Lights, Camera, Idol!

If you're looking for a surefire way to get some great language out of even the most difficult kiddos, take my advice on this one: give them a microphone. This is Preschool Idol.

We're studying Fine Arts and taking the Idol stage to showcase all sorts of music and performing skills. I've heard some unique, confident, and fabulous renditions of the ABCs, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." I'm also targeting voice projection, social skills such as listening and turn-taking and giving compliments, and, for some of my little friends, just general TALKING.

We start by planning out our costumes (sequencing and describing), primping and dressing (motor and self-help skills), and choosing a talent. I created a little back-stage dressing station that includes a full-length mirror and costumes including mini sport coats and ties, tutus, masks, feather boas, and funny glasses. The action that takes place around the mirror alone is priceless.

Preschoolers explore various instruments (our repertoire includes jingle sticks, tambourines, a keyboard-turned-grand-piano, triangles, and castanets), and vocabulary practice includes labeling both the instruments and their associated actions; How does a tambourine make noise? What do you use to play a triangle?

We created our stage using large, wooden hallow blocks and I manipulated some red bulletin board paper into curtains, tied back with yellow ribbon. The "piano" is an electric keyboard (with the volume button taped into a set position) placed on top of some play kitchen furniture, turned on its side to make a bench, and covered in black paper. My coworker added a music stand and students choose their song inspiration from a basket of visuals representing familiar tunes. Post-performance includes applause and a shower of roses. And paparazzi. I just can't stop taking pictures of these little superstars.

How are you using music to inspire communication?

Baby, it's (still) cold outside!

In the mountains we may be doing snow dances on the ski slopes (boooo), but in preschool we're getting cozy and trying to enjoy the rest of winter Dramatic Play style! This year we brought the outdoors in and combined a cozy cabin with some sledding and ice skating fun.

I rolled up big sheets of brown butcher paper like ribbon candy and used a stapler to attach it to a large piece of cardboard for our little log cabin entrance. Inside, students are cooking up some hot cocoa while we work on sequencing, peer interactions, and concepts of "hot" vs. "cold."

We made our little cocoa station using empty hot chocolate containers, spoons, mugs, and white pom pom balls for marshmallows. Some of my team members were kind enough to lend their thermoses and we've had a bit of a tailgate at the ice rink...

To create an ice skating rink, I used four pieces of white poster board, rounded the outside corners, sprayed with adhesive, and coated them liberally with blue and silver glitter before running each through the laminator. The four boards are attached together using clear packing tape and the whole "rink" is stuck to the carpet with velcro. We then created "ice skates" using paper plates and more packing tape and we've been working on our winter s-blends. So easy and my students are seriously loving it.

I target size concepts, comparatives and superlatives, pronouns, and following directions while preschoolers work together to build a snowman. We spray-painted cardboard boxes for stacking and punched holes for buttons and facial features (we found a kit at the dollar store, similar available here and here). How cute is this spontaneous snow-woman?

 

This unit I am learning that sometimes the simplest, least expensive things can make for a lot of play and creativity. What kind of winter fun are you getting into this January?

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

As we wrap up the madness of state reporting and parent-teacher conferences (is anyone else ready for a break?), we're also gearing up for a new thematic unit. I'm always excited about starting a new unit; after a few weeks, the old one tends to get, well, old. Plus, we'll be reading The Three Bears, a personal favorite.

This classic story lends itself really well to sequencing and retell and I specifically target descriptors and comparative adjectives. I love the simple, colorful illustrations in this version, and my preschoolers love the little token of presence that Goldilocks leaves at the foot of Baby Bear's bed.


We're bringing the story to life and working on language objectives (more info about my service delivery model in this previous post) at Dramatic Play.

On one side of the center, we set up Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear's beds. I painted the headboards onto posterboard and laminated them with visuals for their corresponding occupants and opposites. Papa Bear's "too hard" bed is without padding, while Mama Bear's "too soft" one is cushioned with a pillow, wrapped and covered in blankets.

Preschoolers assume the character roles, designated by these no-eye-coverage-required masks that one of my teammates made by hot gluing laminated pictures of the three bears (similar here and here) onto foam visors. Goldilocks is a headband covered in yellow felt and adorned with yellow yarn braids. We also included a blazer and tie for Papa Bear, an apron for Mama, baseball cap for Baby, and dress for Goldilocks. 

Our little "cottage" has a full kitchen stocked with dishes, empty miniature cereal boxes (identifying environmental print), milk, and oatmeal ("porridge") containers. I used Boardmaker visuals to label the porridge bowls, chairs, beds, and bins for clean-up. 

I believe that repetition and experience impart saliency for little ones; using a story to segue into assuming roles and modifying play ideas leads to lots of interaction and expanded language, particularly for children demonstrating difficulties with abstract play or those with limited vocabulary and verbal delays. Books can be acted out in play across environments. How do you make literacy experiential? What are your "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" favorites?

Autumn (not so) Messy Table

Fall is in full-swing and we are getting ready for some Halloween fun this week! Typically there is a lot of planning and executing that takes place at the beginning of a new unit, and then I get to spend some time collecting data and enjoying new activities and materials. :)

This is what's going on at our ever-popular Messy Table...

We filled our water tables with wood pellets ($4.00 for 40lbs at Home Depot; reusable and smells good too!) to create an autumn farm scene that includes pumpkins, gourds, fake plants, animals, tractors, farmers, and scarecrows. We're working on theme-related vocabulary, prepositions, attributes, and wh- questions, among other language objectives.

Quick and easy to put together and so fun! Sensory experiences lend themselves to the elicitation of great spontaneous language and we're always looking for new, innovative materials to put in our 'Messy Table'. What are your favorite mediums?

Camp Preschool

The kids in one of my classrooms are packing their bags, coolers, and flashlights and camping out! Well, pretending anyway.

One of my coworkers was kind enough to lend her tent and our team set it up in the Dramatic Play center. The tent is equipped with two sleeping bags, flashlights, and a box of books related to our current unit theme.

We also added a DIY Coleman camp stove and created a little miniature campfire for grilling lots of play food. Preschoolers work on sequencing ("first, next, then, last") and giving/following directions while making s'mores. During play, I can get in some great wh- questions; these are probably some of the easiest goals to address in an inclusive setting.

The "camp stove" was made using green poster board and some clear packing tape to attach an inexpensive wire cooling rack. I glued on circles (included in the set of visuals below) to indicate where the condiments belong. The campfire consists of two real pieces of cut wood with crumpled paper for the "flame". We used packing tape to enclose it so that the pretend food would sit easily on top.

As always, I labeled bins holding materials with Boardmaker pics to help address vocabulary objectives and show students where items belong during clean-up. I am big on visuals for many reasons, but mainly because most of my population is not reading yet. We're also working on receptive and expressive categories and sorting at our little campsite.

Sometimes it's fun to do some articulation therapy or other small-group/one-on-one practice in the tent (try using the flashlights as pointers!).  What's more motivating than a little change of scenery?

Fall

It's officially Fall in preschool! In our transdisciplinary model, we work as a seamless team and all specialists support goals and objectives across many areas. I embed therapy and do most of my data collection in the classroom, often during play. For this reason, I feel very strongly about presenting engaging materials and language-rich activities in my classrooms during each thematic unit.

For our Fall Unit, we've set up a little autumn backyard scene at Blocks Center. Students can dump out baskets of leaves, rake leaves and bag them up, assemble scarecrows, and go apple-picking! 

The "grass" is synthetic turf (sold by the yard at Home Depot). Most of the leaves are fake, purchased in packages at the dollar store, but we supplement them with real ones that the children bring in throughout the unit. Preschoolers are encouraged to collect leaves and drop them in a bin near the door at arrival. The real leaves are laminated to prevent crumbling. I use the leaves to work on sentence-formation, answering questions, following directions, and adjectives/describing.

We use crates to store materials and visually labeled each with Boardmaker pictures of the items that belong inside. This aids during clean-up and also helps me to target vocabulary objectives.

I painted the "apple tree" onto a big sheet of cardboard and set it with clear spray paint. We used a staple gun to fix the cardboard onto a stand and velcro to attach play apples. The apple tree works as a fun sequencing activity, and I incorporate multi-step directions with embedded prepositions.

For those little ones working on dramatic play skills and sequencing, I made visual play sequences to give them some basic three-step play ideas.

How do you implement speech and language therapy into thematic play? Stay tuned and drop by this week for more preschool fall fun!

Pizza Dough Playdough

Credit for this genius idea is due to my fabulous coworker, but I had to share because our students are having SO much fun making, topping, and delivering pizzas all over the classroom...

Introducing seasoned "pizza dough" playdough! This stuff literally smells just like pizza but, unlike real pizza dough, it keeps well and isn't sticky. And (applause) no one has eaten it! ...yet.

Our little pizza shop made for a lot of great language including sequencing, vocabulary, recall, and some really wonderful peer interactions. We practiced taking friends' orders and using tools to roll and shape the dough.

Our 'pizza toppings' were added using pieces from this Melissa & Doug set. The kids 'baked' their pizzas in our play oven and packed them for 'delivery' into empty boxes from our local pizza shop.

You can make your own pizza dough playdough using any cream of tartar recipe (via Pinterest: here, here, here). Just skip the food coloring and substitute some garlic powder and Italian Seasoning.

How are you spicing up (literally!) your playdough play?