Reindeer Games

I LOVE celebrating the Holidays in my speech room, and my students seem to love it too. I've seen sooo many amazing materials come out for the Holiday season, I felt it was necessary for me to (attempt) do the same. So......here's my FIRST GAME! I've been playing this for the past couple of weeks in my room, and it has been a pretty big hit. Not only do the kids love to talk about Rudolph (and also get in some great /r/ practice!), but they love the red, pom-pom noses that we get to use. I bought the pom-poms at Michael's last year, and they are surprisingly motivating! Here's how you play the game:

- After each player's talking turn, he/she draws a card from the pile. Their card may have a number on it, or say "take an extra turn" or "lose a turn."
- If the student draws a number card, they add that many "noses" or pom-poms to their bag. If the student draws a "take an extra turn" or "lose a turn" card, then they play the game as follows.

Pretty simple, right?! Now, you may be wondering, "Where did you get those reindeer bags?". Well, a couple of years ago, I was given some holiday gifts in these cute little reindeer bags. You can find them here:

http://www.orientaltrading.com/reindeer-paper-gift-bag-craft-kit-a2-48_1667.fltr

However, since you probably won't have time to order them before Holiday break begins, I wanted to make sure I offered you a fun alternative. I recently tried to re-create the reindeer bags with one of my preschool groups, so I "sketched" some antlers and ears to use. This way you can make your own reindeer bag by using the drawings provided, a little construction paper, a paper sack, and some googly eyes.

I've attached all materials for you to use. Enjoy playing reindeer games!

Antlers and Ears

Reindeer Games (clipart from www.scrappindoodles.com)

Welcome!

Well hello there! I am so eager to begin this blog as writing and sharing about some of the happenings in my speech room is something I have been wanting to do for awhile. I titled this blog "The Gift of Gab" because I truly do see communication as an incredible gift, and I love watching my students expand their communication skills....plus, every SLP just loves a good idiom : ). Here's a little bit about me:

- I've been a speech-language pathologist for 2 years
- I'm originally from Iowa, but I currently reside in Kansas
- I went to the UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN IOWA for my undergraduate and graduate degress (Go Panthers!)
- In my free time (ha!), I love crafting, organizing, reading, and getting in a good workout
- I LOVE cupcakes (hence the need for a good workout)

That's the basics! I hope to begin posting soon on some of the activities you can find in my speech room. Please be patient with me as I am learning how to do all of this! I hope you can find something useful or insightful from here!