I am joining in on this fun link up by Kristin from Talkin' With Twang!
Every time I go into the dollar store, not only do I always come out with so much more than I initially planned on buying, but I also come out with some great therapy ideas! As a therapist, the dollar store has become my favorite store! Currently, I am in charge of doing evaluations at work, so I only see 5 kids for actual therapy. Unfortunately, I cannot do all of these therapy activities with my students, but I can always blog about my ideas and hope that they will help inspire you!
Every time I go into the dollar store, not only do I always come out with so much more than I initially planned on buying, but I also come out with some great therapy ideas! As a therapist, the dollar store has become my favorite store! Currently, I am in charge of doing evaluations at work, so I only see 5 kids for actual therapy. Unfortunately, I cannot do all of these therapy activities with my students, but I can always blog about my ideas and hope that they will help inspire you!
During my previous shopping spree at the dollar store, I spent $9.54 and came out with some fun everyday and holiday crafts and activities! These first two items, I didn't purchase, but I highly recommend that these are staples in every SLP therapy room. First, I recommend the microphone which is a great way to inspire kids to speak louder, work on articulation or just to motivate them to participate. Second is foam dice. They are perfect for the little ones and I have found that even older students like them!
Now, onto the fun stuff that I purchased...
St. Patrick's Day Items Valentine's Day Items Everyday Items
For the every day items, I bought pipe cleaners, Minnie Mouse puzzles and bracelet jewels.
I am not sure how I will use the pipe cleaners yet, but I had to buy them!
The Minnie Mouse puzzle came with 4, 6-piece puzzles. In my mind, this was perfect for some category therapy! Here's how I would do it.
First, pick out 4 categories that you want your students to work on. For this example, I chose colors, food, animals and transportation as my categories. Then, I wrote the corresponding words on the back of each piece. During therapy, have your students put the puzzles back together, but with the words facing up. If you have younger students, you might have to help them put the actual puzzle together once they separate the words.
Once the puzzles are together, slide them off of the desk onto a book/box/cardboard and flip the puzzle over. It will reveal the final picture and if your students were correct!
I also bought these connecting jewels from the dollar store.
You can do so many activities with these! You can have students sort them by color, shape or both.
You can also have your students make bracelets by letting them add a link for each task they complete (saying a sound 5x, answering a question, etc.). If you have boys, have them make the bracelets for their mom, grandma or aunt. This would be a great mother's day activity!
As always, the dollar store was fun, exciting and inspiring! Thank you Kristin for this great blog link up! What are your favorite dollar store items?
Remember to subscribe to my blog to find out what I will be doing with these fun, dollar store finds!
