Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Preposition Party- No Print Interactive Activity

As the big TPT sale begins tomorrow, I have a new product in my store. This 167 slide, no print, activity targets prepositions (in, on, under, over, around, between, in front, behind, and next to) in a fun way. There is also a test included.

Check out this new activity in my TPT store here.

Also don't forget to leave feedback on your previous TPT purchases, those credits act as free money.

Breana

Monday, February 24, 2014

What's in Your Cart? Linky Party!!!



Speech Room News has done it again. As we near the big Teachers Pay Teachers sale for reaching 3 million users, it is time to see what everyone is looking to buy. Don't forget to leave feedback on all of your purchases (TPT credits save you money). Also go back to the bloggy link up and see what other SLP bloggers are ready to purchase.



Here are the top 5 items in my cart:

Articulation Cans and the New Expansion Pack by Mia McDaniel of Putting Words in Your Mouth
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Articulation-Cans-a-DIY-youll-use-forever-850834
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Articulation-Cans-a-DIY-youll-use-forever-EXPANSION-PACK-1130159
I do so much Articulation therapy that any fun activity I can use with my students makes the session go faster. Mia also has a series of Artic Drill games that are fun and engaging with lots of different themes. I recently bought my first one and my students love it.

Interactive Visuals for Guessing Games, Describing, and Inferencing by Speechy Musings
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Interactive-Visuals-for-Guessing-Games-Describing-and-Inferencing-1129685
I find that my second language learners have difficulties in playing games like Headbandz and Jeepers Peepers, this would be a great addition to my therapy sessions.

Context Clues Packet Using Tier Vocabulary by Nicole Allison of Allison's Speech Peeps
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Context-Clues-Packet-Using-Tier-Vocabulary-386803
I work with second language learners from k-12 where many of my middle and high school students are working on vocabulary. This would be a fun way to target vocabulary.

Do Not Break the Ice Blocks Articulation by Lauren LaCour of Busy Bee Speech
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Do-Not-Break-the-Ice-Blocks-Articulation-448071\
I was thinking of creating a similar activity until I found this. My student love playing the game Don't Break the Ice so now I don't have to carry tons of articulation card decks.

Year Round Fortune Tellers by Schoolhouse Talk
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Year-Round-Fortune-Tellers-cootie-catcher-hand-games-1055473
I loved cootie catchers as a kid and I think these would be a fun way to end a session, for conversation starters, or using the blank one to create fortune tellers for different targets. This activity has endless possibilities.


Don't forget to visit my TPT store during the sale. My store will be 20% off from Thursday thru Saturday.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Breana-Orland


Breana

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Culinary Deights Cajun Style Selections: Shrimp Creole Product Review

My mom found this product in the market and bought it as a surprise. I love trying new products and new types of food. I'm sure everyone feels the same way I do when it comes to food, I miss eating tons of different food and still have cravings sometimes, so anytime something new comes around I get excited. This product comes frozen with all of the products included.


The bag contained vegetables, shrimp, rice, creole sauce, and a creole seasoning packet (optional use for extra spice).


Here is an up close look at the outer bag.

The instructions were really easy, everything was sautéed in one pan and only took about 10 minutes to make. The vegetables are crunchy, the shrimp is juicy, and the rice is cooked well. To a person who enjoys spicy food, I found the creole sauce to taste like tomato sauce and used some of the included creole seasoning.  Now that I have made this product, I would add in some extra shrimp for a higher protein content and to make it more filling. (I ate most of the three servings to fill me up for dinner.) I would definitely buy this product again and look in to what other varieties it came in.


If you have seen this product or tried it please leave a comment!!!

Breana

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Easy Red Velvet Whoopie Pies!!!

I have found some great and easy recipes on Betty Crocker's website in the past, but this recipe is extremely simple and doesn't need any uncommon ingredients. To see the original recipe click here of follow along with the recipe below.



1 box Gluten Free Betty Crocker® devil’s food cake mix                        
1/2 cup water plus 2 tablespoons                  
1/2 cup vegetable oil plus 1 tablespoon                   
3 eggs                        
2 tablespoons red food color                        
1 box (4-serving size) chocolate instant pudding and pie filling mix

Directions

  •  Heat oven to 350°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray.
  • In large bowl, beat cookie ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until moistened; beat 1 minute longer on high speed. (I made my cookies about 1 teaspoon of batter)                    
  •  Bake 10 minutes or until set (do not overbake). Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
 
My cookies could have been more red but I ran out of red food coloring.



I chose to use a different filling I found somewhere on facebook, you can use the recipe Betty Crocker provides on the website or the recipe below.

1 package low fat cream cheese (8 oz.)

1 jar Kraft Marshmallow Fluff

1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Beat all of the ingredients together with an electric mixer until well blended.

I am going to use a piping bag and tip to make the filling look pretty but if you don't have one available any spoon will do.


Breana

Monday, February 10, 2014

Sunny Day Speech and Language Group App Review!!!!

Sunny Day Speech and Language Group is a new app released by Steven Rea. I found this app very interesting because it contains activities in both speech and language. This app has activities for categories, pronouns, time and sequence concepts, spatial concepts, noun/verb agreement, conjunctions, regular and irregular verbs. It also covers articulation practice for /r/, /s/, and /l/ in a question and answer format as opposed to a flashcard format. This app can be played with multiple students and each student is assigned to work on one concept.

This picture shows the menu screen, the first screen seen when the app opens, where you add your students and pick their target for the session. You can add multiple students and have each student work on a different subject.


This picture shows an example of a question in the regular verbs section.


These pictures show questions for the articulation phoneme /l/ with setting to show and hide the answers. The small wrench in the corner allows the settings to be changed easily during play. The flip feature (box at the top) shows just the answer without the question visible.



Pro:
  • This app covers a variety of topics, less materials for this SLPA to carry between schools
  • The app reads the question/sentence, but does not read the answer choices
  • The question and correct answer are repeated before moving on to the next question
  • The app offers a variety of positive reinforcement phrases
  • The app offers the ability to record the student and play it back
  • The app has a chalkboard feature built in for quick teaching or examples
Con:
  • Each student can only work on one concept at a time
  • The student only has one try to answer a question
  • The questions offered in the articulation concepts require a certain level of vocabulary knowledge
  • The app will only read the sentence or question one time, sometime the students need to hear the sentence/question multiple times for understanding
  • This app is meant for children who can read (not non-reader friendly)

You must keep in mind as a consumer this app is in its first version and with plenty of feedback will be developed and expanded over time.

The opinions in this review are mine and only mine. I was provided a copy of this app and no other compensation.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Gluten Free Girl Scout Cookies!!!



It's that time of year again, Girl Scouts across the United States are beginning their cookie sales. This year is different because there is a pilot test occurring in certain areas for a Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Shortbread cookie. To find out if your area is selling the cookie or get more information check out this LA Times article.


FYI: Los Angeles is not part of the test market if you are wondering.

Breana