(#5) Valentine's Day is on its Way!

Greetings Fellow SLP!

Valentine’s Day is next week!  If you do therapy themes that coordinate with holidays, but you are limited in time to pull them together, I have a suggestion for you. 

This therapy task meets the theme criteria, takes minimal time and effort to set-up, allows for a variety of age and capability therapy tasks, the kids like to do it, and they end up with a nice gift to take home. 

In other words--make a Valentine’s Day card!  You can alter it as you wish and address your speech and/or language targets.

Go to:  https://printable-cards.gotfreecards.com/

I love this site!  It’s free, it’s easy, it has a nice variety of themes, and you can create an account to save your cards. 

You end up with two pages (in a large or small size; select which one you want when you print). 

First, choose the cover; you can add your own picture/graphic, or choose from a nice selection of covers.  They even have some line-graphics that the kids can color and personalize once it’s printed.  (I just made one with a teddy-bear with hearts, and an “I Love You” on the front.)

The second page can be personalized as much as you want.  They have ready-made text, or you or the child type in your own text (see possible poem below), or leave it blank and have the child write his/her message.  They have cute little “stickers” to decorate it.

Organize and implement therapy options.  Choose from the following and/or generate your own (I know you are VERY creative):

• Sequence the steps for making the card
• Write their own message; focus on their intent, syntax, connecting words, vocab, etc.
• Read (include echo reading and choral reading) a ready-make passage (such as below)
• Extract language task from an already written passage. Ask, answer and discuss questions:  “What does the poem mean to you?”  “What words would you change to personalize the meaning?” 
• Look up word-meanings; identify the rhyming words; identify the adjectives; come up with synonyms, etc., etc., etc.

Following is a simple (short phrases; easy to understand; meaningful), to the point, not too long, and not too short, poem.  It has some descriptive words that can be substituted/replaced accordingly.  Of course, it could be revised to be “Best Valentine for Dad or Grandma or Grandpa or Teacher or Friend, and so on.

I tell my kids, “When you change the words, you become a co-author! 

Best Valentine Mom

By Joanna Fuchs

Be sure to watch for next week…we’re going to focus on lifting the front-tongue for front-tongue sounds.  Very exciting!  Ha!  (Actually, it should be quite helpful for /s/ and “sh”!)

Happy Valentine’s Day, my friend,

Char