March Madness is Yappening
This is not only the month for basketball but also for a March Madness contest for Yapp Guru.
What is Yapp Guru? It is a group of “experts” who review apps to help others get a better idea if an app is a good fit for your needs. So this month as we will be adding more app reviews to help you all out and bonus some of us “experts” might even win a prize.
What is Yapp Guru? It’s an online site that we’d like you to join for free. Once you have signed up you have access to many app reviews and the ability to vote for your favorite apps.
I choose apps to review that I use in therapy sessions and meet the needs of my students. I love finding some non-traditional apps that lets me add a twist. You may not see a lot of negative reviews from me as I tend to contact the developer first about any concerns. I found this to be much more beneficial than posting an issue about on app on iTunes. I will be honest about the apps I do review on Yapp Guru. But I often tell others to read reviews on Yapp Guru, look at description of the app and view a video about the app in use. This is the best way to gather information to help you decide if the app is a fit for you and your wallet. You can find my reviews here: Cindy Meester’s App Reviews.
So come join the March Madness fun at Yapp Guru. Be sure to check out all the app experts reviews. There are 25 SLPs and 1 OT as of today trying to be the best resource we can for you!
So line up your shot mouse and dribble click on Yapp Guru and join for free. It’s a win win and you won’t even break a sweat.
I’d love to hear about the twists you add to apps we have reviewed.
Cindy
Appy New Year – Yapp Guru Expert Linky!
(Click on this icon to view other bloggers 10 favorite apps)
This is only 10 of my go to apps in 2014. Believe me it was hard to choose only 10. I’m sharing the apps that I turned to the most to fit the needs of my present caseloads at school and the speech clinic.Plus these are ones that are not necessarily “speechie” apps and I can add a twist to make it fit many of my therapy goals.
So drum roll … and in no particular order… Here goes.
1. News-O-Matic This is a subscription based app that I happened to get on sale. The news changes daily and is made for kids. It has short articles, videos, slide show, maps and fact links for each article. The articles can be read to you. Targeted vocabulary words have links to definitions. Cost: free app with in-app purchases
2. Custom Boards This is an app that I use to create materials. Often I use it during therapy sessions and we can create a new vocabulary game or list together. It has many different templates. You can use your own pictures, ones in the app or from google. Cost: 49.99
3. Sago Mini Doodlecast This app is like a white board with at twist. There are 30 drawing prompts but you get to finish them. As you draw you also record your story. When you are finished it will play back each stroke you drew and what you said as you were drawing. Lots of therapy twists here. Be sure to check out the other apps from Sago Sago too. Cost:2.99
4. Describe it to me There are over 160 pictures to use to work on improving describing skills. There are six different questions that target category, function, parts, location, visuals, and extras. You can work on this app in the receptive mode and chose a correct answer or in the expressive mode and create your own responses. Cost: 9.99
5. Spot it HD This is just like the popular Spot card games. In the app you can play solo games or up to 4 players. You can also set the game to easy (6 symbols), normal (8) or hard (10). There are options for timed or untimed play. Cost: 2.99
6, 7 and 8. Between the lines level 1, Between the lines level 2 and Between the lines advanced These apps are ones that I used to work on inferences, body language, facial expressions, perspective taking and slang. The videos and real photographs helped my caseload a lot. These apps also can be found in lite versions. Cost: 15.99 or .99 for lite versions
9. Articulate it! This app has recently been updated and now includes fun backgrounds you can switch up. You can also add you own pictures, words and sentences. My twist with this app is to use it with my fluency students and my language students. I can create my own sets of words/pictures for specific needs. Watch for more updates that will contain stories for even more practice…coming soon! Cost: 39.99
10. FingerPaint Duel This app is made to encourage “playing together creatively.” In the app two players try to finger paint a shape and get the most points. My twist we talk about strategies- which size pencil would work the best and why, should you use the eraser or not, etc. Cost: Free and Full app 2.99
Now it’s your turn to share your favorite apps and the twists you use with them.
Cindy
Bobbing our way into Spring!!!
I knew I should do something “springy” in my speech room. I just didn’t want to go all flowers and birds. So I decided to use an app called Bobbleshop. Here’s the almost completed result: (I don’t know if I can get my whole caseload on one side of my door but I’m going to bobble as many as I can!)
The green grass was cut from Smart-Fab. I was lucky to win several rolls of this material on their Facebook page. The letters and cutouts were free from our school supply room.
The Bobbleshop app was free when I found it. They have other versions you can check-out too.My students are in grades K-3rd and we had a lot of fun with this activity. I could see with older students taking more time and fine tuning the faces to really look like themselves. Or how about taking an actor, cartoon character, etc. and creating them … then posting them and have others guess who.
My therapy goals: (yea I really did have some)
1. following directions
2. turn taking
3. choosing parts and deciding if they were making them look the same or different from their real self
4. understanding vocabulary and concepts- bobble head, giggle, larger, smaller, darker, lighter
5. emotions- eyebrows, eyes and mouth can make different expressions
6. joint attention- it was fun to see the kids help each other and giggle together
7. humor- is it silly or not silly, one of my students just didn’t understand why others were laughing and why it was funny so that was a whole lesson (to be expanded upon)
8. I am going to print off smaller versions and use these as characters in stories, game pieces and whatever else pops into my twisted brain. I’m thinking Mad Lib like on the whiteboard. I also have items from Think-a-lot that I use to create stories and including these cute characters will add a new twist.
So take this idea and add your own twist!
Cindy
My ABC’s Favorites from 2012
2012 may not have been my best year but I’m keeping positive and hoping for only the best in 2013 for all! Reflecting back I do have a number of things that helped me in my therapy sessions this past year.
is for APPS: This is a hard one to narrow down to only a few-So in no particular order and not necessarily new in 2012 here we go…
Custom Boards– my go to app to create materials. I like the flexibility to use the symbols within the app, adding your own pictures or finding pictures on google. I can even make materials within a therapy session with the students, save it and print it for them to take home immediately.
Rainbow Sentences – an app that helped my students on so many levels: syntax, following directions and for a couple it motivated them to verbalize.
Articulation Scenes – yes I use many traditional articulation apps but this one is different- my students begged to play this one! They loved earning trophies and wanted to do all the sound scenes even though those that were not their sound errors.
Social Quest– an app that helps work through a variety of social scenarios – I like that there is not one correct answer and allows for flexibility
Conversationbuilder Teen – this is an app geared for older students and I used this more with clients I see in the speech clinic. I loved how the conversations looked like text messages and were in teen language. The version I used for the students at my school is called Conversation Builder.
Story Pals – is a reading comprehension app for short stories and follows with a quiz. You can even create your own stories and quizzes.
Question Sleuth– this app can be used to work on categories or asking questions to decide what item was hiding the star. You can add your own images and create your own categories.
Talking Train is a new app from all4mychild. I use it for sequencing, vocabulary and storytelling. You can draw a picture or add an image on 3 train cars. Record a story or words for each train car and tap go to send the train on its way.
Syntax City – an app to work on pronouns, plurals and more. I like how you can have a group of students working on different skills and levels at the same time. My students were so diligent and proud to see their report cards improve after each session. For my less verbal kiddos I used apps by Hamaguchi.
is for Books and Blogs:
I love my Kindle app. I have downloaded many free books for my reading pleasure. But also free ones to use with kids in therapy. One source (more for me than therapy) that shows free apps is- BookBub on Facebook. Another source I use is Amazon and search for free kindle books for kids- lots of choices! I also get free book option from the blog No Twiddle Twaddle
There is a plethora of SLP blogs and SLP Facebook pages this past year. I had listed some on the side of my blog but have not been able to keep up with all of them. What a wonderful way to get new ideas and connect with SLPs!
is for Connections:
I work with a wonderful group of SLPs, special educators and regular educators in my school district. This is a shout out to only two of them for making conncections and helping me make it through 2012.
Liz is an Occupational Therapist who allows me to do groups with her. We have worked together long enough what if you were observing a session it might be difficult to tell who is the OT and who is the SLP. We combine motor and language using obstacle courses, theme units, letter of the week and more.
Laura is a special education teacher who has a one of our site based autism classrooms. She is someone who is such a gentle teacher even in the midst of tantrums. We can collaborate about student needs and come up with ideas to work on together. I never worry if I need to change my schedule with her students. I enjoy working within her room and learning from each other.
The other connections that have brought smiles, knowledge and new experiences all came from social media. I have “met” so many SLPs on Speaking of Speech, Perkilou Therapy Group, Facebook and twitter. Meeting many of these SLPeeps and others in person at the ASHA convention was energizing! So shout outs to Mary H. (speech adventures), Sean S (speech techie), Jonathan F, Dean T, Barbara F, Kyle T, Rosie S, Lucy N, Tiffany W, Ramya K, Eric & Kelly S, Jeremy L (speech guy), Shareka B, Kim L (Activity Tailor), Heidi, Meghan, Karen, Jill, Megan S, Milo and more!
One thing I try to remember is you never know how big a small connection can be. A smile, a thank you, holding a door, a “I like your shirt” or stopping by to say hello just might bring a rainbow to someone’s rainy cloudy mood.
Allow me to be a little nostalgic- When I first entered the SLP field I was fresh out if college with my bachelors degree as MN had not yet change the requirement for needed Masters degree. We did not have phones in our rooms, Internet, social media, blogs or TPT sites. If I wanted to consult with another SLP I had to try to get on the one phone in our school and hope I could reach the SLP at her school (almost impossible). OR I could hand write a note and send it out through inter-school mail and wait for a week or so for a response. Now we can connect via many channels: cell phones, texting, Facebook, face time, twitter, email, blogs, etc. So how lucky are we!
is for all the other Speechie Stuff I liked: (nope not listing something for every letter of the alphabet!)
Of all my posts about therapy ideas my favorite was my Reduce, Reuse, Recyle. I think I liked this because it was so spontaneous and the kids really took charge of the sessions. It also made me smile as they tried to figure out directions for right and left as they sat across from each other! Looking at my blogs stats for the past year it looks like the one with the most hits was my Can You Sea Me Now.
TPT– Teachers Pay Teachers is a site where I can purchased great therapy materials for a few dollars or less. Now you can find many SLPs selling creative therapy games, flash cards and more. Many SLPs also sell products on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) site. Check out the resource list that Jenna Rayburn of Speech Room News has put together: SLPs on TPT Resource List
Ok more nostalgia – “back in the day” when I first started working in the schools we either had to wait for a catalog to arrive and hope there was a budget to order materials. The process of submitting a request on NCR forms and hope you could press hard enough to be legible through all three sheets and then wait for a few weeks until the item(s) arrived was often frustrating. The other option was creating your own materials without cute clip art. It might involve hand drawings, creating hand written dittos or if lucky using a typewriter and hope you did not make a typo! The copy machine was rare and it only used this really slippery paper that you could not were really write on.
The other option was a huge projector that would project a page onto the wall. You would trap paper on the wall and trace the picture then color it later. Anyone remember what this was called? I couldn’t find a picture. It was not an overhead projector. It was a huge clunky machine.
I have not been able to post to my blog as I had intended or as often as I had in the past. It doesn’t really matter why but what should be the direction I take now. As I look at all the new blogs it makes me feel comfortable keeping mine to what I feel I do best- provide therapy with a twist. That to me is taking something and turning it into a therapy tool or lesson. So in this widening world of bloggers I will continue to add my own twist.
Happy 2013 everyone! Keep on connecting! I’m off to buy some duct tape to go with a therapy twist I have stuck in my mind!
Playing at working
As I grab my keys and head to my car I often tell my husband I’m heading to “play” vs. going to “work.” So check out some of the “playing ” that has been happening in my therapy room!
I have been receiving some fun products and apps to try. Here are a few of them in no particular order. Disclosure: all of the items posted were gifted to me but my comments are my own.
1. Think Fun has wonderful games. The most recent one I played is called UnHinged. You can check it out here: Unhinged
I played this with one of my 2nd grade groups in a cooperative game format. They were excited but found it to be a little too challenging. I used it with a 3rd grade group and they also found it challenging but were able to complete three of the patterns. It is recommended for ages 8 and up. The object is to manipulate the hexagon into different patterns. The game comes with a booklet of patterns to copy. It IS challenging but fun!
2. How Katie Got a Voice (and a cool nickname). This is a fantastic book by Pat Mervine, founder of Speaking of Speech. You can find ordering information Here.
The book is about a fourth grade girl who cannot talk. It is a way to introduce uniqueness in all of us while reaching about disability awareness. Pat has a special until the end of December so order it now!
3. Apps for working on Social communication-
Conversation Builder Teen is one of the new apps from Kyle Tomas at Mobile Education Store. This app follows the same familiar format of other apps from Mobile Education Store but with a teen twist. The scenes are made for teens and the conversations even look like text messages. How cool is that!
Social Quest is a new app from Smarty Ears. Each player can be transported into 16 locations from the movies, classroom and more. The social situation is based on each location. Players can play the “quest” in a receptive or expressive mode. Another winner from Smarty Ears!
4. Teachers Pay Teachers- There is now a plethora of SLPs posting materials for sale along with some freebies. You really should check it out and save your self some “work” so you can start “playing” sooner! Jenna Rayburn of Speech Room News complied a list of SLPs who are on TpT. Here is the link: SLPs on TPT
So thank you Think Fun, Pat Mervine, Mobile Education Store, Smarty Ears and TpT for making my work so much more fun!
Ok back to work (tee hee)!
And the winners are….
Thanks for reading my blog and entering the app code giveaways.
The winner for TenseBuilder is….. Kristen Hansen
The winners for /r/ Intensive are…… Cathleen and Giovanna Renfrow
My little appy helper. She helps me test out apps and draw winners for contests. And lucky me I get to live with her until we close on our new home.
Juggling Plates… /r/ Intensive and can be a TenseBuilder (p.s. there is a giveaway here)
I’ve always thought that I was more productive when I had more on my plate and deadlines closing in…. Or so I thought. But these last few weeks have been too much and I have found myself literally juggling plates when our house sold. I didn’t break any but I did pack them, toss some and set some aside to eat on. With the number of craziness hitting me all at once I decided the only one putting demands and deadlines on my plate was ME. So I gave myself permission to do nothing but try to survive the stress of moving, house hunting, temporary housing, living out of boxes, car repairs, family stuff, school starting etc. etc. So that is the main reason I have not posted for quite some time. Plus having my computer packed away….somewhere makes it difficult!
So giving myself permission has relieved some of the stress. But I do want to share a few things I have been enjoying.
Games:
This summer I won a game from Thinkfun called Mini Mouth. The object is to draw 2-5 letters and be the first one to shout out a word that contains those letters. Yes I did play it this way with my family but realized it might need modifying with my speech/language caseload. It is easy to keep in my purse or therapy bag and take with me. I played it following the game rules but have also changed it for some students. We pick a category (food, animal etc) and we flip a tile and try to name as many items that start with that letter. The kids also like to each have their own tile and think of an item that starts with that letter and give clues and see if we can guess it. Great toy to work on vocabulary, problem solving, spelling, turn taking and more!!!
I was then contacted by Thinkfun and asked if I would be interested in trying another product. Oh yes!!! This one is called PathWords Jr. This game builds vocabulary, spelling, and spatial reasoning skills. The object is to fit the correct Tetris-style puzzle pieces over letters to spell words. I used this with a two boys who were working on cooperative play. I gave them the basic game instructions and then they were on their own. It was great to see them dividing the puzzle pieces, taking turns and giving advice. I noticed that some of the “advice” was moving the puzzle piece for the other student. I reminded them that if they did not want “finger help” they needed to tell their partner. This was a really fun activity and helped to work on social skills too.
APPS:
/r/ intensive from Smarty Ears-
I don’t know about you but /r/ sound errors are not my favorite. If I am successful and have a child imitate my /r/ in one of our first trials I am thrilled! Sometimes that doesn’t work so we work on tongue placement and that might work..hurray! If that doesn’t work then I might teach a “g” and move it into an /r/ often with the word tiger . Oh boy if that doesn’t work I might try using “l” and have them slide their tongue across the roof of their mouth and cross my fingers. Ok maybe move from “ah” to /r/. (Big sigh) Now if nothing works then we come back the next session and start all over again and again. I have not found “the one” trick that always works. Each case is different and some move quickly into words and sentences. The ones that try and try but still can’t reach consistency can be frustrating for everyone. But as an SLP we are known to never give up. We try different techniques and tools. We research for other ideas. We collaborate with co-workers and other SLPs through social media. And some days we even get to dismiss a student from /r/ therapy!!
Smarty Ears had a recent update for /r/ intensive and has added new flashcards, a matching game and a guessing game. Not only is this a great way to target those pesky /r/ errors but it is very engaging for my students. I always use apps in multiple ways so my twist for this app is using it with all students on my caseload. I can play guessing games to expand describing skills. I can use it with my fluency students to practice techniques at the word, sentence and storytelling levels.
TenseBuilder from Mobile Education Store- is designed to help students learn how to identify and use correct tense forms by playing movie quality animated videos to demonstrate past, present and future tense. I have been using this with my students in group activities. It makes a great cooperation activity. My youngest students need to focus on using present regular tense in complete sentences (He is calling). So we have concentrated on using the videos to learn about this and record our “big sentences” within the app. The kids love to hear themselves and are even starting to self correct their errors after listening! My older students are working on irregular tenses and love to see if they can get their answer correct before the movie ends. It has become a contest among the group of boys on who can shout it out first.
Giveaways!!!
I have 2 codes for /r/ intensive and 1 code for TenseBuilder so here is what you need to do….
1. Leave a separate blog comment for each app you would like to win.
2. Like the Facebook pages for Smarty Ears and Mobile Education Store and leave a another blog comment that you did this or already are a fan.
3. I will do a random drawing for the app codes on Sunday 10/7/12 after 7:00 pm Central time.
The codes are for US iTunes.
(WordPress blogs are no longer able to use Rafflecopter for giveaways so sorry!!!)
Yippee Ki Yay!
Maybe this should be titled Yippee Ki YIKES!!! If it’s August then that must mean my summer vacation is galloping away. So I should be fetching me some tissues and fussing. But… I’m not….yet. It’s been a lazy summer with not many projects or routines so I’m looking forward to some structure again. In the meantime my blog has been ignored this summer so I’m getting back on my horse and writing a new post.
I decided to work on my Cowboy/Cowgirl/ Wild West unit. It is only a start but I wanted to share what I have so far. I have more items at school that will be part of this unit so stayed tuned.
I created cards to use for a memory or go fish game.Wild West Lasso game – Print two copies Wild West card backs– print on the backs of the Lasso cards
Another inexpensive resource: Perkilou cowboy set
Here are some links I lassoed to learn how to talk like a true cowboy/girl: Old West Slang; Cowboy Code; Slang and Legends
Apps: Here are some apps to make any cowgirl Appy!
There was a fun Pecos Bill storybook app from Ruckus Media but I do not see it in the app store anymore.
That’s all for now Pardner! It’s time to russell up some grub. More to come later!
LOL or Letting Others Lead or maybe Leaning On Lazy says it best
I had plans…
I had lots of plans…
I thought about lots plans….
So why haven’t I acted on these wonderful plans? Well first motivation went on vacation then diligence kept taking naps so I talked myself into nothing. In the meantime all the plans floating in my head began to materialize like magic. How can this be I wondered? Did I send telepathic thoughts out? Did I mention it in another blog posting? Hmmm… then I remembered that SLPs are creative and often share the same brain. So the ideas I was going to work on this summer have already been created by others. Oh darn oh shucks pass me another margarita tissue. My mottos have always been to share and don’t recreate a new therapy material if it is already out there.
Plan one: to make new cards for my guess who game but guess what there have been others who did this for me! Check out this one: Speech Room News
Plan two: make cards for my candy land game but here are ones that are already completed: Candy Land Language Cards and Candy Land Articulation cards
Plan three-ten: …. I forgot what they were but I’m sure they are brilliant. I’ll just wait until someone else blogs about them. You know it’s nice Letting Others Lead once in a while.
So now that “my plans” are done what is left to do besides sit on the deck, read and enjoy my summer vacation?
So while I am enjoying the day here are some oldies but goodies that you might not have explored on my blog pages.
Articulation Ideas and Materials
I promise to be back with some new ideas once I can find where Motivation is vacationing. In the meantime here are some fun apps I am playing with this summer in private therapy sessions and on my deck!
Articulation Scenes– great way to practice sounds- here is more information I wrote for Smarty Ears on how I use this app: Articulation Scenes Ideas
StoryPals– stories with comprehension quizzes plus you can create your own stories
iBernard HD or iBernard – great for social skills- what is he thinking, what will happen next etc.
Please! No more ideas… really… I’m going to lose my marbles! ;)
I may be in the minority but please don’t post anymore ideas on Facebook, Linkedin, newsetters or your blogs. I am over run with too many ideas. Don’t even mention Pinterest!! I put my blog posts on there but I don’t dare to look around at any other pins or boards. Being an SLP for 35 years I have lots of materials and resources so I don’t need anymore…really …..no I’m serious….this time… 😉
My school year is ending on June 8th. I am starting to mentally pack up my room and I’ve already run out of nooks and crannies. How can I store it all? Yes my iPad is wonderful and has a wealth of apps that work great in my sessions. BUT…I have a lot of other great stuff too. I’ve talked about downsizing in past posts but I still have many things (ok maybe TOO many) that I want to keep. I promise I will use them…pinkie swear. In the meantime I will do my best to organize, pack up and get ready for summer break.
So what do I plan to do this summer?
1. Relax
2. Play and explore with my grand-daughter – who is now 6
3. Work in private therapy
4. Write blog posts and articles for Smarty Ears Therapy Corner
5. Share more therapy materials/ ideas on my blog
6. Maybe even start a Facebook page for my blog… I’ve been encouraged to do this but what should the page be called??? Send me your ideas!
7. Think about next year …a little
8. Oh dare I say it explore Pinterest…maybe…. ok I probably will
In the meantime I packed away my Ocean theme from my last blog post and my room is looking a little bare. The kids are complaining. Wait… I did leave the sand pail with the liquid water beads out…hmmm. Ok a couple more ideas but I’ll try to make these easy and disposable.
So since I mentioned losing my marbles here is what I plan to do with them!
Water Beads or Liquid Marbles: I have found mine at dollar stores. They have only had the clear ones but they do come in colors. I use these in sensory tubs or in this case a sand pail. For the last week of school here is how I will use it before I “lose my marbles.”
a. Just play with them- they feel wet and the squeals from the kids are so cute! We can include a few adjectives to describe them for a language goal.
b. Add items and try to find them (without looking) – paper clips, hard marble, dice, any small trinket. Language twist: talk about the sizes and shapes; Articulation twist: use small laminated words or cards instead of trinkets; Fluency- create a sentence for the trinket or card with easy speech.
c. Add plastic letters or numbers- Pull out an M think of words or summer things that start with M- Pull out a 4 and think of 4 words or sentences using your sound(s) or draw 4 articulation cards or draw 4 vocabulary cards
d. Put a few outside in the sun and make predictions on what might happen to them… I don’t know but my guess is I will be finding out one of these sunny days!
e. Brainstorm a list or find pictures of other things that fill up with water…. pool, water balloon, etc.
There you now have five ideas to use until the end of the school year!
Enjoy and then to downsize just ..
1. Put all the trinkets you used back in your desk where you probably found them in the first place
2. Put the articulation and vocabulary cards back into their boxes (or if you used ones on an app in your iPad just close it!)
3. Return the plastic letters and numbers to the teacher you borrowed them from
$. Toss the liquid marbles or put them in baggies and send them home with kids…nice surprise… maybe! Or use them at home in vases for fresh cut flowers.
4. Save the sand pail and take it home – you can use it as intended but I see a slushy drink with a little paper umbrella added to mine!
- Last Summer Fun!
Cindy L. Meester's Blog- Speech Therapy with a Twist 