4 Great Speech Language Apps for your Ipad

If you have been looking for some good speech/language apps to do with your child, look no further! Today's guest post is by fellow Speech Language Pathologist, Kristin Cummings, M.S., SLP-CCC who works as a pediatric speech language pathologist in Florida. Today, Kristen is sharing her 4 favorite speech apps with us. While I am a huge proponent of a screen free childhood, I do feel there are times, when used in moderation, learning apps can help a child by allowing for mobile instruction (waiting rooms, etc), increasing interest, and improving skills. Enjoy! Pin! Share!~~Katie Sullivan, M.S., SLP-CCC


                FOUR GREAT SPEECH/LANGUAGE APPS

I am so excited to be doing a guest post for Brighton Park! Let me start by introducing myself. First and foremost I am a mommy to precious little girl named Kenzie Lee, but I sign my name Kristin Cummings, M.S., CCC/SLP. I am a speech language pathologist in an elementary school setting as well as a private therapist. I am also the author of the [simply speech.] blog at kcummingsslp.blogspot.com. Most of my experience has been working with preschool and school age students, which I love!

Over the past few years, technology has really found a place in the therapy room. iPads are filling every classroom and therapy room in our county. I was a little hesitant to jump right in and fully embrace the technology in therapy. I was used to using articulation cards, Candy land, and other tried and true therapy materials that were yet to let me down. However, knowing that 3 year olds are now working their parents’ iPhones I figured the old saying is true, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Boy I am so glad I did! There are so many great apps out there, and I wanted to share a few favorites with you! (Note: None of these app companies have paid me to share these apps, the opinions are 100% mine!)

Favorite articulation app: Articulation Station

 
This app is a favorite with my articulation students (they even request it by name!) This app includes flash cards, stories, and games separated by specific sounds in the initial, medial, and final position. This way you can target specifically what your child needs. The flash cards include a word and a real life picture of the target. If you touch the picture, the word is read out loud (perfect for little ones who aren’t reading yet). There is also a concentration (memory) type game for each sound.

 This app is great for kids to play with by themselves or with a sibling or friend while they practice their good speech sounds and are exposed to new vocabulary words. Articulation Station Pro (which includes all the sounds) sells for $49.99. However, if your little one only needs to work on specific sounds (like /k/ or /g/), you can download each one for $2.99-5.99. You can download a free sample version of Articulation Station to try it out in the iTunes store. Bonus: the creator of this app, Heidi, has a great blog as well. Find her at Mommy Speech Therapy.

Favorite language app: Preposition Builder

The mobile education store has some really great apps to target language concepts. One of my favorites and frequently used app is Preposition Builder. This app has engaging, child friendly pictures that illustrate a target concept. One of my favorite things about this app, is that if the child incorrectly answers the question, the picture changes to show why it is not correct. Here is an example of a screen shot. The prompt was “The boy put the cereal ___ the bowl.” The correct answer is “in” but the student chose “on.”

The Mobile Education Store has many other great apps such as: Sentence Builder, Sentence Builder Teen, Story Builder, Language Builder, Rainbow Sentences, and Speech Journal. Preposition Builder sells for $7.99 in the iTunes store.

Favorite story app: Toy Story Showtime!

I am a huge fan of the Toy Story movies, so when I found this, I was beyond excited! This app is an interactive story of the Toy Story gang planning a talent show. It targets early reading concepts and vocabulary. Vocabulary words are repeated throughout the story. This is great since kids learn best through multiple exposures.

The app reads the story out loud and highlights each word as it is read (great for learning sight words!) In each scene, there are yellow “glow” buttons that highlight interactive components. For example, you can make Buzz dance, move and slide across the screen. There are also extension activities where kids can practice literacy skills. You can also target story prediction, comprehension, sequencing, and story retelling with this app. Ask for child questions and have them tell you about their favorite part of the story. Toy Story Show time sells for $4.99 in the iTunes store.

Favorite FREE app: Make a Scene- Farmyard

I have found that with most of the free apps, my students get bored quickly. They are usually a “lite” version of another app or don’t include much variety. This app is an exception to that rule! I love using this app during my “On the Farm” theme week in therapy. This app gives you an option of blank farm scenes (barn, pasture, etc) and the free choice of animals, farm tools, vegetables, and people to customize your own farm!

This app can target vocabulary, prepositions, characteristics, and conversation skills. They even include a variety of each animal to work on descriptive words (muddy pig, spotted horse). This app would be perfect to keep your little one busy while on errands or in the waiting room… and it’s FREE!  I hope you all have found this post helpful, and hopefully will add a few more apps to your bag of tricks.

Kristin Cummings is a pediatric Speech language pathologist serving both elementary school children and private clients. She received her Masters Degree from Univ. of South Florida. She can be found on the facebook page
 Simply Speech or writing for her Simply Speech blog.If you are liking the information you are finding here on the Brighton Park Blog in the areas of homeschooling, homesteading, speech/language, special needs and more, please consider sharing us via your blog, facebook or twitter or placing the Brighton Park button in your sidebar so other families can find us.



This post has been linked up to the following great blogs this week:
No Ordinary Blog Hop
ABC & 123
Growing Home
Time Warp Wife
Free Pretty Things for You
Messy Preschoolers
7 Alive
Becoming a Strong Woman of God Homeschooling Link Up
Sun Scholars
Beneath the Rowan Tree
Local Fun for Kids
733 blog

Music Mondays #3: Make Your own Maracas

Welcome back to Music Mondays! Today's guest post is written by Grammy nominated artist Daria, and is a great tutorial on how to make your own really cool maracas using materials you already have around your house! ~~Katie

 

MAKE YOUR OWN MARACAS

Although Hispanic heritage is celebrated in the USA from September 15 – October 15th, any time of year is great for making and exploring these easy-to-make little instruments!

Make your own Maracas!

SUPPLIES (for one pair of maracas)

2 eight oz (236 mL) water bottles
2 toilet paper rolls
Electrical tape (colorful, if possible)

FILLING FOR YOUR MARACAS
Any of the following:Sand, salt, pebbles, birdseed, rice, beans, small beads, large beads, dried pasta, rice, dried peas or beans, small washers, paper clips, small erasers.

 Maracas are one of the simplest instruments to play for young children or the beginning musician. They are essentially rattles with handles. They come in pairs. You put one in each hand and you shake, rattle and roll! Of course, if you’ve seen experienced percussionists play maracas, you would be amazed at what they can make them do. So, a pair of maracas are versatile little instruments for “just jamming with the kids” or for exploring rhythms, beats and tempos as a fun way to learn more about music.

 The History: Most folks consider maracas to be native to Latin America, however, similar instruments (pairs of rattles) can be found in cultures around the world. Most often associated with the music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Jamaica and Brazil, maracas have been played for centuries. One set of maracas made of clay were found in ruins in present day Columbia. They were used by the indigenous people of that area and dated back to almost 1,500 years ago.

 

 Maracas come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and designs! What are maracas made of? Most traditional maracas are made from natural materials such as gourds, clay, wood or coconut shells. More modern ones can be made of plastic, leather or other synthetic materials. They are filled with small objects such as seeds, pebbles or dried beans.

SUPPLIES (for one pair of maracas)

2 eight oz (236 mL) water bottles
2 toilet paper rolls
Electrical tape (colorful, if possible)

FILLING FOR YOUR MARACAS
Any of the following:Sand, salt, pebbles, birdseed, rice, beans, small beads, large beads, dried pasta, rice, dried peas or beans, small washers, paper clips, small erasers.

To create “recycled rattles” you can start with smaller water bottles from the recycling bin and be even more clever with fillings – finding things you can easily use from around the house, garage or in your junk drawer.

Get Out Your Materials ! Although you can use any type of small plastic bottles, the 8 oz (236 mL) size water bottles are just perfect for this project in size and shape. If you’ve sworn off plastic, then ask around. A neighbor, classmate or local store may offer you what they might have sent out as recycling. You’ll also need two toilet paper rolls and some sturdy tape. Electrical tape works best and colorful electrical tape adds a nice decorative touch to what you are creating.

Then you’ll need some fillings. Remember each filling produces a different sound, so that may also be part of your plan for creating your set of maracas. For instance, sand or salt maracas will be very quiet. Dried beans, macaroni or large bead maracas will be nice and loud. Here are some suggestions that you can find around most every household: Sand, salt, pebbles, birdseed, rice, beans, small beads, large beads, dried pasta, rice, dried peas or beans, small washers, paper clips, small erasers. A complete supply list is provided below as well as some suggestions for great sounding maraca combinations.

 

Make Your Maracas

First take your clean and dried 8 oz water bottle and fill with your chosen contents. Close it up with the cap and then listen to the sound. Once it sounds good to your ears, then you can move to the next step. But first, check out how many professional maracas are made – they are created to be slightly different in sound. Many sets of maracas are “pitched” differently. In other words, shaking the right hand one will sound different from shaking the left hand one, so you can create some great patterns by playing with the sounds.

 For instance, if you make my version of rice and beans maracas (described below), the rice will be sound a bit softer and higher in pitch, the beans a bit louder and lower in pitch, so you can build rhythms on those sounds. You can also describe the rhythms in a fun way, such as rice, rice, beans, rice, rice beans or rice, beans, rice, rice beans. Almost anyone can learn new rhythms and even complicated rhythm patterns with this creative approach.

So, now you’ve decided how you want your pair of maracas to sound and you’ve tightened the cap on your two water bottles. The next step is to create the handle.

Take your two toilet paper rolls and make a straight cut from one end to the other. Tighten the roll in on itself to about the size of a ¾ inch dowel and then apply your electrical tape. Start wrapping the tape around the bottom part of the rattle on the bottle and move down onto the new handle. Wrap slowly, covering all the cardboard of the toilet paper roll and you will have created a rather sturdy handle for your new instrument. Now you are ready to play.

 

Time To Jam

Do you want to just jam? Then simply pick up your instrument and shake, shake, shake. Or dance around, move and groove, and shake things up to your heart’s content. If you want to get into more of the maraca’s musical possibilities, then take some time to check out what they can do. Aside from shaking them back and forth where the sound comes from the contents striking the sides, you can swoosh them around. By moving your hand in a circular motion, the contents of your maracas won’t hit side to side, but will whoosh a bit around in the bottle, creating a different sound. You can also “crescendo” your maracas. You start by shaking them quietly and slightly and then build little by little to get the loudest sound. It’s a fun way to begin or end a song.

You can also make several pairs and mix and match. What sound patterns can you create? Which maracas sound best to you or sound best as pairs? Does a certain pattern sound like a song you know? Or does a song you know inspire a new pattern? Despite the fact that these are really simple little instruments, they can truly inspire hours of musical fun.

GREAT-SOUNDING COMBINATIONS FOR MARACAS :

Rice and Beans Maracas Rice in one maraca, beans in the other. The color and the sound are different, making it really easy to create patterns.

“Back To School” Maracas Colorful paper clips in one, small extra erasers in the other. A nice difference in the sound between the right and left hand.

                                                          Back to School Maracas

Sand and Little Pasta Maracas These are really quiet and subtle. The sand or salt maraca is softer then the tiny pasta (choose acini de pepe, pastina or orzo pasta) making this a great choice for kids that want to learn to listen, kids with noise sensitivity or for learning some of the aspects of playing a percussion instrument quietly but effectively.

I hope you enjoyed this post for our Music Mondays Series! This post is linked up to: Repurpose My Life, Mad in Crafts, ABC and 123, TipJunkie, Growing Home, Artsy Play Wednesday,  Free Pretty Things for You, Not Just a Housewife, Kids Play Thursdays, Link it up Thursdays. And also Friday Faves party , The Magic Onions,  and For the Kids Friday . And Sharing Saturdays. And Sunday Playdate.

 

DARIA (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou): Called “an ambassador of song”, by US newspapers, Daria, a Grammy-nominated artist, has traveled around the world to create music that uplifts and empowers. A 2008 and 2007 “Parent’s Choice“ winner, all of Daria’s CD’s are currently being played around the globe from Australia, to South Africa, to Europe and South America as well as across the US in homes, preschools, schools and on several Native American Reservations.  Daria has recorded and released four children’s music CD’s – Grandchildren's Delight, Beautiful Rainbow World, I Have A Dream and Jadda, Jadda, Jing, Jing Jing!. Daria holds a degree in ethnomusicology and is active in Education, Special Education, Native American, Peace and Children’s issues. Daria lives with her family on a farm outside of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Music To Inspire All The World's Children
www.dariamusic.com

Check out the Making Multicultural Music Blog
http://makingmulticulturalmusic.wordpress.com

 

Farm Photo Sunday

 There is always something going on at Brighton Park; especially with our animals.

My daughter has asked for a house bunny for two years. This past week we surprised her and the other kids with not one, but two. Meet Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth...

                                  Queen Elizabeth, brown/white and Queen Victoria black/white

                                                                   Queen Elizabeth

I have to admit, they are the cutest and sweetest little pets. They are house bunnies and so curious.
Speaking of curious, three of our turkeys keep wanting to explore the other side of the yard...

                                                                     The three amigos...

Our Spanish turkey and our eldest turkey stay on their side, but not these three explorers. Thick as thieves, always together, and often in mischief...

The chickens are doing well. We still have 9 and have 9 more chicks due to be delivered from My Pet Chicken on 9/24.  I was able to snap a few new photos of a few of them this week...

Buffy

 

Beyonce

 

 

 

Jennie

 

The ducks that were babies just a few short months ago have grown by leaps and bounds and bring our number of total ducks currently to 14 and Bella is now sitting on another clutch of duck eggs.

 

 

                                            Six of our fourteen; Bella is the brown duck.

 

And always on the watch, is my dog, Duke. Duke is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He has been sad since Duchess (his mate) passed on last March, but keeps himself busy exploring our one acre homestead and keeping watch.

 

  

We still haven't decided about whether we want to get new goats, but for now we are enjoying the dogs, ducks, turkeys, chickens and new bunnies. Have a great Sunday!

 

p.s. Have you checked out the new Farm Chick Chit Chat blog? We are a community of over two dozen homesteaders sharing our tips, talents and projects!  To find out more about keeping rabbits and why they are a great addition to your homestead check out this post, read this post  about adding rabbits to your homestead  from FCCC blogger, A Suburban Farmer.

 



What's your page rank?

Through the day I find inspiration everywhere and I think "that would make the best blog post" and mentally file it in my "writer's file", anxious to get to my computer to put it down and then...

the day goes so fast

one thing to the next

and then

 the day is over

and I start dinner

and switch the laundry

and the kids are ready for

bath time

and bedtime

and just one more story

and just one more one more

and then I study

or share a movie with Mr. Darcy

and finally open my computer

and write about three sentences

before I fall asleep with my computer on my lap

and wake up

the next morning and smile

knowing that someone who loves me

closed my computer for me

put it away

put my glasses in their case

and I start the day.

And that's what life is. One moment into the next. And that's what I love writing about the most.

Not missing those moments.

I'm not the best blogger.

I'm not the most successful blogger.

I'm not the most consistent blogger.

Some weeks I'm the really sucky blogger

or the completely MIA, maybe we should call her to see if she is still alive blogger...

But, every week,  I am the most consistent story reader, scraped elbow kisser, duct tape fixer, pancake cooker, ballet bun maker, barbie hair braider, husband's missing items finder, hug giver, prayer sayer in my house.

And in those things... My page rank is

completely

totally

epically

out of sight.

Let this post be an encouragement to you to never lose a real moment for a cyber one.

The days go so fast...and then they are gone.

Live an inspired life.

**Linked up at:
Time Warp Wife
The Better Mom
Growing Home
Whatever you want Wednesday

Music Mondays #2: What's in Store

**Due to a glitch on my part, this post did not post yesterday (Monday) when it was supposed to! So sorry about that! ~~Katie

Our Music Mondays series has begun. If you missed last Monday's post that shared with you a little more about me and my music background, and alot more about the Grammy nominated artist DariaMarmaluk-Hajioannou ,whom I am penning this series with, (and if you want to know if rafflecopter picked you as our first Music Mondays giveaway winner)  please click here to read more!

Here is what is in store over the coming months for you in this series:

Making Music With Maracas
10 Simple Games to Learn More About music

How A Box Can Become A First Drum
The Story of The Peruvian Cajon

 Make And Play A Shekere
Turning A Gourd Into Homemade Musical Fun

Turn A Household Item Into an Extraordinary Musical instrument 

Songs and Finger plays to encourage speech and language production

Tips on teaching your own children Music

Tips on Buying the right piano for your family

How to integrate Music into your Homeschool Day

Helping your child choose an instrument

Homeschool Lesson Plans

Musical Genres

Q and A Posts with Professional Musicians and Performers

and more!

Our first informative post for this series will be next Monday, September 17th and is being written by Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, Grammy nominated performer, children's performer, musician and recording artist who will be sharing: 

Making Music With Maracas
10 Simple Games to Learn More About music

I know I'm looking forward to it!

Have a great homeschool week, everyone!

Tidbits...

Hello friends, old and new!

Font:

I am loving the new look and header here at Brighton Park that Tracey at Little Bitty Design Studio designed for us for the fall season, but I have not yet decided on a text font or size. Bear with me while I decide which one is best suited for our new look, though I am very much liking this one.

Focus:

I'm working on a more focused vision for the blog. Since we write about many things here (homeschooling, homesteading, homemaking, tutorials, special needs, speech/language) please consider signing up for email delivery; that way you can come visit when the posts of interest to you go live. This is also a great way to be sure you don't miss any of our giveaways.

Small World:

Blogland is small, as the world is. A new favorite etsy shop, turns out, is owned by a woman from my home town and we went to the same college. A new favorite blog is written by someone who lives not 15 miles from me.

Here and there:

Most of you know that I pen another blog, Katie's Language Cafe, where I post French language, culture, history and cuisine posts and share our travels. If you haven't stopped by, I invite you to do so this week. We have a new weekly link up that started last week and participating is a great way to gain exposure for your blog while finding new favorites. <<Click here to Link up

You can also find me writing for Farm Chick Chit Chat (FCCC); a lovely community of bloggers sharing tips on gardening, homesteading, animals, recipes, DIY and more. <<click here to visit FCCC

Making Music:

Our new Music Series here at Brighton Park has kicked off with a great giveaway. I am honored to be doing this series with Grammy nominated artist Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou.  <<Click here to Enter

Projects:

I'm getting ready to start several house projects here again at Brighton Park; some big some little. I have been so inspired by some of the blogs I have found recently, but especially   <<this One.

Lastly:

Please take a moment to click on one or two of the lovely sponsor buttons in our right hand side bar. They are all unique and all help support the posts and content you find here. Are you interested in advertising your blog or etsy shop on Brighton Park? You can advertise to over 10,000 unique viewers a month for only $15. Send me an email to homeschoolfam@gmail.com if you would like more information.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

**all photos on my blog are my own, unless otherwise noted.

Blessings,

Music Mondays #1: Introductions & a Giveaway

Today is the start of our Music Mondays series here at Brighton Park and I am so excited about it because it will be including awesome information and ideas for your homeschool, and amazing giveaways and guest posts with award winning artist and musicians, all anxious to share great ideas with everyone here at Brighton Park. So be sure and visit each Monday for this great series!

I wanted to take today's first Music Monday Series to tell you a little more about me and why music is important to me  and to introduce you to the award winning lovely lady I am doing this series with and then we are going to kick off today with an awesome giveaway!

KATIE. (Katie Sullivan, M.S., SLP-CCC): Most of you know me, I'm Katie and I pen the Brighton Park Blog. I am a pediatric speech language pathologist and have used music, songs and fingerplays in sessions with children to increase their language skills for years. I have used Music Intonation Therapy to help adult clients who have lost speech to regain speech and collaborated with pediatric music therapists to help children with diagnosis from autism to other intellectual disabilities improve their speech and language skills, (including my own sons). Musically, I play the alto saxaphone (17 years lessons/training) and the piano (3 years). I also sing. In my younger years, I was active in band, jazz band, school choir & church music programs, receiving 12 awards for performance, including 6 first place ratings at state level competition, and today still sing at my Parish (and have been known to sing at a wedding from time to time). Currently, I'm learning to yodel. Music is a large part of our homeschool. Our daughters take piano and violin lessons, I still work on improving at piano. Being a Waldorf inspired homeschooler we use songs during circle time. We play music throughout our homeschool day. I have a broad musical taste and encouraging my children to have the same.

 

And now I am so excited to introduce you all to Daria! After her bio, be sure and scroll down and enter the rafflecopter for the amazing musical giveaway we are hosting today. The giveaway is open to US residents.

 

 

DARIA (Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou): Called “an ambassador of song”, by US newspapers, Daria, a Grammy-nominated artist,  has traveled around the world to create music that uplifts and empowers. A 2008 and 2007 “Parent’s Choice“ winner, all of Daria’s CD’s are currently being played around the globe from Australia, to South Africa, to Europe and South America as well as across the US in homes, preschools, schools and on several Native American Reservations. Says the Christian Science Monitor: “When Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou makes music, the world listens — literally! ”

 

In concert, Daria shares a wonderful mixture of favorite songs from American and world folk music traditions. She introduces unique authentic instruments and presents songs in a variety of languages; including English, Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, Zulu, German, Quechua Indian and Oneida (Iroquois). Her live performances are popular at major art centers, festivals, venues, schools and other locations. In addition to her live concerts, Daria also offers workshops, residencies and community workshops for exploring these exciting and diverse musical traditions

 

 

 

Daria has recorded and released four children’s music CD’s – Grandchildren's Delight, Beautiful Rainbow World, I Have A Dream and Jadda, Jadda, Jing, Jing Jing!.  Songs from these albums have been featured on XM Radio, Direct TV, World Wide Community Radio, Playhouse Radio, Kids Corner and the Songsforteaching.com website.

Daria was selected as the only female teaching artist for the STOMP/PULSE tour in 2004 and she represented the USA in World Expo in Seville, Spain 1992. Recently, she received a 2007 Pennsylvania Council On The Arts Arts Commentary Award and a citation for her contribution to education in the state of Pennsylvania. With a passionate interest in music and community-building, Daria holds a degree in ethnomusicology and is active in Education, Special Education, Native American, Peace and Children’s issues. Daria lives with her family on a farm outside of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

 

You can learn more about Daria at her website: http://www.dariamusic.com

 

You can learn more about multicultural music here: http://www.makingculturalmusic.wordpress.com

 

Daria is offering this amazing giveaway item for some lucky entrant of today's giveaway...

 

A Mini- washboard, kids maracas and a copy of  her Grammy-nominated CD - Grandchildren’s Delight.

 

 

 

These would be a great addition to your home or homeschool! (If the rafflecopter box does not come up, either click "read more" in the lower corner or click on the post title to refresh. This is a prize valued at $70.  GOOD LUCK! and come back every Monday for some great posts...we will be discussing music, lesson plans, tutorials on how to make your own instruments, guests posts and so much more!

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway