Edublog Award Nominations

Every year, Edublogs are awarded to those blogs that are exceptional and stand out in a given category.  There are a lot of categories, but I have only listed those relevant below.   There are SO many great blogs/bloggers out there; it was so hard to pick JUST ONE for each category.  But without further ado, here are my nominations for the 2013 Edublogs award!

Best Individual Blog: Allison's Speech Peeps.  I love Nicole's style and her products are phenomenal.  She talks about tough issues with grace, and she is always striving to do the best for her students.  I love all of her products.

Best Group Blog: Speechie Freebies.  Who doesn't love this blog?  A bunch of SLPs working hard to bring this community freebies every month!

Best Student Blog:  Speechy Musings.  Shannon is a fellow grad student and is inspiring me and thousands of others out there!! I love her blog an her materials.

Best Twitter Hashtag:  #slpeeps   This is one hashtag that I think the whole SLP community on Twitter uses!! So many great discussions happen using this!

So there you have it!  My nominees for this year's Edublog Awards!

For more information, go here!

Fab Find Friday: 11/29/2013

Happy Black Friday everyone!! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and/or friends and that you ate lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, or something else yummy!   It was a short week, but there were some great finds!!

First things first... in case you haven't heard, there is a SALE coming up!  My store will be on sale!

1.  Shannon at Speechy Musings posted some advice about how to get organized for applying to grad schools.  Check out her post here!

2.   Jenn at Crazy Speech World posted another fabulous craftivity--this time it's gingerbread man style!  Check it out here.

3.  Jenna at Speech Room News posted another Love It and List It Linky.  I participated!  Here is my post and you can click through to see all of them if you want!  

4. Lauren at Busy Bee Speech posted 10 things she is thankful for.  Check out her post here--love it!!


There you go! Short and sweet.    Happy Weekend and Happy Shopping! :)

November Love It and List It Linky: Articulation Apps

I'm a little late to this party, but that's ok!!   My friend Jenna over at Speech Room News hosts this great Love It and List It Linky Party every month.  Here are some of my favorite articulation apps!

These are in no particular order:

1.   My friend Erik X. Raj JUST released a new app called Listen Close Articulation.  I love it already!! {look for a review soon}.

2.  Articulation Scenes from Smarty Ears.  Love this and use it A LOT.

3. NAED Home Speech Therapist's Apraxia.  I used this with an adult client with apraxia and aphasia. She loved it!

4.  Speech Trainer from Smarty Ears.  This is great for those who would benefit from seeing how the tongue and other articulators move.

Want to see other recommended apps?? Check out the linky party here.

Fab Find Friday: 11/22/2013

This week flew by for me, and next week is a short week!  Woohoo!  Here's what I found this week:

1. Rachel from The Queen's Speech posted a new Christmas product called What am I? Christmas Edition! Check it out here.

2.  Denise from Speech Language Pirates posted a new activity called Paint Chip Turkeys.  Check out this cute craftivity here.

3. Jess at Figuratively Speeching had a great post on teaching conversational skills.  Check it out here!

4.  Shannon at Speechy Musings posted about making your own visuals for stories.  Check out her awesome post here.

5.  Kristin at Simply Speech is hosting a new fashion linky.  This week's was my favorite--SHOES! Check out her party here.

6. Speaking of linky parties, Nicole over at Allison's Speech Peeps is hosting this month's feedback linky party.  Check it out here.

7. Katie at Playing With Words 365 posted 25+ Best Gifts to Expand Your Child's Speech Development. This is awesome, so be sure to check it out here!

Happy Weekend! :)

Note: All images have been used with permission. 

2 Bites of Yogurt and a Hello

Do you ever have a day where you look back and say, "How did I get through that?"  That was me last week.  A few weeks ago, I posted about the funny moments that happen when working with adults.  Today, I want to reflect on another topic.  

When I first started working in a nursing home, I had the perspective of, "Well my patients are going to die eventually....It's not very hopeful!"  This is obviously the WRONG perspective to take, and I fully admit that.  It's hard not to have it, and it took many a conversation with my supervisor to change it.   When you're working with adults, you're not trying to get them back to the way they were before, because that likely won't happen. You're doing what you can to help them live the best they can right now.  It's all about quality of life.  It's helping them maintain a given level and be happy there before the decline.

I have a patient who always said, "Let's just take it on a day-by-day basis!"  It is a day-by-day basis with some of these people. I'll walk into clinic, and a client will have been moved onto hospice care.  It's HARD.  I am emotionally drained sometimes.  I do wonder how I got through a day of 2 patients being put on hospice, getting spit up on, etc.  But it's not about that.

It's about the fact that them eating 2 bites of yogurt makes their day that much better.  It's about the fact that you just walking in the room and saying, "Hello" brightens their day. It's the fact that a little conversation, even if we have no idea what they are talking about, brings a smile to their face.  We are helping them at the level they are at, and it is making their day.

That is what helps me get through those rough days.

November S...peachy Feedback Linky Party

I took a few months off from this, but I'm back today with the S..peachy Feedback Linky Party.  This is the linky party that Nicole at Speech Peeps hosts every month!  Check out her post here with all of the rules and for everyone else who has linked up!

I posted a new product a week or so ago called the SLP Student Teaching Binder.  I was SO excited to hear this about the binder!

Thanks so much for your kind words, Mrs. Carlton.  I'm SO glad you like it!

Please email me (homesweetspeechroom@gmail.com) for your choice of products from my store!

Thanks again for your feedback, all of you!! Continue leaving feedback so you can earn TpT credits and have a chance at winning next month!

Conference 411 {app review}

Happy ASHA everyone!!  Today, I want to review an app that may be extremely helpful for you while you are there!  I discovered it while planning out my convention program and thought it would be helpful to share it.

First, go to the app store and download Conference 411. It's FREE!  Select your conference by clicking on the "Import" button. It will then take you to this screen.  Click on 2013 ASHA and download the program.

Once you are there, you will be taken to a "Switch Board."  This is your main menu page.  Click on any of the buttons for easy navigation.  I'll walk you through each screen.

Here's the Calendar.  It is pre-programmed with the main conference events.  Just click on the different days at the top to move through.

You can look at all of the authors.  They are listed alphabetically.  Click on any author, and it will pull up the sessions at which they are presenting.

The same thing goes for the exhibitors.  It'll tell you about each one and which booth they will be at.

Then comes the fun stuff--the program.  All of the sessions are loaded into the app and are organized by type (poster, 1 hour, 2 hour, etc).  There is no search function here, but you can search by keyword on the main page.   They are organized by day and time.  So all of Thursday at 10:30am will be listed, then Thursday at 1:30, and so on and so forth.

When you find a session you are interested in, you can click through for more information.  Click on the "Go to Session" button at the bottom, and it will add it to your agenda.

It will add the sessions to your agenda, which is essentially a calendar.

And the best part of the app?? It has a MAP!!!

Hope that helps and that it can be an easy solution for those of you who don't want to page through a program booklet or the program planner online!

SLP Student Teaching Binder

Are you supervising an SLP graduate student clinician in the school setting? This is the product for you!! 

This product is designed to help the first few weeks of supervising go smoothly for both you and your graduate student. Fill out some of the pages together, talk about the expectations, discuss the schedule and various students, and fill in the blank sections with specific information about your school. Your graduate student will LOVE and APPRECIATE it! Help them feel adjusted as quickly as possible! 

Sections include:
-Cover Page (as seen above)

-Welcome Letter

-Contracts/Expectations-includes one filled in with some expectations and a blank one for you to write in your own.  Each of you will sign this and receive a copy. 

-All About Me-- a section for the student to fill out and give to you, includes contact information, pertinent medical information, previous clinical experiences, and goals for this experience

-School and Staff- includes important information about the school building, school staff, your information, information about the speech room, information about teachers that you work closely with, and information about other staff members. 

-Planning- includes a lesson plan template, a to-do list, and pages for future ideas

-Students and Schedules- includes caseload information, behavior management ideas, weekly schedule template, and a schedule for each day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

-Resources- a list of websites and apps, including blank lines for you to add your favorites to

These sections just include the cover page.  You fill in the rest for your student! 

-Maps and Policies- fill this in with specifics from your school
-Common Core- fill this in with specifics from your school/practice
-Sample Goals- fill this in with a set of your goals or an IEP goal bank
-Sample Reports- fill this in with specific reports from your school, could include parent reports, IEPs, progress notes 

I have the COLOR version shown.  I also have a BLACK AND WHITE version available! Both are available in my TpT Store. 

I hope you enjoy this product and that your student finds it useful!