All those files and workbooks are great, but SLPs have precious little time to pull it together between sessions.
Here's how I have my artic materials organized, and I love it!
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| Everything You Need for Your Artic Session in One Spot! |
These boxes measure 15 x 11.5 x 3.25. They are wide enough to store a manila envelope or file folder flat. (I put all my practice sheets and masters in a file. My TpT units go in a laminated manila envelope. Then I pop it all in the box!)
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| A "home" for each phoneme! |
Next, I labeled the boxes for each phoneme. I have a separate box for initial and for final phonemes, and a box for each cluster we regularly target.
Here's two sessions of activities from my /sm/ box, easy peasy!
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| This girl loves her stinky /smelly socks, but her friends don't! |
I love literature-based therapy, so I have to add a couple of sound-loaded books that repeat the target sound a bunch!
Smelly Socks by Robert Munsch is loads of fun when practicing /sm/ words!
Another /sm/ loaded book I love is Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup
After reading the story, we do "Smell Bottles".
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| "Smell Bottle" Activity. Can you guess the scent? |
The boxes are deep enough to store craft materials and manipulatives too!
I collected pill bottles, put a cotton ball in each, and put a few drops of extract on each one. The last one had rose-scented perfume.
I think hands-on activities are a natural in speech therapy. Kids really remember them, and want to talk about it when they get home!
It's also a great opportunity to work in language as well as practicing artic.
FREEBIE! Here's a practice sheet I use with my "smell bottle" activity.
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| Speech Sprouts /sm/ Freebie! |
There's lot's of practice opportunities: Have them ask for a bottle.
"I want to smell this one."
How does it smell? "It smells good/bad."
Which one do you think it is?
Then I have the kids set the bottle on the grid, and say the sentence. "I smell lemon. I smell cinnamon."
If you want to give it a try, you can download it by clicking here:
There is also a low-ink-friendly B&W version and a version without the "smells" so you can label it with any scent/extract you want.
If you enjoy the freebie, please leave a comment below! I would love hearing from you.
For a second session, we make flowers to smell!
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| Extract or Perfume-Scented Flowers. The "smell" lasts for days!" |
Fun!!
To Make These Smelly Flowers:
1. Cut squares of tissue paper.2. Have the child choose 3-4 sheets.
3. Layer the tissue paper and push a pipe cleaner through the center.
4. Wrap one end of the pipe cleaner around a cotton ball to secure it.
5. Push the tissue paper up around the cotton ball "center" and coil the pipe cleaner around the base to secure it. (as shown)
6. Now have your child choose a "smell". "I want the orange smell"
7. Drop on extract or spray the perfume on.