Across the Avenue

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Gayle Swift. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

2020 Holiday Gift Guide: Sub_Urban Riot Gratitude Loose Tee #graphictees

2020-09-16T10:49:00.004-07:00

2020 has certainly been a rollercoaster of a year. If we've learned anything, it's that it's important to have gratitude for the good things and the good people in our lives. With this in mind, Sub-Urban Riot's mission to spread positivity in the world is just what we need this holiday season! Their Gratitude Loose Tee sends that message loud and clear and makes a fantastic holiday gift idea for anyone. They've got a fantastic mix of funny and positive designs for men and women to choose from, so don't be surprised if you find yourself browsing their site for a while.

Of course, what would 2020 be without a mask selection! They've got a nice variety of those to choose from, too. (We're thinking mask stocking stuffers this year.)

We especially love that this company also strives to make their quality products affordable — no $85 t-shirts here! Check out our top pick, the Gratitude Loose Tee, below...

Why We Love It

This Gratitude Loose Tee is your basic loose boyfriend fit crewneck tee. It's a pre-washed tri-blend jersey made of 50% poly, 38% cotton, 12% rayon, making it super comfortable to wear outdoors, during a workout, or just bumming around the house. The print is a nice quality and exactly as it appeared on their site. Graphic tees are very popular right now, so we expect this one to sell quickly. It's perfect for the holiday season, too! The tee comes in a variety of sizes, and they even provide a button for you to contact them if you don't see your size listed.

Sub_Urban Riot recommended care instructions: machine wash cool, tumble dry low, wear often.

About Sub_Urban Riot

'Sub_Urban Riot was born in 2006 in Venice, California.

Two college friends realized that the cubicle life wasn’t for them so they quit their corporate day jobs. Following the rules that someone else made up no longer made sense.

Instead of settling for a good life, they decided to go against the grain to pursue a great one. So, at the beginning of the largest financial crisis ever, they risked everything to start a company. A company that would allow them to ignore the rules, have fun and not take themselves too seriously.

That spirit lives on today, as Sub_Urban Riot has grown into a global brand with a unique combination of positivity and humor; and a commitment to always re-imagine the good life.'

Where to Purchase

This loose tee and a wide variety of other unique designs can be purchased directly from the Sub_Urban Riot site, delivered directly to your door. Free shipping in the U.S. on all orders over $75!

Connect with Sub_Urban Riot
FB
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by Sub_Urban Riot. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Building Literacy Skills: A Hands-On Approach with Junior Learning CVC ToolBox

2020-08-31T17:30:00.008-07:00

Phonological and phonemic awareness skills are key to building a solid reading foundation. We're always looking for engaging, tactile approaches to help kids improve these skills and this week we are really excited to share about a fantastic set called the CVC Toolbox by Junior Learning. We love this kit because it provides hands-on learning activities and can be used as a direct instruction tool or an independent activity. Check out the CVC Toolbox below, as well as a brief explanation about literacy development and how to enhance your child's reading abilities.

How Do Reading Skills Typically Develop?

I often explain to parents that reading development is similar to a staircase, with skills continuing to build upon each other as we get closer and closer to reading literacy. This is one of my favorite research-based visuals to show typical development:

Your child needs instruction and practice at each step on the staircase in order to build solid phonological awareness skills. The CVC Toolbox is one way to provide this practice.

About the CVC Toolbox
This toolbox was created specifically to focus on simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) word patterns. It contains 30 thick cardboard picture cards and 70 word-building color-coded tri-blocks. The color coding matches the position of the sound in the word (initial, medial, or final). Junior Learning provides instructions for building words to match the picture cards, which falls under the 'segmenting sounds into words' category of the chart above. After your child has attempted to build the word that matches the picture on the card, they can flip the card over to check their work! This added feature makes these cards perfect for independent use by the child, or as learning center within the classroom.

Additional Suggested Use

In addition to word building, these cards can be used in a variety of ways to practice nearly every step on the phonological awareness staircase. Here are some of my suggestions below:

Rhyming: Use the picture cards to identify words that rhyme (or do not rhyme). You may want to provide 3 picture cards and ask your child to identify the two cards that rhyme, or simply present two cards and ask if they rhyme or not.
Alliteration: Your child can practice sorting word cards by similar initial or final sounds
Onset-rime Segmentation: Sort the cards into word families. Ask your child how the words are the same (matching rimes) and how they are different (different initial sound)
Segmenting Initial and Final Sounds: Provide your child the CV or VC portion of the CVC word and ask them to complete it by providing the missing sound.
Blending Sounds into Words: Provide the spelling of the picture card for your child and practice blending the sounds together. You may also want to provide two to three pre-built words and two to three picture cards. Ask your child to blend the sounds of each word together to read it, then match it to the correct card.
Delete/Manipulate Phonemes: Once your child has built a word, choose another letter, remove the first or last block letter and replace it with the new letter. Ask your child to read the word with the new letter attached. (e.g. Begin with the word 'hat'. Take the 'h' away and replace it with 'm'. Ask your child to tell you what the word is.)

As you can see, there are many ways to use this Toolbox and it brings such happiness to kids' faces when they get to practice reading skills in a unique, fun way that breaks from routine. We highly recommend the CVC Toolbox and hope it brings some excitement to your home, clinic, or classroom!

Check out the video demo below:

Where to Purchase

Head over to Junior Learning to order the CVC Toolbox delivered right to your door. While you're there, browse the rest of their collection as well!

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by Junior Learning. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Virtual Baby Shower: Arabella Baby Just the Basics Bundle #showergifts #MomtoBe

2020-08-30T12:25:00.008-07:00

Baby showers are a time of celebration and we are always searching for unique, high quality gifts that any new Mom-to-Be would be excited to receive. When we came across Arabella Baby, we absolutely fell in love with their baby line! From bandana bibs and bath sets to pacifiers and organizers, not only are the designs adorable, the products are made with functionality in mind. New parents appreciate time-saving gifts that are going to reduce the stress of everyday life. Arabella Baby's Just the Basics Bundle, does just that. Check it out below!

Heather Gray Minimalist Caddy

About the Bundle

The Just the Basics Bundle is the perfect starter gift to help parents get and stay organized at home and on the go. This set includes:

Diaper Caddy: Choose from a variety of caddy designs. We selected the Heather Gray Minimalist Caddy, which is made of a soft felt-like material with adjustable velcro dividers that can be inserted to form inner compartments, or removed altogether to use as one large tote. The pockets on the outer sides of the bag provide loads of storage. We love that this caddy provides an easy way to organize baby's supplies within the home and is the perfect grab-n-go bag as well. Gift it as a baby station to leave at Grandma's house, too! Regular size: 15"x10.5"x7"; Mini size: 13"x9"7"

Set of 3 Bandana Bibs: These 6 layer, 100% Muslin cotton bibs keep baby's clothes clean and dry during meal time as well as teething. We love the adorable unisex patterns and the super soft feel, but the best feature is the adjustable nickel-free snap closure! No more itchy velcro or stress of trying to quickly tie bibs before baby gets fussy. Intended for ages 3-36 months. These bibs are favorites of ours, for sure!

Pacifier Clip: The pacifier clip is made of natural beechwood beads, BPA-, Phthalate-, Nickel- and Cadmium-free. Clips are a must to keep pacifiers off the floor and within reach when baby needs it most.

Set of 2 Silicone Pacifiers: These two blue, bear-shaped pacifiers are BPA-, Phthalate-, Nickel- and Cadmium-free as well and a great choice for baby's first pacifier.

Check out Arabella Baby's unpacking video here!

We know this is going to be at hit at our upcoming Virtual Baby Shower and we hope that it's a helpful suggestion for you to gift to the expectant mothers in your life as they begin their journey as well.

Where to Purchase

Head over to ArabellaBaby.com to order the Just the Basics Bundle, currently on sale for $56.00! While you're there, browse the rest of their collection as well!

Connect with Arabella Baby!

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by Arabella Baby. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Building Basic Concepts Through Play: Shapes and Colors #TheLearningJourney

2020-08-28T04:31:00.001-07:00

As a speech-language pathologist and parent, I'm always looking for fun ways to practice basic concept skills with children. Parents often ask me what vocabulary they need to focus on and how they can help their toddlers and preschoolers at home. There are so many great ways to practice basic concept skills and two of my go-to choices are simply puzzles and board games. Puzzles and board games provide many language opportunities and afford children the attention they need to promote verbal communication. The Learning Journey offers a wide variety of fantastic ready-made, hands-on activities specifically created to encourage mastery of concepts such as shapes, colors, quantities, spatial relationships and more. This week, I'm targeting shapes and colors with many of my little ones, so I thought I'd share three of my top picks: Lift and Learn Colors and Shapes Puzzle, Play It! Race to the Rainbow game, and Match It — Fun with Shapes puzzle game. Check them out below!

But First, What are Basic Concepts?
Basic concepts are words that kids need to understand in order to participate in daily routines, follow directions, and participate successfully in conversations. Studies have shown a link between the ability of young children to understand and name these concepts and their future academic success. Basic concepts may include items from the following categories, which children should be able to identify and name:

shapes
colors
size
directionality (around, into, etc.)
spatial relationships (above, below, next to, in, out, etc.)
feelings/emotions
quantities
sequence
textures (smooth, bumpy, etc.)
time
characteristics (broken, old, new, etc.)

Top Picks: Colors and Shapes

The Learning Journey is one of my favorite companies for educational resources for young children. I use their products often because of the quality and affordability.

Lift and Learn Colors and Shapes Puzzle

This tray puzzle offers loads of language opportunities! It includes all the basic shapes and colors I target with my little ones. The bright colors are enticing to kids and the large size make the pieces easy for them to handle. The lined text under the pieces teaches uppercase and lowercase handwriting skills — great for Preschoolers! Pictures are also printed under the pieces to guide younger children. Many of my kids try to use the crayons to draw, which shows they understand object function.

Looking to elicit additional language skills? Place all of the pieces in your lap and require your child to request a piece prior to handing it to them (e.g. 'more, please', 'purple circle, please', 'I want green, please.' Taylor it to your child's ability). Working on receptive skills? With the pieces in the puzzle, use the carrier phrase 'Give me (insert color or shape), please.' The Learning Journey recommends using this puzzle with ages 3 and up, but I do use it with many of my two year olds as well.

Play It! Race to the Rainbow Game

This game appeals to kids as soon as you unfold the board! Race to the Rainbow helps to teach color and shape recognition in a play format, which each player choosing a unicorn or dragon character and taking turns drawing color and shape game cards. Landing on rainbows and pulling rain cards adds a little more excitement to the game. The first player to reach the rainbow castle wins. I like to think of Race to the Rainbow as a better version of Candyland. The rules are simple, but the concept reinforcement is strong! The Learning Journey recommends this game for kids ages 3 and up.

Match It — Fun with Shapes

For kids who love games there are plenty of ways to use these boards. The Learning Journey suggests taking turns selecting the proper shape to fit your puzzle board, and if you are the first to complete your puzzle with the right shapes and color, you win! I like to choose one puzzle board to work on together with my little ones who may need more support. This set is a great way to help kids develop shape recognition skills as well as cooperative skills through game play. Choose from four different puzzle boards. Recommended for kids 2 and up.

Where to Purchase

Head over to The Learning Journey to check these picks out for yourself and browse the rest of their collection as well. Look for The Learning Journey learning toys and games at brick and mortar stores like Walmart, or online via Amazon.com

Connect with The Learning Journey!

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by The Learning Journey. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Educational Apps for Kids: Speech Tutor Pro #speechapps #articulation #SynapseApps

2020-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

The Speech Tutor Pro app is one of my go-to apps to introduce oral movements for sound formation. What's great about this app is that it covers a wide variety of articulation concerns in a way that is technical enough for speech-language pathologists to score clients in-depth, but accessible enough for parents to use on a basic level as well. (As an SLP, I definitely geeked out a bit over the target sound options in the card deck section and the articulation screener.) The $39.99 price tag may seem a bit steep at first glance, but for those of you with articulation clients, this app is well worth the investment. Speech Tutor Pro describes the app as a culmination of nearly a decade's worth of work designing apps for speech therapy, bringing together the content from 5 of the most well-known apps in the industry. It's no surprise after seeing all of the detail that went into this app. Check out my experience with it below...

About the App
Upon opening the app, you'll be taken to a home screen that presents 6 options: Practice Cards, Screen, Reports, Artic Videos, Material, and Tutorials. To the left of these options, you'll find a list of your clients for easy access to begin the session. Touch the client name and select 'Practice Cards' to begin the session.

Practice Cards
Speech Tutor Pro provides an amazing selection of practice card decks to choose from in order to target specific sounds. Once you've selected your practice decks, you'll return to the screen where high-quality, color images will appear with the words beneath them as well as audio of the correct pronunciation of the word. If you've chosen individual sounds, you'll also have the option to select 'Initial', 'Medial', 'Final', and 'Mix' to choose sound position that your target sound appears in, as well as whether you'd like to practice at the word, phrase, or sentence level. As students pronounce the words, you can score each production as correct, approximate, or incorrect with a touch of the buttons on the left side of the screen. Wanna video tape clients as they pronounce the words, so you can watch it back with them? Speech Tutor Pro offers that, too, with the video button on the left!

Deck Fast Facts:

33 phoneme decks (Levels: Word, Phrase, Sentence; Positions: Initial, Medial, Final
36 minimal pair decks
Nearly 5000 different cards
Use minimal pair decks and phoneme decks at the same time
See multiple clients at a time
"Kid Friendly" mode and "Clean" mode for older clients
Detailed data tracking with line graphs, bar graphs, and word charts to send home for practice
Record videos and save them to client profiles to view progress
View articulation videos during sessions to help with placement
Add/Remove decks during a session

Includes:
sm, sn, st, sp, sk, sl, s, z, f, v, sh, th, ch, j, l, blends m, n, ing, p, b, t, d, k, g, r, er, or, ar, rl, ear, ire, Cluster Reduction (choose all, L, R, S), Deaffrication (Choose all, Ch, J), Deletion of Final Consonants (Choose all, ch/j, f/v/, k/g, p/b, s/z, t/d, m, n, ing, Final Devoicing, Fronting (choose all, sh, ch/j, velars), Gliding(choose all, L, R), Prevocalic Voicing, Stopping of Fricatives (choose all, ch/j, f/v, s/z, sh, th, Stridency Deletion

Artic Videos
Before I even begin practicing the card deck, I like my clients to view the articulation videos. You can choose to view them from the home page, or pull them up at any time during the practice deck session. In my opinion, these videos are one of the best features about this app. They allow the client to see a transparent view of the oral cavity, so that they can watch the tongue, lips, and jaw move to form the target sound. You can even change the speed and toggle between side and front view, depending on your client's needs.

Video Fast Facts:

Front and side views
Slow, medium, fast speeds, and pause
Palate views
Information on the ages sounds should be acquired
Tips on how to elicit the sounds
Camera view so clients can watch as they produce sounds
Record/playback video and save to client profiles

Videos show the following sound productions: R (bunched), R (retroflex), L, sh, ch, j, s, z, f, v, th (voiced), th (voiceless), p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, ing, i , æ, a, u

Screen
This app offers two articulation screeners--one for professionals and one for parents. Both are very easy to use. These screeners reveal which sounds children should have acquired by particular ages.

SLP-Friendly Version:

Easily screen sounds at the beginning and end of words.
SLPs can tap a button that conveniently lists phonological processes heard during the screening.
Write notes during the screening.

Parent-Friendly Version:

Screen for the major sounds targeted by speech-language pathologists
Write notes during the screening
Questions guide parents for identifying phonological processes

Reports
Head to the reports section to find data showing client progress, recordings, and screening results. Choose to share individual client data or data from a group of students, based on your needs. You can email data to yourself and/or parents, too, which is a big time-saver for me.

About Synapse Apps, LLC
In addition to this amazing articulation app, Synapse Apps also offers a FREE app called The Chatterbox, which also offers articulation cards. As if developing fabulous apps isn't enough, they have created a podcast called 'Time to Chat', which helps families to understand the importance and effectiveness of paying attention to speech and language in a child's formative years. Take some time to check it out here!

Where to Purchase
Head over to the App Store to purchase and download the Speech Tutor Pro app to your iOS device. While you're there, check out the full collection of Synapse apps!

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by Synapse Apps, LLC. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Explaining Foster Care Adoption thru Storybooks: Elliot by Julie Pearson #adoptionpicturebooks

2020-08-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that our family has begun navigating our way through the adoption process. We've decided to adopt through the foster care system, which is as exciting as it is daunting. With as many questions as we cross off the list, it still manages to grow longer rather than shorter. One critical question we're focusing on this week is:

How do we help our children feel secure in their foster care adoption story?

I imagine every parent who has gone through the adoption process has had to grapple with this question. With all of the trauma and change that comes with adoption, we are anxious to find the 'right' way to help our children develop a sense of belonging and self-assuredness. So where can we start?

One natural approach is through storybooks. We've searched high and low for highly-rated picture books related to foster care and adoption (which wasn't as easy as we expected, unfortunately). A fantastic book that we fell in love with is Elliot by Julie Pearson. It's a story about a young rabbit, Elliot, who is placed in the foster care system and shares his feelings as he moves from family to family. Each foster family loves him very much and gives him the proper care that he needs. As he moves back and forth between his biological family to foster family, and eventually adoptive family, a social worker helps Elliot understand why it is all happening. The book is written in simple language and provides a clear story structure with an honest retell of the process balanced with the importance of care, love and stability of a forever family. At first read, the content may seem a bit heavy, but for kids who have been through this, we are hopeful that it will lead to open discussions and another layer of family bonding.

**While storybooks may not be as appropriate with some older child adoptions, the same sort of idea may work just as well with movie discussions!

Learn more at Pajama Press!

A look inside the book...

The Elliot storybook was originally a translation from a French book, so it is also available in French from the publisher Editions les 400 coups. Check it out here!

Where to Purchase

Head over to Pajama Press to order Elliot and browse their entire selection of storybook. You may also order it at Amazon.com or pick it up in person at brick and mortar stores like Target and Barnes and Noble.

Connect with Pajama Press
FB
Twitter
Instagram

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Pajama Press. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

6 Benefits to Planting in Flower Boxes #gardening #IKEA #AskholmenFlowerBox

2020-08-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

This season, my husband and I have made it our goal to update our outdoor living space and try our hand at some basic herb and vegetable gardening. Years ago, we began using flower boxes to make the most of our limited outdoor space in our D.C. apartment. Now that we live in Florida and have a large yard, we still find that flower boxes are one of the best ways to grow plants and add style to our lawn and patio area. For those of you trying to decide which style of gardening is right for you, we've provided some of the biggest benefits that flower boxes and raised beds offer below. We've also included one of our favorite flower box recommendations, the IKEA Askholmen Flower Box, for its style, functionality and affordability.

With any luck, our rosemary, lavender and sage
will fill this box in a handful of weeks!

Six Benefits to Flower Box Gardening

Animals: Living in the South, armadillos, ground hogs and other animals are a real problem for gardens. They burrow under fences and ruin gardens in no time flat. Raising your garden off the ground by planting in flower boxes helps to protect your herbs and veggies from animal invasions.
Weeds: Weeds are a never-ending battle when you plant in the ground. We find that weeds are rare in our flower boxes and it cuts out the time-consuming task of weekly weed pulling.
Mobility: We love that flower boxes allow us to rearrange our outdoor space as we see fit! Being able to redesign things without working around or losing our garden altogether is one of my favorite things about planting in wooden boxes.
Control: It's very important to know how your plants typically grow before you plant them. Though we love having fresh mint on hand, we know this plant will grow out of control in the ground and take over a garden. Planting in a flower box keeps our mint in check.
Faster Growth: Plants in flower boxes tend to grow faster. This may be because the soil in the box warms up faster than the soil in the ground.
Easy Labor: Gardening in the ground requires a variety of large tools and a substantial amount of heavy lifting and bending. Flower boxes can save back pain and only require one or two light-weight tools to maintain healthy plants. The IKEA Askholmen Flower Box actually allows you to place the shelf at the bottom of the box or raise it near the top for even easier access to your plants.

IKEA Askholmen Flower Box
This flower box is constructed of solid acacia wood planks with an acrylic stain that weathers the frequent rain storms we experience here in Florida. For added durability, it has been pre-treated with a layer or semi-transparent wood stain that also adds beauty to the box and emphasizes the natural expression of the wood. We love that the inner shelf can be placed in the bottom of the box for maximum depth or raised higher for closer access and display options. We are able to fit three quart size pots of herbs in the flower box comfortably, with a decent amount of room to spare for growth. The Askholmen Flower Box really gives a modern, upscale look to our outdoor space. For thirty dollars, you can't beat it!

Product dimensions
Length: 24 "
Width: 15 "
Height: 15 "

Assembly
Assembling this flower box was a breeze. It comes in five pieces and IKEA provides the screws and the tool to put it together. My husband and I had it together in less than ten minutes. The bottom shelf which inserts into the flower box can be adjusted using the small pegs provided, so that you can raise or lower it as you see fit. It really couldn't have been easier.

Where to Buy
Check out the IKEA website to order your flower box directly to your door or use the IKEA store locator to find a local store near you.

Connect with IKEA
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

Disclaimer: The Askholmen Flowe Box in this post was provided by IKEA Orlando. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Educational Apps for Kids: Tiny Hands Super Bundle #languageskills #speechapps

2020-08-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

Looking for ways to practice beginner language skills? The Tiny Hands Super Bundle offers ten different learning apps to support learning of colors, shapes, first words, matching, categorization and logical thinking. Each app is super colorful and engaging for little ones and the games are a fun way for adult and child to interact together. Learning through play can be so powerful and Kids Academy kept this philosophy in mind when they developed their Tiny Hands apps. Their mission is to help identify and nurture the talents of children at the earliest stage, boost their academic abilities and give them a head start in the world. Check out my thoughts on each app in the bundle below!

About the Tiny Hands App Bundle

Personally, I trialed the apps in this bundle with my speech-language therapy clients who have developmental or academic delays and who are 4 years old or older. Because technology is such a presence in our lives, the right apps can be a useful motivator in targeting language skills. Of course, depending on the age and disability of the child, you will need to use your professional judgment as to whether apps are appropriate. Here are my thoughts on each Tiny Hands app, in no particular order...

1. First words learn to read full - Kids Academy recommends this app for kids 1.5 years of age and up. Instead of the rote drilling of vocabulary cards or objects, this app allows for an interactive experience requiring the child to match similar cards. When they've made a match, the app announces the name of the card. There are ten categories to choose from and a jumping frog character that my kids found hilarious. (Hint: Touch the frog during the game to see what happens. You'll get a lot of giggles!)

2. Baby games and puzzles full - While I haven't used this app much for my current caseload, I could see it being used as a fun way to target early predicting skills, spatial concepts, quantities, and beginner level associations. Those of you familiar with the language processing hierarchy will be able to pick and choose the order in which you would present these to your kiddos.

3. Preschool learning games full - This app is all about sorting/categorization! It offers 5 different game levels with three games per level. Level 1 requires kids to sort basic colors, shapes, and vehicles into two groups. The game steadily increases in difficulty as skills improve to tackle size, quantities, angles and more! I have quite a few school-age kids who have difficulty understanding quantity and size, so the visuals used in this app has been helpful.

4. Toddler games, puzzles, shapes - Similar to the Preschool learning games app, this app presents a roadmap of levels from 1-5, with three games included in each level. The 'Shape and size' game in level 1 is currently one of my favorites. It allows me to call out a shape, size, and color for my client to identify and place in the correct hole. I'm increasing the cognitive load and targeting a few skills at once in a colorful, engaging game-style format. A few of my kids have already begun asking if we can play it during our sessions, so I use it as a 'reward' toward the end of therapy. It's a win for both of us! The app includes sorting/categorizing and counting games as well.

5. Toddler learning games full - This games in this app are a little tough for my current caseload, but there are a variety of games to target skills such as sorting, matching, logical thinking, size comparisons, quantities, patterns and more. The games are creative and challenging--a fantastic app for parents and children to play together.

6. Toddler puzzle games full - This app provides card matching games in a variety of topics such as: colors, shapes, animals, facial expressions, symmetry, counting, silhouettes, and more. When the correct match is made, the match is named and a quick animation is used to show how or why the two items go together. For my verbal kids, I like to ask them to tell me why they think two cards are a match before they try to match them. It helps to me to gauge how well they understand the concepts we are working on and allows me to incorporate expressive skill practice as well.

7. Sorting Puzzles for Kids full - This app uses the game board-style format that includes five levels with three games included at each level. While it is very similar to the 'Preschool learning games' app and the 'Toddler games, puzzles, shapes' app, it offers additional themes to work with such as seasons, animal homes, day and night, and more. I love this because it keeps my session materials fresh and helps me to see if kids can apply their skills to a variety of concepts.

8. Toddler educational games full - This app is all about size and order! It offers 15 different tasks for kids to complete and is one of the only apps I've come across thus far that provides a solid amount of practice for this skill. My SLP friends will immediately think of the PLS-5 assessment tasks which ask kids to touch the objects in order of smallest to biggest or biggest to smallest. The tasks in this app are challenging. If your kids learn to complete them well, they will find the PLS-5 task to be a breeze.

9. Puzzle games for kids full - This card game app is similar to the 'Toddler puzzle games full' app that provides a variety of topics and asks kids to match pairs. It works on associations with topics that include: animal, professions, shapes, counting, colors, household items, quantities, food, and more. This app gets more challenging as the games progress and I really love the critical thinking required at some of the hardest levels. When my more advanced kids make a match, such as 'bandage and thermometer' I ask them to explain to me why they go together. It's helpful to see who can express the relationship verbally and who has difficulty putting it into words.

10. Puzzles for toddlers full - If the 'Toddler educational games full' app is too advanced for your kids at this point, you will love the 'Puzzles for toddlers full' app! This app targets the same skills related to size and order, but on a much easier level. Many of the stackable tasks remind me of the traditional ring stacking toy that I use with many of my little ones for hands-on learning experience. As with the other apps, the difficulty level increases as kids progress through tasks.

Interested in learning more? The Tiny Hands website offers a great deal of information about their apps, worksheets, and tips for parents!

Where to Purchase

Head over to the App Store to purchase and download the Word SuperHero app to your iOS device. While you're there, check out the full collection of Kids Academy apps!

Connect with Kids Academy

Disclaimer: The apps in this post were provided by Kids Academy. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Waterpik® Chrome PowerSpray+™ Dual Shower Head #homemakeover #homeupgrades

2020-07-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

This month we are focusing on easy ways to update our home. Our bathrooms had been looking pretty tired, but we found that simply upgrading the shower head makes a big difference. It's an affordable start to modernizing the room. Forget bringing in a handyman because this is about as easy as any DIY project can get.

We chose the Waterpik® Chrome PowerSpray+ Dual Shower Head for it's sleek design and multi-spray versatility. It provides six handheld spray and one rainfall spray setting. The 2-way diverter of this Waterpik® model allows you to switch easily between the handheld and the fixed mount shower head. Both heads feature a variety of spray settings that allow the water force to be adjusted. It's like a spa experience for your home!

Waterpik® Chrome PowerSpray+ Dual Shower Head fits any standard shower and it's a breeze to install. As advertised, it only took minutes to replace our old single shower head with this new one. We're really happy to find that the water pressure is just as strong as it was with our old one and even more so when it is on the Powerspray setting.

Waterpik® Chrome PowerSpray+ Dual Shower Head Features

Installs in Minutes: easily installs on any standard shower, no pipe tape needed

Anti-Clog Nozzles: dislodge mineral deposits by simply rubbing nozzles
OptiFLOW Technology: improves water force up to 30% by more efficiently channeling water.
Hand Shower with 5-Foot Hose: convenient for bathing children and pets; makes cleaning the shower easy, too!
Limited Lifetime Warranty

6 + 1 Spray Settings

Drenching RainFall
Full Body
Full Body + PowerSpray™
Full Body + Massage
PowerSpray™
Pulsating Massage
Water Saving Trickle

This is one of the easiest, most affordable DIY upgrades we've done in our home this season and we've already received compliments on how modern and beautiful our bathroom looks. Our guests love it!

Where to Buy

You can find the Waterpik® Chrome PowerSpray+ Dual Shower Head at your local Bed, Bath and Beyond. In addition to this, a variety of other Waterpik® PowerSpray+™ Dual Shower Head models are available at Home Depot, Target and Walmart.

Of course, you can also order directly from Water Pik to have it delivered right to your door!

Connect with Water Pik
FB
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by Water Pik. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Hours of At-Home Entertainment with ProjeX! #GamesforKids #FamilyFun

2020-07-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

Keeping kids entertained through this pandemic is a major struggle. For those of us trying to work from home at the same time, it can feel nearly impossible. This week, we're excited to share about a game system that not only entertains kids, but creates fun bonding opportunities for the whole family. ProjeX projector game arcade has already brought hours of entertainment and excitement to our home. The fact that it's battery-operated and portable makes it an even bigger win for parents who have to work, because you can set it up anywhere, even outside! We projected in on the wall of our porch one evening to allow the kids to enjoy the fresh air and let out their excitement, while the adults caught up on the to-do list. It's a fantastic solution for working parents or just those who want to spend time together and have some interactive fun.

About ProjeX
ProjeX projector game arcade includes 5 different built-in games that test your speed and skill. There are 3 skill levels – beginner, advanced and expert. The “beginner” setting accommodates even the youngest players in the room. The 3 interchangeable image slides allow you to blast ducks, targets, or UFOs and each has its own unique sound effects. For those of you who grew up in the Duck Hunt days of Nintendo, you will probably be as excited about the duck slides as we were (#80sNostalgia). The slide colors correspond to difficulty level, making it easy to set. Because ProjeX is battery-operated, portable and doesn't require a TV, you can set it up just about anywhere! It works best in a dark room and light walls, with no artwork or wall designs. Three "AA" batteries required (not included).

Why We Love It
ProjeX allows you to play solo, head-to-head or “Co-Op,” where 2 players team up and combine scores and experience the excitement of a tournament. It's amazing to see otherwise jumpy kids focus and play together so cooperatively. For us ProjeX has been a great outlet for an adult wind-down at the end of the day, too. Who doesn't like to try to beat their highest score! Once this pandemic is over, this game system will be traveling with us as we visit friends and family.

Where to Purchase
While recommended for children 6+, ProjeX™ is great for any age child, as well as adults. Head over to Target, Walmart or www.ProjeXGame.com to purchase this game system for yourself or gift it as a pandemic surprise to someone else! It's currently retailing for $49.99 in the US and $69.99 at Toys R Us in Canada.

Win It!
The generous people of ProjeX are hosting a giveaway! Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win.

Counting and Sorting Bears STEM game with Activity eBook. Pastel Colors

Check out this Video to Learn More!

Disclaimer: The product int his post was provided by sponsors of ProjeX. Across the Avenue is not responsible for giveaway prize fulfillment. As always, our posts are our own opinions.

Educational Apps for Kids: Webber Photo Artic Castle Pro App #SpeechApps

2020-06-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

With home schooling and tele-therapy in full effect, educational apps have become a saving grace. While we've come across many amazing apps that support language development, quality articulation apps that make speech practice fun have been harder to come by. Thankfully, Webber Photo Artic Castle Pro app has designed a full line of speech sound games that engage kids and allow for high levels of repetition at the same time! I love that I can individualize sessions for each child while providing them with choices and control over how we tackle our practice. Parents love that they can download the app for at-home practice, too! Check it out below...

About the App
This app was originally developed for speech pathologists from Super Duper Publications, but we recommend it for at-home practice as well. It has 3,000 photo-words with 24 phonemes to practice articulation skills at the word, phrase, and sentence level, as well as certain phonology skills and the option to incorporate multi-syllabic words. All words phrases and sentences include audio pronunciation and you can even records players' productions for feedback purposes. There are 3 different learning activities for children to engage in, with the arcade-style and matching games being the most popular with my students.

How to Use It

Webber Photo Artic Castle Pro is totally customizable to individual students, allowing you to set specific sound goals in the initial, medial, final, and/or recurring positions of words, phrases, and/or sentences. If you'd like to play without customizing, choose the 'Quick Play' option to begin playing without entering players and goals.

Once you've set up your child's target goals, it's time to choose a game! This app offers three different learning activities:

• Photo Fun – This is a flashcard-style activity that allows you to score productions within the app.

• Arcade Game – Choose from six variations of the arcade game: Balloon Pop, Duck Derby, Fishing Rodeo, Hidden Treasure, Raceway, and Space Explorer. This point-tallying game allows kids to rack up points while practicing speech productions. Productions are scored within the app for easy data collection.

• Matching – This is by far the most chosen game with my kids. Choose from two difficulty levels. It's a fun way to find matching pairs of cards while practicing target sounds.

Ready-Made Results
One of the best features is the data collection! As you proceed through the app, you are able to score student responses as correct, incorrect, approximate, and/or cued. It tracks it all for you and provides player results for each session.

You can examine the results across sessions and email, print or share results with parents as well! The ready-made graphs make it easy to see student progress.

Overall, using this articulation app has increased student engagement, decreased time spent on data collection, and reduced the amount of resources I carry around for travel therapy. It's definitely been a welcome addition to my bag of tricks!

Where to Purchase

Head over to the App Store to purchase and download the Webber Photo Artic Castle Pro App to your iOS device. Want to try it before you buy it? Download the FREE version of the app first, to trial it with your child. When you're ready to purchase the Pro version, browse the full collection of Super Duper Publications apps as well!

Connect with Super Duper Publications, Inc.
FB
Twitter

Instagram

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by Super Duper Publications, Inc. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Adoption Profile Books, Do's and Don'ts!

2020-06-10T10:28:00.001-07:00

For most private adoptions hopeful parents prepare an Adoption Profile Book for the expectant birth mother. These are short books, usually between 8 and 12 pages, filled with photos and text snippets of various families wishing to adopt her baby. At first glace this seems pretty self-explanatory but we've definitely learned some lessons!

DO research other family profiles. Ask your consultant or agent for samples. Leaf through them to get an idea of what you like and dislike.
DO put yourself in the birth mom's shoes. Try to see it from her eyes. Who are these people? What are their values? What are their pictures actually showing? What are their words actually telling about themselves?
DO assemble lots of photos. The more the better; choice is a good thing! Photos get noticed first, then if she is still interested she'll read the text. Good photos show family members smiling!
DO plan for time. We staged a few pictures around our house. By the time everyone is arranged, the phone is positioned, the time set, and the flash goes off a lot can change. Of the 60 we took one Saturday, 4 made the cut. It took 4 hours.
DO recruit help. We hit up the in-laws for a day of photos and it made a world of difference having someone else take the pictures. The person behind the lens can give direction on smiles, eyes, lighting, and everything else you won't notice until you're looking at a bad photograph. We planned for 2 hours and took several changes of clothing each. It ended up taking 5 hours between driving to different locales and retaking so many photos from different angles. Of the 800 taken, about 50 made it into consideration for the profile book.
DO include pictures of your house, yard, neighborhood playgrounds, hobbies, and activities. You want to show the total environment her baby will grow up in.
DO take constructive criticism and feedback from professionals. Your consultant or agency sees when these books get second looks and when they get passed over. Your friends and family probably do not. A birth mom trying to decide between families to establish a connection with likely sees several books. If it's easy for her to discard one, she will.
DON'T phone it in! This is THE most important thing in the beginning. This book is what seals the deal and convinces a birth mom your family is the best match for her unborn child. At first we tried to do it ourselves using an online photobook service. 6 hours later we started researching professionals to help us. Editing is hard. Assembling is hard. Writing is hard. There are too many choices: fonts, colors, page design, style, etc. It's overwhelming. No matter if you do it yourself or hire the work out, it will take planning, review, and editing.
DON'T think it will be fast OR easy! Our profiler told us it takes about 10 business days to assemble the first draft, and most families go through 3 rounds of edits: first the family, then the agency/consultant, plus a third for touch-ups. It will likely take 3 to 4 weeks to produce a quality product from a professional. At least a few days of work if you're doing it yourself.
DON'T make big personal changes during editing. Need a haircut? Wait until all photos are submitted and editing finished. Need to get your hair colored? Do it before taking photos.
DON'T lie. Seems obvious but the temptation is there to seem TV-perfect. Don't invent hobbies or interests you have no connection to. Just be yourself, but highlight all the best parts of your personality.
DON'T automatically delete photos because one person looks weird. You very well may need to crop some photos to focus in on the person who does look good for any close-ups needed.
DON'T have alcohol in your photos.
DON'T wear sunglasses in your photos.
DON'T refer to your rescue pet as "adopted." It could offend a birth mother.

Looking back the single biggest recommendation I can make is to HIRE A PROFESSIONAL. It's possible to do it yourself, but it's highly unlikely you'll be as good as someone who does this for a living. It wasn't cheap, but what professional service requiring several weeks of artistic attention to detail is? When we looked through other Profile Books it was painfully obvious who used a service and who did it at home. If it's that obvious to us it MUST be obvious to a birth mother. Who do you think she'll pick to entrust her unborn baby to?

STEM Toys for Kids: Counting and Sorting Bears by SET4Kids #SpeechLanguageTherapy #OccupationalTherapy

2020-06-10T06:38:00.001-07:00

Over the past few months, home schooling has become the new normal. While it's definitely a daunting task, it can be made so much easier with high quality, ready-made materials. Those of you who follow us often know that we love to share about exceptional educational resources for kids. This week we are excited to spread the word about a few amazing STEM resources from SET4kids (Smart Educational Toys for Kids). They promote the engagement, movement, and hands-on learning that kids need now more than ever. Check out each set below!

About the Counting Bear Sets
These sets are so versatile that we use them for our preschoolers and school-age kids alike. They allows us to build foundational language and math skills as we target categorization, qualitative, quantitative, and spatial concepts, computation, logical reasoning and critical thinking. The manipulatives support engagement during tele-health sessions and are perfectly packaged as a grab-n-go resource for travel therapy.

Counting Bears 3-Sizes Set
This set is a must-have in your toolbox! It contains bears of three different sizes (small, medium, large) with numbered bellies that can be used in many ways to practice both language and math skills. The durable, laminated cards provide natural leveling opportunities as they target skills. Consider using them as a classroom center, partner work, or individual intervention.

What it includes:

Counting Bears in 3 Sizes (small, medium, large) with numbered bellies
4 Sorting/Stacking Cups
12 Face Dice
Activity Cards

Counting and Sorting Bears STEM game with Activity eBook. Primary Colors
This STEM game includes loads of printable activities! We love that it comes with four different types of dice to expand learning. The tweezers are major motivators for our kids to engage in lessons, too. (Great for OT sessions!) When you purchase this set, you will receive an E-book of printables, as well as instructions about how to play the game. Activities target color and number identification, number-word correspondence, basic addition, patterns, matrix placing and more.

What it includes:

60 bears (red, orange, yellow green blue, purple)
4 dice (colors, numbers, number words, and traditional dot dice)
6 cups
tweezers
storage container
E-book with instructions and printable activities

We often use this set as an extension to the primary colors set, which helps kids expand their color knowledge, categorization, and more. Use them in tandem or mix together to increase difficulty level! Pairing the primary and pastel bears is a nice way to introduce shades of meaning to school-age kids.

What it includes:

60 bears (white, pink, purple, blue, green, yellow pastels)
4 dice (colors, numbers, number words, and traditional dot dice)
6 cups
tweezers
storage container
E-book with instructions and printable activities

A note from SET4kids:
'🐻 SAFETY IS OUR NUMBER 1 CONCERN!!! This toy is made from high quality plastic that is BPH, lead and phthalates free. The bear are NOT intended to use for children under 3 years old or those who still put object in their mouth! SET4kids is the only authorized seller of this toy.'

Speech-Language and Occupational Therapy Suggestions

In addition to all of the fantastic ideas that come along with these counting bear sets, we've come up with a few that are specifically geared toward speech-language and occupational therapy in order to target a variety of language concepts, visual processing, grasping, stacking, and more! Here are a handful of ideas that you can apply to your own sessions...

Colors

Identifying: This is a game a of quick hands! Place the colored cups upside down, spreading them out on the table or floor. Call out a color and race to be the first to grab the correct cup to earn a point. Stack your cups as you earn them.

Naming: Flip the colored cups over and hide a bear under one. Kids guess by naming the colored cup that they want you to lift up.

Naming: For little ones, grab some plastic eggs and place one colored bear inside each. As kids open them, they identify the color and produce a word or expanded phrase. My kids like to sort them into color groups as they open them. Add the laminated cards as a match up activity as well!

Categorizing: Place colored cups in a row and provide kids the assortment of bears. As they sort bears into corresponding cups, they name the color. Working on 2- or 3-word combinations? Require kids to produce phrases such as 'red bear' or 'small green bear' as they sort. Use the tweezers to pick up each bear for ST/OT skills mash up!

Basic Concepts

Qualitative: Work on comparatives or superlatives using the bears of differing sizes. The corresponding laminated cards are ready-made for this activity!

Quantitative: Allow kids to create groups of bear families and practice concepts such as 'all, none, some, more, most, few, less, least'. Turn it into a game by taking turns rolling the dice and collecting bears from a pile. Ask questions using quantitative terms as you play.

Spatial: My kids love using the cups and bears to practice 'in, out, under, on, in front of, behind, in back of, off'. Once my kids get the hang of these concepts, I let them place the bears around the cup and ask me where it is. They love feeling like the teacher! Working on sequential order or ordinal numbers? Allow kids to create line with the bears and identify specific spots in line.

Articulation

Earn It: Using 24-square speech sound sheets, my kids produce the word in the square 3 times to earn a bear. They love trying to collect all 24 bears to cover the sheet completely for the 'win'. I let them use the tweezers when the game is over to clean up their bears.

High Score: For kids who need a little more excitement with the articulation sheets, we use the bears from the 3-Size set. They pull a bear out of the cup, read the number on its belly, and say the target word that many times. We add the numbers together, keeping score until all the squares are filled. Kids like try to beat their highest score each time!

Minimal Pairs: Using two of the cups and a bear, use minimal pair cards to target phonological processes or auditory discrimination. Hide the bear under a cup, then place one card in front of each cup. Ask kids to tell you which cup to lift up by saying the corresponding target word. You may also let them lift up the cup after providing the word, to see if they can discriminate between the two.

Where to Purchase

Head over to SETS4kids.com or Amazon to purchase these STEM games and activities and have them delivered directly to your door. Be sure to browse the rest of the collection as well!

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by SET4kids. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Supporting the Oral Sensory Need to Chew #ARKTherapeuticProducts #selfregulation #speechtherapy

2020-05-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

This week I've been looking for a safe outlet for one of my teen clients who has a significant sensory need to chew. Although it is important for his self-regulation, it can seriously impede our speech-language therapy sessions. I've tried oral chewing tubes found in my local stores, but he's made short work of them and my wallet can't afford to keep up with replacements. The hunt has been on for an alternative that can withstand his level of need. Thankfully, ARK Therapeutic has come to my rescue. They offer an incredible variety of sensory chews with different toughness levels. After talking with a very helpful representative about my sensory-seeking friend, she was able to recommend the XT, Medium-Firm Chewy for him. I really appreciate that ARK Therapeutic was developed by an experienced speech-language pathologist who understands firsthand the needs that clinicians are trying to meet. Check out the sensory chew necklaces I've been trialing this week...

About the ARK Sensory Chew Necklaces

ARK's Chewable Ring Necklace: Made in the USA, ARK’s Chewable Ring Necklace is a safe, stylish, and discreet solution for both kids and adults who need to chew. Measuring about 2" in diameter and 1/2 inch thick, it's a great option for those who like to chew with their front teeth. It comes in 3 color-coded toughness levels.

ARK'S Krypto-Bite® Chewable Gem Necklace: For boys, it's cool-factor Krypto-Bite®. For girls, it's a stylish gem pendant. Either way, it's sure to be a hit! Use this "chewelry" as an oral fidget (or even hand fidget) to help calm, soothe, and self-regulate during times of stress, or to better focus during homework and other activities. It comes in 3 color-coded toughness levels.

ARK'S Super Star Chewable Jewelry: ARK’s Super Star Chew Necklace is designed specifically for the need to chew. Measuring in at approximately 1.1 x 2 inches and just under half an inch thick, this is one of our widest chew pendants. It's a great option for those who prefer chewing with their pre-molars and/or front teeth. It comes in 3 color-coded toughness levels.

These necklaces have been a game changer for my client and I feel confident in recommending them to others. We've settled on the Super Star Chewable Jewelry, but ARK Therapeutic has such a wide variety of chews, that you're bound to find the right one for your needs.

3 color-coded toughness levels:

Soft / Standard - this is the softest and chewiest level
XT / Medium Firm - this is the middle level; it's firmer, but still fairly chewy
XXT / Super Firm - this is the toughest level; while it still has some “chewability” to it, it’s fairly rigid/pretty firm

ARK doesn't always recommend getting the XXT right off the bat because some people may find it uncomfortable to chew on something so firm, but it can be helpful for anyone who already likes chewing on very hard items such as legos, hard plastic toys, wooden items, etc. I've found the XT to be perfect for my client who has chewed through standard chew tubes and teether material items in a couple of week's time.

Caution: These products are not toys. The clasp and cord are not intended for chewing. Contains small parts that may pose a choking hazard - direct supervision required. Recommended for ages 5 years and up. Although these chew tools are sturdy and durable, no chew tool is indestructible. Wear/tear may be expected given the nature of the intended use. How long they last is typically equal to the amount and intensity of the chewing, as well as other variables (such as jaw strength, stress/anxiety levels, if other sensory strategies are in place, etc.). While for some people a chew tool will last forever, for others with heavy/aggressive oral needs, they may go through it very quickly. Please supervise at all times, regularly inspect the chew, and replace if necessary if the item shows signs of wear and tear.

Learn More About Oral Sensory Needs
For those of you who are searching for more information about oral sensory needs, this is a fantastic article from Debra C, Lowsky, MS, CCC-SLP:

10 TIPS FOR KIDS WHO NEED TO CHEW - AN ORAL SENSORY DIET

Check out their ARK University resource page for a information about feeding therapy and more.

Where to Purchase
Head over to ArkTherapeutic.com to browse their entire collection of therapy materials to find the right tools for you. (All made in the USA!)

Connect with ARK
FB
Twitter
Instagram

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by ARK Therapeutics. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Creating a Successful Home Learning Environment for School-Age Kids #ClickHere2Shop

2020-05-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Distance learning is becoming the norm and many states have already declared that home schooling will continue through the rest of the school year. With this in mind, it is important to create a comfortable learning space for school-age kids, free of distractions. A designated space and consistent routine will help to support academic success. We've put together a few tips to design your child's school space and equip them for online learning.

1. Designate a quiet part of the house for learning.
One of the first things to consider when creating your child's workspace is distractibility. Finding a quiet place in the house will allow them to concentrate on school work. If they are logging on to class meeting via Zoom or other online platforms, a quiet area will be key to hearing the instructor. Headphones with a microphone attached make life easy as well!

2. Add a whiteboard.
The best feature of our school space is the whiteboard. We found our 24"x36" board through an online store called ClickHere2Shop and we were very pleasantly surprised at the high quality and speediness of delivery. It even came with 4 strong colored magnets, two dry-erase markers that fit into a magnetic eraser, and a detachable marker tray. Adding a whiteboard to your child's workspace is great for organization, note-writing, working out math and science problems, adding visual schedules, and so much more. We like to list important due dates at the top of our board each week to stay organized. We also added a hanging schedule, similar to what younger children use in their own classrooms, to structure our day. The magnets are so strong that we didn't need to add any hanging hooks.

The Offex Home Office Wall Mounted Dry Erase Magnetic Whiteboard is the perfect size for a home school workspace!

3. Provide a large enough workspace for materials.
Children need space to spread out books and papers as they work. They'll also want a large enough table to include writing utensils, a computer, and potentially snacks!

4. Gather a variety of supplies.
Our goal is to keep kids at their school space to maximize work time. One way to do this is to be sure everything they need is at their finger tips! Whether it's markers, pencils, sharpeners, chargers — you name it — we want to have it there and ready, so that assignments aren't interrupted.

5. Include a clock or timer.
Consider adding a clock or timer to your child's workspace, so that they are able to monitor how long they should be working on each assignment. The clock app on an iPad or smartphone is handy as well. It's a great way to incorporate breaks into the day and allows children to be more self-sufficient, so that you can carry on with your own work each day.

One last tip...think about implementing a consistent routine!
Research shows that most students do their best work in the morning. While there is no reason to get up at the crack of dawn, consider keeping to a regular schedule, rather than allowing children to stay up late and get up at any point in the day. (That's what weekends are for!)

Where to Purchase a Whiteboard
We recommend purchasing the Offex Home Office Wall Mounted Dry Erase Magnetic Whiteboard that we used in our home learning space! We loved the accessories, the size, ease of mounting, and ClickHere2Shop's super quick delivery. For under $40, we haven't found anything better that matches the quality of this board. Browse the store's entire selection at here.

Connect with ClickHere2Shop
FB
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by ClickHere2Shop.com. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

5 Benefits to Storing Dry Goods in Mason Jars #pantry #organization #BallJars #WinIt #Giveaway

2020-05-03T03:44:00.000-07:00

About a year ago, we gave our kitchen a major overhaul to create a quick and easy way to to improve the shelf life of our groceries and add organization to our pantry. We started by making the switch from keeping our dry goods in store packaging to putting them in sealed glass mason jars. We've found that storing dry goods in mason jars has some big benefits! It's about the easiest thing to do and requires almost no effort to get it done.

Thinking of making the switch? In this post, we've provided five benefits to using mason jar storage, some information on the Ball® Collection Elite® Regular Mouth 32 oz. Glass Mason Jars and 4 oz. Mini Storage Jars we use, and common bulk items to look for.

When you're ready to get started, FreshPreserving.com is a great site to order jars directly to your door!

Five Benefits to Mason Jar Storage

1. Bulk Buying - We love bulk buying for the option to get as much or as little as we need. It's a nice way to try new things without investing in a large package. It's also typically cheaper to buy in bulk because you aren't paying for the packaging and branding of shelf-ready products. In fact, organic bulk foods are known to be 89% less expensive than the organic packaged version. That's a huge savings. Since many places let you bring your own containers, it's also a much more eco-friendly way to shop. (You'll need to tare them at the store.)

2. Shelf Life - It's amazing how much less food goes to waste since switching to glass jars! No more stale cereal or forgotten inventory. Our dry goods stay fresh much longer and there's no sacrifice in taste. If you live in the South, you also need to worry about insect prevention. Leaving pastas, grains and other foods in the cardboard box packaging leaves your groceries vulnerable to a variety of insects that are known for invading pantries. These insects can ruin your groceries in no time and are very costly to get rid off once they've found their way in. Glass is one way to prevent this.

3. Inventory - Storing dry goods in glass jars allows us to quickly take note of how much we have left of each item. We're much more aware of what we have and what we need, list or no list. It's saves me from buying unnecessary items or making extra trips to the store because I didn't realize we were running low on an ingredient.

4. Less Waste - We've also noticed that the more we can see our food, the more we eat it! Between buying in bulk to measure out the amounts we actually want and seeing our inventory clearly, it really cuts down on things sitting on the shelf becoming forgotten goods.

5. Aesthetics - I absolutely love the organized, clean look of our Ball® Collection Elite® storage mason jars. The cabinets and pantry used to look like a messy free-for-all. You'd be surprised at how much these storage jars can add an upscale, modern touch to your kitchen space!

**Be sure you're storing DRY goods in your canning jars. Items that normally need to be refrigerated or stored at a temperature other than room temperature are not candidates for this kind of mason jar pantry storage.

32oz and Mini Mason Jars

Our Mason Jar Recommendations

For dry good storage that you use often, we love the Ball® Collection Elite® Regular Mouth 32 oz. Glass Mason Jars for larger storage and the Ball® Mini Storage Jars for small bulk quantities like spices and seeds. The mini storage jars are also fantastic for creating your own rubs!

Ball® Collection Elite® Regular Mouth 32 oz. Glass Mason Jars, 4 Count

These 32 oz. mason jars are the perfect size for our dry storage needs. We use them for everything from pasta and grains to coffee beans and walnuts. The lids and bands make it easy to take what you need and seal the jar back up again. The smooth glass creates a sleek, clean look in our cabinets and pantry. If you want to take your food preservation up a notch, these jars are suitable for home water and vacuum canning as well. BPA-Free; Made in the USA

We love creating layered spice rubs for outdoor barbecuing in the summer!

Ball® 4 oz. Mini Storage Jars

Thes mini jars are 75% smaller than the iconic Ball® Regular Mouth Pint Jar, fantastic for dry herb storage. We recently started growing our own herb garden, so these will be perfect for our fresh, dried herbs! It's also the perfect craft storage solution for buttons, beads, etc. If you're crafty or have a creative side in the kitchen, these jars are just right for novelty desserts and beverage tastings, too. The one-piece metal lids and glass jars are BPA-free entirely made in the USA. Not for home canning use.

Most Common Items to Buy in Bulk

Nuts	Trail mix
Flour	Dry pasta
Seeds	Dry beans
Spices	Dried fruit
Grains	Coffee
Cereal	Spices and herbs
Granola	Baking powders

**Many places offer gluten-free bulk items as well!

Win It!
Our friends at FreshPreserving.com have generously offered to giveaway both a 4 count of the Ball® Collection Elite® Regular Mouth 32 oz. Glass Mason Jars and a 4 count of the Ball® 4 oz. Mini Storage Jars to one lucky Across the Avenue Reader! It's a great opportunity to update your cabinet and pantry space and give mason jar storage a try for yourself. Enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older and live in the Continental US. Good luck!!

Connect with Fresh Preserving

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided free of charge by Fresh Preserving. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Educational Games for PreTeens and Teens During the Quarantine #R&RGames #strategygames

2020-04-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite family activities involves gathering around the table to play board games. What used to be a once a week activity has become our daily saving grace during the quarantine. It's a great way to provide structure to the day, relieve stress, and promote positive family bonding time. We've made our way through just about all of our games, several times over, so we were really excited when the opportunity to review two exciting games from R&R Games, Incorporated came along: Coin Quest and Gobblestones. If you have pre-teens and up in the house and want to find fun new ways to practice academic skills, these are the games for you!

Coin Quest

Coin Quest is a game of strategy! It's a winner-take-all, secret bidding game requiring players to outbid and outsmart each other to acquire the best coins. Players are part of a secret cabal of elite coin collectors. The shrewdest collector wins the game! This is a deck building game at its core, only coins replace cards. While it's not a terribly complicated game, it's really best for the pre-teen and up crowd.

At the start of this game, each player has their own bag and 10 coins. Between all the players the game board tracks the common 6 bids (3 for coins, 3 for points) as well as the scoring. Each round, draw 5 coins randomly from your bag and conduct your bidding behind your own privacy screen. Each player lifts their screen and bids are tallied, gold beats silver, silver beats bronze. Ties are broken by the number on the coin or the additional coins placed on the bid.

Coins won from and used for bids gather in a discard pile to eventually be reused, so your bag of coins grows. Some coins are special, granting special abilities, set collections, or victory points. This all plays together to make for exciting surprises at game's end, where you can surprise other players with your collection!

R&R Games recommends 12+ years of age; 2-6 players; 30 minutes average play time

Gobble Stones
Beware! Fat goblins are slow goblins, but in order to win you need to gobble up the most stones! A simple premise executed beautifully in this game. Set-up the game by placing nine double-sided game boards in a 3 x 3 layout. The total game board has 225 squares with a mix of 6 colors and 6 numbers.

On each turn, you must balance 5 actions: first placing between 0 and 5 tiles over corresponding colors (except grey which is wild), then drawing between 5 and 0 tiles. For example, you lay 2 tiles, you draw 3 tiles, or you lay 5 tiles and draw none (because you're too full from gobbling up points!). Tiles must be laid straight and never diagonally and tiles cannot ever be laid so that any 2 x 2 areas are covered. Any points covered are points earned. The game ends when the tiles to draw run out.

This is an abstract game appealing to almost anyone. It's incredibly easy to learn with minimal set-up time. We've found it's particular popular across age groups. Grandma and Grandpa like the appeal of a Scrabble-like game, while younger generations tend to view it like an app.

R&R Games recommends 10+ years of age; 2-4 players; 30 minutes average play time

These games have allowed us to practice academic skills while having loads of fun with family at the same time! We recommend adding them to your own collection to brighten up quarantine time and your upcoming summer vacation!

Where to Purchase
Head over to R&R Games to browse their entire collection and have games delivered directly to your door!

Connect with R&R Games
FB
Twitter
Instagram

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by R&R Games. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Increase Reading Skills with Zingo! Sight Words #ReadingGames #Thinkfun

2020-04-20T09:50:00.001-07:00

Parents, teachers, and speech-language pathologists will all tell you that Zingo! games are a must! We have used the original Zingo! board game in our therapy clinic for years as an engaging way to target language skills related to naming of common objects, matching, turn-taking, requesting, formulating sentences, and so much more. Knowing how much we love original Zingo!, when Thinkfun allowed us the opportunity to review the Zingo! Sight Words board game, we jumped at the opportunity. If you haven't added it to your own collection already, check out our post below to understand why it's one of our top learning games.

A Bit About Sight Words

Sight words are the words we recognize automatically when reading. They help us to read more fluently, which leads to better comprehension of text. While the true definition of sight words is more complex, it is widely accepted that a specific set of sight words make up more than 50% of all written material in the English language. Most educators rely on lists such as the Dolch list to target these sight words, beginning as early as Pre-K. A strong foundation in sight word reading correlates to stronger reading comprehension skills.

Zingo!® Sight Words

This game is recommended for Pre-K through 1st grade, though I will tell you that it is perfect for older kids with sight word deficits as well. The object of the game is to match the word tiles to the words on your bingo card. The green side of the bingo card is less competitive and the red side is more competitive.

How to Play

Load up the tiles in the Zinger machine and slide it back and forth to reveal two tiles at a time. If you have the matching word on your card, you yell it out and place the tile on your board. In the traditional version, the first player to match all of the words on their card wins the game! Just like in regular Bingo, you may use alternate game play versions, such as scoring tiles in all four corners, getting three in a row, etc.

Check out this video for a demonstration of the game:

Classroom Use
When school is back in session, consider using Zingo! Sight Words as a cooperative literacy station. You'll be amazed at how well it keeps kids' interest and how easy it is to manage. One less center to prep for each day makes this idea even better!

Speech-Language Therapy Use

For those of you working with older children and teens, you likely find that these students are labeled with poor reading comprehension skills. However, when you begin working with them, it becomes clear that their deficits actually begin at the phonics and sight word skill level. It can be difficult to target these skills in a way that keeps an older child's interest and doesn't insult their age. We find that many of these clients love game-based play that offers a little competition, and Zingo! Sight Words is a perfect choice. It keeps sessions fun while hitting the word practice hard!

Where to Purchase
Head over to Thinkfun.com to view Zingo! Sight Words and browse the rest of their collection as well. This game can also be purchased at brick and mortar stores like Walmart, or online via Amazon.com

Win It!
The people from Thinkfun have generously offered one lucky Across the Avenue reader their own Zingo! Sight Words game! Enter below for your chance to win. Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in the continental United States. The winning prize will ship after the quarantine has been lifted. Across the Avenue is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Connect with Thinkfun

Disclaimer: The product in this post was provided by Thinkfun. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Educating Kids through Play During the Quarantine #R&RGames

2020-04-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

As we continue social distancing and hunkering down at home, keeping kids educated and entertained can be a challenge. It's important to keep a routine, support academic learning, and provide a sense of safety. But, we want kids to have fun, too! One of the easiest ways we've found to achieve it all is to schedule dedicated family fun time each day. Pull out some of your favorite board games and card games and have some laughs while kids practice academic skills at the same time! This week, we're playing three new games from R&R Games that we highly recommend during the quarantine and upcoming summer vacation. Check them out below...

Farm MIMIQ

This simple card game targets turn-taking, memory, naming, requesting, and pragmatics skills in a super fun way. Players each draw a hand of three cards, with the remaining cards face down. During each player's turn, they ask an opponent of their choice for an identical card to one of the cards in their own hand. The traditional way to play the game is to use the sentence starter 'Please, do you have', then make the facial expression shown on the card. The element of silliness gets a ton of laughs. When a player collects three of a kind, they lay the set down in front of them. The player with the most card sets collected at the end of the game is the winner.

Pragmatics Play
Looking to target social-emotional cues more directly? We've created an alternate way to play this game by using the picture cards with the most obvious emotional expressions/facial messages (happy, mad, surprised, frightened, etc.). Before playing the game, we review each picture and discuss the facial cues we see and what they tell us about how the person feels or what message they are conveying. As we play the game, one player asks, 'Please, do you have' and creates the facial expression of the card. The other player must say either 'Yes, I have (name of expression).' or 'No, I don't have (name of expression).' The player with the most card sets at the end of the game is the winner. This game is recommended for ages 4+; 2-6 players; It's the perfect travel game as well!

Dice 'N Score Farm

When we opened this game our first thought was Farm Yahtzee! The play is very similar, but it's a much more attainable game for little ones because the dice contain pictures instead of dots. Roll the dice to reveal a chick, pig, cow, horse, goat, or tractor. Players may roll up to three times to try to score the most of one type of animal or go for any of the animal combos listed on the second section of the score sheet. Total up your score at the end of the game to see who wins. Although the design is geared toward younger kids, our entire family loves this game. It's a great way to target naming, categorizing, counting and adding with little ones.

This game is recommended for ages 4+; 2-6 players; It's also another fantastic pocket-size travel game!

Cup-A-Cup

If you're looking for a game that incorporates movement and brings on a lot of laughs, Cup-A-Cup is it. Play setup begins by placing the cups bottoms up on the playing space. Each cup has either a square, circle, or triangle. The rules are simple: roll the dice, identify the missing shape, and grab the cup. There are different patterns that you'll have to identify, so it's definitely a fast thinking, fast acting game of skill. First to collect three cups wins!

Language and Occupational Therapy Suggestions

We came up with alternate ways to play this game, such as adjusting the difficulty by stacking the cups into same-shape towers or using only three cups at a time to reduce the amount of visual stimuli. We also played by rolling only one die and requiring players to name and grab the shape rolled. We like this as a speech-language and occupational therapy mash-up to target shapes, visual processing, grasping, stacking, and more.

Watch this video explanation and demonstration of the game in action!

We hope these game suggestions help your family relieve stress and allow kids to practice academic and social skills in a fun way! Let's all continue to do our part to stay home and stay healthy.

Connect with R&R Games
FB
Twitter
Instagram

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by R&R Games. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

3 Tips for Keeping Your Family Entertained during the Quarantine #Giveaway #ScreenFree #WinningMovesGames

2020-04-12T12:55:00.000-07:00

As the weeks continue to pass at home, life has certainly slowed. Are you finding it more difficult to keep kids entertained? You aren't alone! Here are three easy tips to make it through these days...

1. Create a Visual Schedule
Routine and predictability are key. Routines help children feel safe, calm, and more self-sufficient. With a daily structure in place, expectations are clear and the constant need to 'entertain' your child lessens dramatically. Here's one of our favorite print-ready visual schedules for the home!

2. Provide Choices!
Kids want to feel like they have a say in the day as well. Allowing them to help choose meals, outside activities, walking routes, and more can help children feel a sense of control and reduce anxiety during this time.

3. Turn Off the Screens!

Add screen-free family playtime to your schedule. Playtime promotes language development, social skills, and family bonding! For school-age kids, board games are loads of fun and an easy way to practice academic and social skills. This week we're introducing two fantastic classics: Husker Du™ and BIG BOGGLE®. Hopefully, these games bring back some favorite childhood memories of your own. If you aren't familiar with them, check them out below and be sure to enter our giveaway!

Husker Du™
This classic picture matching memory game for young children has been updated with vibrant new images. The Husker Du game engages kids while they search for matching objects. Kids will learn memory skills, matching skills, turn taking, color, shape and object recognition. The player with the most pegs at the end of the game wins! Since the game is geared toward young children, the rules are simple and the game is easy to learn. Enjoy family fun and improve your memory at the same time! 2-4 Players, Ages: 4+

Big Boggle®

The world famous 3-minute word game! A family favorite for over 30 years! The new "Double Letter" cube makes it easier to form longer words. A 5x5 letter grid with more cubes, longer words and higher scores! We love Boggle as a fun way to practice spelling, reading, and printing skills. It's a fun game for the whole family because it spans across ages and it's perfect for home and travel; 2+ players, Ages 8+

Win It!

The people at Winning Moves Games, Inc. have generously offered to giveaway one of these games to a lucky Across the Avenue winner! Enter the giveaway below for your chance to win. Entrants must be 18 years or older and reside in the continental United States. The winning prize will ship after the quarantine has been lifted. Across the Avenue is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Connect with Winning Moves Games, Inc

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by Winning Moves Games, Inc. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Family Game Night: Unearth #BrotherwiseGames

2020-03-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Dice and cards? We're in! Unearth from Brotherwise Games takes beautiful artwork and combines five dice and broad strategy into a family fun card game. Lots of games have great artwork but few also use probability and hexagonal puzzle placement to make the whole experience fun.

Unearth has three basic concepts all turning in unison for each player: dice rolls, cards, and hexagonal tokens. Each player uses an individual die roll as a bid on a card. High rolls are better to claim a card, but low rolls (1,2, or 3 on any die) are the only way to get a token. Of the five dice each player has to use (3 six-sided, 1 eight-sided, and 1 four-sided) only one can be placed at a time on any common card available. Multiple dice will end up on each common card but only the highest number die actually gains the card. The more cards of a common color, the better your score. For low rolls, players receive a colorful hexagon token. Each token fits in a ring of six, totally at the discretion of the player for color and placement, and inside each ring a "wonder" is placed for points. Greater Wonders are worth more than Lesser Wonders but are harder to obtain.

In our first round the score was close, 41 to 43. However, we didn't quite catch on that the card point value is ONLY used as a target to sum all the dice on the card. It's the color of the card that matters. Now this was clearly printed in the manual, we just neglected to read that part of it until we were ready to score our points.

To help clear the hurdle we missed, here's a video of game play:

Where to Buy
Unearth is available online directly from Brotherwise Games, Amazon, and Walmart as well as local hobby shops.

Connect with Brotherwise Games
FB
Instagram
Twitter

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided by Brotherwise Games, LLC. As always, our posts are our own, honest opinions.

Educational Apps for Kids: Smarty Ears Phonological Awareness Lab

2020-03-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Phonological awareness is a critical foundational reading skill for kids. As an SLP, I work on this skill often with my school-age clients. Over the years, I've relied on hands-on manipulatives and paper-based activities to target these goals. The problem is, my days are filled with travel between the clinic and several schools every day. Lugging around materials for a full load of clients can become very cumbersome. When a friend told me about Smarty Ears Phonological Awareness Lab, I was really excited about the idea of transporting materials on my iPad instead of hauling around overflowing bags. The big question though...does the app offer quality activities that can replace some of my paper-based tasks? After reviewing it on my own and trialing it with a few of my clients, the answer is YES! This app is well worth adding to your bag of tricks. Not only would I recommend it for SLPs, it's a fantastic app for teachers and parents as well. Check out what it has to offer as well as my thoughts on each component below...

About the App

The Phonological Awareness Lab app offers four different categories, with seven activities in all:

Sentence Experiment -- This activity requires kids to count the words within each sentence.
Decoding Room -- This category offers a blending syllables activity as well as a blending sounds activity. I love both of these games and they were a big hit with my clients.
Rhyming Compound -- This category offers 3 options: a rhyming identification activity, a rhyming selection activity, and a rhyming match activity. These games were a little more challenging for my younger kids, but they caught on with added support and were easily engaged because of the fun graphics and touch screen capabilities.
Syllable X-Ray -- This activity asks kids to find the word with the number of syllables that matches the number presented. Click on the 'Select Player' page to customize the number of answer choices and the number of syllables in the target words. This activity is another favorite of mine.

How I Use It
The Phonological Awareness Lab app allows me to personalize each player by entering their name and uploading their picture, or allowing them to choose an avatar. Working with more than one child at a time? This app allows for multiple players to engage in a session together! All data from each child's work is saved for you in the 'Report Center', which provides the date of the session, activity selected, and accuracy (trials and percentage) of answers of each student. Smarty Ears even created green/yellow/red color coding, so you can monitor their accuracy at a glance. Want to share the results? Click on the 'Share' button and you'll be provided with the option to e-mail, print, or open in a program of your choice. The data collection is such a time saver and an easy way to share progress with parents.

Now, do I continue to use hands-on materials with my clients? Of course. But having this app as a high quality resource to target phonological awareness goals has been a major game changer. It's easy to travel with and promotes a high level of engagement and motivation with the kids on my caseload. I recommend using it as a tool to engage in together, so that you can make the most of teachable moments and intervene when an incorrect answer is given. My clients love that I play it with them and it helps to promote a positive relationship between us. I would rate this high on my list of 'Must Have Apps'!

Check out this brief video to learn more.

Where to Purchase

Head over to the App Store to purchase and download the Phonological Awareness Lab. While you're there, check the full collection that Smarty Ears has to offer!

Connect with Smarty Ears