Articulation Practice – Free Printable PECs and Worksheets

It’s about time to pull out the manual paper shredder again.  Noah had such a blast with it last week and was so motivated to practice his words when he knew he’d get to shred them when he was finished.  Ah, nothing like a little bit of destruction every now and then.

He’s already shredded his way through the four articulation practice worksheets his speech therapist gave him, so I’m on the prowl for some new sources.  Here’s what I’ve found so far:

http://heatherspeechtherapy.com/worksheets/

http://mommyspeechtherapy.com/?page_id=55#

Both sites have very similar worksheets, individual worksheets indexed by sound and then further indexed by whether the sound comes at the beginning, middle or end of the word.  Both sites’ worksheets are Boardmaker PECs in PDF files.  Nice.

Here’s a link to more articulation worksheets on a very useful website Noah’s speech therapist recommended to me:

http://www.speakingofspeech.com/Articulation_Materials.html#bp

This one is a bit more technical, but it is still a great resource for practice words:

http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21:admin&catid=9:resources&Itemid=117

I’m starting to think that between the net, Pinterest and Noah’s friendly neighborhood speech therapist, I may never have to buy another workbook again.

On second thought, that would be a bummer.  I love to shop, especially if it has anything to do with homeschooling.

Anyways, enjoy the links, and if you have some to add to the list, please share in a comment!

Blessings,

Alyson

Free Printable Play-Doh (Play-Dough) Mats

All of my Middles and Littles enjoy Play-Doh.  It easily keeps them busy for an hour, sometimes all afternoon.  I had no idea how many free printable Play-Doh mats are out there until I started looking for them.  For Noah (5 with Down syndrome), these are especially helpful because of the fine motor involvement and the way these mats make playing with Play-Doh a language rich activity.

We’re working on learning our alphabet week by week, and this week is the Letter D.  As I got ready to print out a D-DOG Play-Doh mat, I remembered how much Noah likes feeding our cat, so I switched to the cat mat.  Here’s the link for both:

http://prekinders.com/2011/09/dog-cat-food-play-dough-mats/

And here’s a link for the plain dog we added Play-doh spots to:

http://www.makinglearningfun.com/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.makinglearningfun.com/Activities/fire/FireDalPlaydoughMats/FirDalPlayDoughMat-dog.gif

If you’re looking to save a few bucks, this is the perfect activity to load into sheet protectors instead of laminating sheets, and then if you place two back to back, you can fit both of them into one sheet protector.

Here’s some ideas from a SPL on how to use these kinds of mats in conjunction with speech therapy.  I just love it when I don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

http://chitchatandsmalltalk.blogspot.fr/2012/03/play-dough-mats-and-other-fun-stuff.html

And this is an idea I haven’t seen before, but it’s another great pre-handwriting idea.  This time, it’s with Play-doh.

http://storytime-storytime.blogspot.com/2011/10/blog-post.html

I like these face mats since Noah is still learning to identify facial features and we’ll be learning the five senses soon:

http://resources.sparklebox.org.uk/sb1312.pdf

Here are some basic shapes – Perfect for Noah!!!  This will also give us a chance to review our colors, as he will have to find the right color Play-doh for each shape.  If you already have a set of simple shape flashcards, you can use those for this activity since they usually are printed on glossy thick cardstock.

Thanks to all the bloggers and websites out there that make writing a post like this so easy.  Because they care enough to share what they’ve already done, we can put our energies toward actually using them instead of creating them.

Have fun!

–Alyson

When I Grow Up

Well, Bella has changed her mind about what she wants to be when she grows up.  Last weekend it was a cow.  This weekend it’s a pig.  I think she’s just messing with me, what do you think?

The last few months as I’ve gotten passionate about helping Noah learn to speak and I’ve immersed myself in all things speech and language related, I’ve mused to myself, “Why couldn’t I have had this passion at 20, when I could have done something more about it (like go to school)?”

It’s just so backwards that here I am a smidgen past 40, and it’s only now that I fully have the desire to be educated, proficient.  I really didn’t care about these things at 20.  And my current life is wayyyy too important to give up in order to earn a degree.

But in processing all this I’ve realized that it’s only because of my journey that I have the desire to learn these things.  I love all things speech and language related because I love a little boy who needs my help in mastering speech and language.

I love to teach because I have seven little learners who depend on me to fill their minds with a knowledge and understanding of the Lord’s Creation.

I love all things culinary because I have a husband who works hard all day and deserves (my word, not his) a good meal when he gets home.  I’ve got children who I want to grow up strong and healthy and remembering the yummy home-cooked meals their mom made.

I love medical research because I have a whole bunch of wonderful children, three of them with medical conditions, and I want the very best life God has for them, free of pain and limitation.

I am where I am because of where I’ve been and God’s good and wonderful provision over the years.

So I’m thinking today of all the professions the Lord is allowing me to pursue as an amateur, chef, maid, preschool teacher, high school teacher, counselor, elementary teacher, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist (okay, I’m not so interested in that one, thank the Lord for Ms. Laurie who does this job for me),  social coordinator, child development specialist, professional organizer (okay, I’m a TERRIBLE organizer, but I’m still pursuing it), Sunday School teacher, chauffeur, nurse, and doctor (I REALLY would like to give this job up, but I haven’t found anybody who I trust to replace me).

Did I miss any?

Pretty cool, eh?  How many of these would I have never had the opportunity or need to pursue if I had stayed on the career route instead of becoming a full-time wife and mother?  And for those of you who are doing both, I salute you.

No regrets here.  I can’t imagine a more well-rounded life of things I love.

What roles have you found yourself in along your journey?  What things are you passionate about now that you never thought you would have been?