm. Ignore random messy piles in the background of the picture again. I'd say I'm going to work on that problem with my housekeeping, but I try to be truthful here.

Teaching Children Their Own Personal Information Through Song

When Michael was little (as in still eating in a high chair little) I modified a nursery rhyme to teach him his full name. As he's gotten older I've added verses to teach him his address and his phone number. Song is a fun way to teach and learn and the children will beg to hear the song again and again because it is about them.

The names, addresses, and phone numbers used here are completely made up. Insert your own child's information (or student's information) as appropriate.

I use the tune for "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (click on the link and hit play sample if you don't know the tune).

The original lyrics are:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, do you know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane?

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Oh, yes, I know the muffin man,
That lives on Drury Lane.

Here's the modified version for teaching a child's full name:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, do you know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's full name,
Full name, full name,
Oh, yes I know Brian's full name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
family name, family name,
Oh, do you know Brian's family name,
It's Brian Lewis Brown. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their street address:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, do you know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's street address,
Street address, street address,
Oh, yes I know Brian's street address,
It's 44 Westing Estate.

Alternately, you could sing:
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
House number, house number,
Oh, do you know Brian's house number,
It's 44 Westing Estate. (etc.)

This is how I sing the song when teaching their phone number:

First Verse:
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, do you know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

Second Verse:
Oh, yes, I know Brian's phone number,
Phone number, phone number,
Oh, yes I know Brian's phone number,
It's 123-456-7899.

You could choose to leave out the area code if you live in an area where only one area code is commonly used. I also slow the tune down significantly when singing the 10 digits of the phone number to make sure each number is distinct.

Then put it all together.

And then you can string all three parts together for a "Song About You" - a six verse song that teaches your child's (or student's) full name, street address, and phone number. (You could also add two verses about city and state and another two about zip code if you are so inclined.)

Feel free to click on the image at the top of the post to open a one page printable to save to your computer. If you're using the song in therapy you might want to send home an example of what you're doing for parents to practice.

The Weekly Review: Week 63

SLP Resource of the Week

I found a great group of blog posts describing PROMPT commands for a variety of sounds on a personal website. The best part is that each post has great pictures illustrating the PROMPT command. If you are working with a child who isn't responding to visual cues, you might consider trying these PROMPT style cues which incorporate tactile cues as well.

Blog Post of the Week

I very much enjoyed reading this repost about a less than stellar public parenting adventure from Jessica's archives on Balancing Everything.

Ava this Week

Ava has always adored small stuffed animals - particularly kitties. She's never been interested in baby dolls though. We have several baby dolls along with a stroller (used for the kitties), high chair, and cradle. None of the baby doll toys saw more than transitory interest. This week, Ava started carrying around the smallest of the baby dolls. She's named it Goo Goo Gah Gah. We've never played baby dolls, so I'm not sure where she picked that up, school perhaps? Goo Goo Gah Gah has even taken over the spot of honor cradled in her arms while she falls asleep. I'll admit it. I'm enjoying seeing the dust collecting baby dolls getting a little action.

Weekly Michael

We moved a doormat from just inside the front door to just inside the back door this week. We've been playing in the water all week on the deck and the sand table is out there too so we've been tracking in water and sand and the mat was just more useful in the back.

Michael came up to me begging me to "come see" because, he claimed, he had made me something that was going to make me "so happy." I dutifully got up from whatever I was doing and followed him to the front door. He had taped four pieces of paper to the hardwood floor in front of the door and was so proud that he had made me a new mat for the front door. I thought it was fairly clever and very sweet - if not a very functional doormat.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

Ava's working on /k/ in several incarnations. We're doing initial, medial, and final /k/ as well as /sk/ blends. They're all mixed together. If she's paying attention and taking her time, she successfully makes a /k/ approximation instead of a /t/. If she isn't paying attention, if the utterance length is too long, if it is a front vowel, or if there is a /t/ anywhere in the word or carrier phrase she'll substitute a /t/. Also, she seems to be developing a habit of using a slight /t/ sound as a bridge into the /k/ which has her speech therapist concerned. She wants me to hold down her tongue tip with a tongue depressor to try to reduce her dependence on the /t/ production. I find that using the tongue depressor significantly limits the number of productions we get into a therapy session, doesn't work very well to achieve the stated purpose, and frustrates Ava and I'm inclined not to follow instructions. Any thoughts or suggestions from other SLPs out there?

Michael is still working on /f, v, s, and z/ all randomly mixed together and put into a scene for carryover practice. Our therapist drew a wonderful outdoor/camping scene and wrote in lots of key words all over the page. Michael simply tells me about the picture using the words in sentences of his own creation. After he makes up a sentence I can get him to repeat it 3-4 times by taking dictation and letting him watch me writing his "story" down. Here are a few examples of sentences he's telling about the scene.

1. There are scary bats in the cave.
2. There are five buckets of water to put out the fire at night.
3. Let's go fishing for some fish.
4. Four mosquitos fly off.
5. Put on your life jacket to be safe when you swim.

Weekly Homeschooling

This week's homeschooling was derailed by life. My husband had the week off between jobs. We had a wonderful four day visit with a relative in town. We simply enjoyed lots of family time. That's one of the things that appeals to me about homeschooling. I like the idea that homeschooling allows you to create your own, flexible schedule for learning. Of course, I'm still not committed to continuing to "homeschool" past these preschool years. I'm thinking about it though.

Would This Type of Word List Resource Be Useful?

I've done lots of picture therapy cards, but not all words are easily pictured. Sometimes you just want a long list of words that suits your needs. I was playing around with making a single page word list resource that sorts one-syllable words by syllable shape. This is what I was thinking of:

Would something like this be useful? Should I make more? Any feedback or ideas? This is just a work in progress, but I wanted to get some feedback before spending more time on the project.

Holiday Water Play

Well, the extended weekend over the Memorial Day holiday was wonderful. We enjoyed our visit with our son's godmother more than I can say. Often, on her visits, we go to many of the wonderful attractions here around St. Louis. This time the dual contributions of 95 degree weather combined with our new outdoor sprinkler park caused us to decide to just hang around the house enjoying the deck and spending quality time together.

We spent hours each day on the deck playing with the children in the water. Here are some additional ideas for fun with a water sprinkler system used as a homemade sprinkler park for kids.

A while back we noticed that the children loved playing with all the various PVC pipe connectors at home improvement stores. That gave me an idea for a simple cheap building toy for the kids. We bought some connectors and some pipe. My husband cut the pipe to several different lengths and the children have a blast building shapes, cubes, flags, and all sorts of free form creations with the pvc materials. I brought the bin out on the deck and encouraged the children to run the sprinkler hoses into the pipes to build fountains and sprinklers.

I also persuaded my husband to run an extra length of the sprinkler tubing down from the deck over to the children's playset to mount some sprinklers over the slide. He put in a joint so we can disconnect it and pull it back up onto the deck when he needs to mow the lawn. There's also a valve so the children can turn the water on and off at will to switch the slide from regular mode to water slide mode. I taught them how to pull a small kiddie pool over to the bottom of the slide and they went to it.

As it turns out, the smaller diameter sprinkler hosing works beautifully for filling up water balloons. We filled up a ton of water balloons and let the kids pop them by throwing them down onto the surface of the deck. It didn't occur to them to throw them at each other and I didn't feel the need to point that out as an option. They had a blast. We also turned several of them into baby water "piggies" and put them in the water table with soapy blue water (I called it their pigpen). The soap made for a nice sensory experience as well as making the baby piggies difficult to catch. Then we had to make mama and daddy piggies. Eventually the children convinced me to move the piggy families into the big pool. I colored the water with some washable tempera paint and the children had a blast taking care of the piggies. Some of the balloons were filled with water. Some were filled with air. Some were filled halfway with water so they could be shaken. Some we filled with water and a little soap so that bubbles were formed when the kids would shake the balloon. My husband even managed to get a small water balloon filled up inside a larger balloon so the kids could watch one bounce around inside another. Michael decided that one was a pregnant mama piggy with a baby insider her and Ava instantly demanded another for her piggy family. All in all, the water balloon piggies were a surprising success.

Holiday Weekend Hiatus

I've been doing daily posts for well over a year now. I enjoy the regular posting, however it is time for a brief hiatus. My cousin, who happens to be Michael's godmother, is in town for the extended holiday weekend. She comes every year to visit for the Memorial Day weekend and we all have a wonderful time. The children love her company and the extra attention. We usually go to the zoo, but the 100 degree temperatures predicted for the weekend may steer us towards indoor pursuits. Whatever we decide to do, it will be fun and relaxing. In the spirit of the holiday and visiting, I am going to skip writing posts until after the visit. I'll be back Wednesday.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!

The Weekly Review: Week 62

SLP Resource of the Week

Adventures in Speech Pathology has great speech picture cards. She has a card set for every sound including s, r, and l blends. Her card sets are more phonemically advanced than mine. Each sound's card set appears to be a one page .pdf with 12 color picture cards. The picture cards are 1-2 syllable words featuring the target sounds in initial, medial, or final position and the words include vocalic /r/ and blends. These cards are free and are great sets to move to when my phonemically simpler sets have been mastered or if you have a child who starts out ready to work at a level above the CV, VC, CVC level. These sets are great and are definitely worth adding to your collection. (And this blog has so many other wonderful materials for both speech and language activities. It would be well worth your time to check out the depth of material she provides.)

Ava, Michael, and the Weekly Project

Ever since my husband finished installing our very own deck level sprinkler park we've spent every evening on the deck. Once the kids have settled in and Ava's stopped insisting that Michael -not- get her wet, they've had a wonderful time. My husband and I sit way on the other side of the deck on the porch swing and just enjoy watching them play. It's been a perfect series of summer evenings.

Ava's and Michael's Weekly Home Therapy Notes

Ava's been working her way through all of her /s/-blends mixed together rather than sorted out. We're also working on /k/ in initial, medial, and final position and /sk/ blends (not mixed in with the rest). She's doing so well. When I think back to all of the variety of cues and scaffolding I needed to do to get a successful blend at the beginning and how exhausted she was after trying just 5-10 words I am amazed that she can zip through 75 in a session with very little cueing now.

Michael is working on /s/ and /f/ in all positions mixed together at the sentence level. He does best with picture cues and I've been trying to figure out a way to give him a wide variety of sentences with picture prompts. I think the flipbook format is going to be the way to go. I made up a test version with initial /s/, but next I'm going to just mix together all of my initial and final /f/ and /s/ cards into one big flipbook.

Weekly Homeschooling

Very little homeschooling went on this week. My husband had the week off in between his old job and the new one he'll start after the holiday and every day has been full to bursting with special projects. We've enjoyed our week together and we'll pick up the homeschooling next week.

Initial S: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Flipbook

Make Your Own Initial /s/ Flipbook From Free Printable

To download click on the image to open it full size. Then right click on the image, choose "save as" and save the page to your computer.

I recommend you print on cardstock and laminate for durability.

Description

This is a modification of my free one-syllable initial /s/ card set. The first 5 cards are designed to be subjects placed into the initial position of the flipbook. The next 6 cards are verbs meant to be placed into the second position of the flipbook. The final 19 cards are objects to be placed into the third position in the flipbook. There are a total of 570 different silly sentences containing 2-3 initial /s/ words that can be made using this DIY flipbook.

Directions for Making the Flipbook

• Print cards on cardstock and cut apart.
• Punch holes in the center top of each card.
• Make a cover and back for your flip book using cardboard or two pieces of cardstock glued together. Punch three holes in the top of your cover and back. (Alternately, just put cards into a 3-ring binder.)
• Put the subject cards in the first hole and tie in place with string, yarn, dental floss, or anything else you have around that will work. Put the action cards in the center spot and the object cards in the final spot.
• Write in some sort of title on the cover and use with students.

You could do this with any of my cardsets. When I had the idea to try to make a flipbook I noticed that most of my cardsets have a few action words and plenty of object words. The sets tend to be light on words that make sense as subjects though. So supplement the subject words you find in any set with the "I, We, You, and They" cards above in first position. Then just sort through the other cards in the set to find additional subject, action, and object words and make as many flipbooks as you'd like.

Permissions

I give permission to copy, print, or distribute this card set flipbook provided that:

1. Each copy makes clear that I am the document's author.
2. No copies are altered without my express consent.
3. No one makes a profit from these copies.
4. Electronic copies contain a live link back to my original and print copies not for merely personal use contain the URL of my original.

Looking for Feedback

I would love to hear back from anyone who uses this card set flipbook. Let me know if you find errors or there is anything you would change. Comment on this page, or send me an email at testyyettrying(at)gmail(dot)com.

Where can I find more?

More sets are on my Free Speech Therapy Articulation Cards page. Other card sets include /p, b, t, d, m, n, h, f, v, k, g, s, l, ch, sh, s-blends, and l-blends/ and more sets are being added regularly.

Card Set Activity and Game Suggestions

1. 10 Card Set Game and Activity Ideas
2. Simple Speech Card Puzzles
3. Speech Card Stories
4. Speech Card Caterpillar
5. Speech Card Game: What's Hiding?
6. Speech Card Game: Speech Switcheroo (An Uno-Style Game)
7. Speech Card Set Activity: Magnetic Speech Cards
8. Speech Card Game: Speech Fours
9. Speech Card Game: Old Maid
10. Speech Card Set Activity: Bang!
11. Speech Card Set Activity: What's Hiding Behind Door Number...?
12. Speech Card Set Activity: Customizing a Homework Sheet

SLPs and Isolation - A Thing of the Past

It took me three years to complete my masters program in speech language pathology because my bachelor's degree and first masters were in different areas. It took three very full years to absorb the vast amount of information necessary to become certified as an SLP. The program must cover the basics to prepare you to work in a wide variety of settings. One SLP might work in a nursing home helping patients with swallowing problems, dementia, and aphasia among other things. Another SLP might work in a hospital settings with trachs and vents, premature babies, or stroke victims (among other things). SLPs are found in the schools and in private clinics working with children who have a wide variety of speech and language needs. The scope of material that must be covered in an SLP program is huge. They also must train you in basic clinical competence in a variety of settings with a variety of client disorders. It is an intense program.

Then, when you get your first job, you are assigned a mentor and you must complete a clinical fellowship year with that mentor before you get your clinical certificate of competence. And then you are on your own. When I graduated in 1999 I worked in the schools. In that setting, you are often the only SLP in your school. Often, you are the only SLP in 2-3 schools. At that time, there weren't really any SLP blogs or websites. ASHA didn't have a huge online presence. There was no Facebook or Pinterest. I remember feeling so isolated.

There were inservice days that brought all the SLPs in the district together, however those days were tightly scheduled according to an agenda that involved continuing education or procedural updates and didn't allow for much unstructured discussion. I remember desperately wanting time to simply talk with other professionals about my students. I had my first student with childhood apraxia of speech and I didn't feel I was doing enough to help her. I had a little girl with a severe fluency problem that I wasn't making much progress on. Did anyone have any really good strategies for sharpening up a lateral lisp? I wanted to trade creative ideas on how to make articulation therapy interesting. Or I would make some materials and not have anyone to share them with.

Today it is such a different world. I no longer feel isolated. If I want to see amazing things other SLPs are doing I can find them on Pinterest or by reading any number of SLP blogs. If I make my own materials I can share them myself on my own blog and know that I'm helping other professionals and parents. It is easy to keep up with ASHA's professional journals in the member section of their website. I can keep up with other sources of research in my areas of interest easily online. It helps me to be so much more creative and better at my profession. It would be pretty amazing to be starting out in this profession today with so many resources available at any computer with an internet connection and I highly recommend these types of resources to any practicing SLP today.


For example, start here:

1. Go to the Pediastaff Pinterest Board on Articulation and click on any picture/idea that looks interesting to you. That should take you to the original blog where Pediastaff found the idea. Then explore that person's blog for other ideas you like.
2. Check out other Pediastaff pinterest boards on other topics (language and grammar, early intervention, apraxia, and many more).
3. Alternately, begin again with any pinterest board that interests you and choose a pin you like. Look at the list of people that have repinned that pin to their own board. Many of those people are SLPs and have boards of all the SLP ideas they like. You can browse those boards and see collections of ideas that appeal to other SLPs. It's a rabbit hole. If you get started, you'll find hours slipping away from you, but I guarantee you'll come out of it inspired.

DIY: Use Home Improvement Sprinkler System to Make Kids Water Playground

Home improvement stores sell component based sprinkler systems. You buy some hose, connectors and valves. Choose some cool sprinkler heads. Then hook the whole thing up to your hose.

In our case, my husband installed a splitter down on the hose faucet so he'll still be able to hook up a regular garden hose and then ran the sprinkler system hose up to the deck level. He attached the hose under the deck rail. I just made that sound simple, but it did take him several hours. Then he pierced holes (with a special tool) in the hose and installed a smaller hose with a valve and sprinkler head every few feet along the deck. With the valves, the children can turn each sprinkler head on and off individually. We also left two of the smaller hoses free flowing and called them kid faucets. They can open the valves and use them to fill cups, make "water snakes", spray each other (neck down), or anything else that suits their imagination. There is also a master valve they can use to turn the entire thing on and off at will.

Hopefully the pictures will give you an idea. We got it up and running today. The children had so much fun. I intend to send the children out to play every day this summer in the morning when the deck is in the shade. I'll simply send them out in clothes that I don't mind getting wet. They will be able to play in the sprinklers whenever they like, and use the "kid faucets" whenever they like as well.

Speech Steps from Isolation to Spontaneous Sentences

This is a description of the variety of ways you can use the exact same set of stimuli to work with children who are at vastly different levels of proficiency with a target sound. Or, alternately, a description of the set of incremental steps you can go through using the same set of stimuli to take a child from producing a sound in isolation to using that same sound in spontaneous sentences. For the purposes of this discussion, I am using the /s/ phoneme as an example, but the same process can be used with any phoneme.

At the beginning of the spectrum, you have a child who is stimulable for the target sound, but is having difficulty at the CV, VC, or CVC single-syllable word level. At the end of the spectrum, you have a child who is ready to work on carryover to conversational speech with the sound. Let's look at the steps you can take with the same set of stimuli to vary difficulty to meet the child's needs.

I attempted to get this information down in paragraph form, but it was too wordy. An illustrated flowchart seemed to work better, so here it is. You might consider printing this and attaching it to a copy of one or two of my free articulation card sets and sending it home as homework for the summer with students.

Speech Steps from Isolation to Spontaneous Sentences