Are you ready for April? We are having temperatures in the mid 70s to 80s, so it's been very pleasant. There's also been some hail along with the spring storms, though. Yep, Texas weather is very unpredictable.

If you want to be more planned, check out the products we have for you for April! First up is Informative Reader's Theaters. Each set comes with scripts and an activity.
Plants and Rocks, $5 for 70+ pages
April Fool's Day, $3 for 20+ pages
Weather & Seasons, $7 for 80+ pages
Easter, $3 for 20+ pages
Earth Day, $3 for 20+ pages

Work on ABC Order with some freebies, and then hit asking questions with some Ask Away Activities:
Earth Day ABC Order {Freebie}
What a Wonderful World Ask Away, $3, 5 themes
Insect ABC Order {Freebie}
ABC Order for Spring {Freebie}
Swinging into Spring Ask Away, $5, 6 themes

Learn facts & opinions about some spring cuties! Each unit includes sorting cards and activities.
Precious Pandas, $3
My Little Chickadees, $5
Really Remarkable Rabbits, $3
Buzzy Bees, $3

Thanks for taking a look, and happy April!
My most bestest sister, Amy, gave me a gift certificate to The Container Store for Christmas. Over Spring Break, I put it to good use with the PLS-5 manipulatives.
Our district got the upgrade manipulatives, and a few of mine had been borrowed through the years. I can usually substitute something if I'm in the therapy room, but not when I'm traveling to daycares. Kelly from Speech2u gave me a good start by hosting a 31 Bags party for her friend, Kristin. I was impressed by how much Kelly could fit in a bag and decided to give it a try.
I was excited to find out that the PLS-5 picture manual can fit into the organizing utility tote AND the top can still zip! I usually keep my testing manuals in a file drawer, but this will be great for traveling!
 The bear and pitcher went into the blue box that Pearson sent.
 Books on the side.
Manipulatives in plastic, see-through containers and neatly stacked. There is even room for a ball and duck AND the top still zips!
 The crayons fit perfectly in a side pocket, along with the cups and cars.
The bag sits zipped up under my desk, ready to pull out for testing or to scoop up for testing on the go! Thanks, Kelly and Kristin!

I also got a few more things from IKEA, which I promptly added into my SLP Thematic Organizer:
Some fruits and veggies for lessons, a darling tea party for a young one, and cups for the tea party and PLS-5 manipulatives.
And Amy gave me two more gifts. It may look like I'm serving chips and queso in the speech room, but that would go against the standards of Food of Minimal Nutrition Value Act. If you saw us at TSHA, you know what they're for. If you didn't, stay tuned!


Happy Friday!

From Amy:
#1 We are still loving our fairy tales this week.   A Unit Inspired by Goldilocks & the 3 Bears is the newest item in our store.

#2  I know I have confessed my love of "Dancing With the Stars" before.   So, I am very excited to have tickets in June to the Move Live on Tour.   It features a brother and sister act, otherwise known as Julianne and Derek Hough.    Did I mention I will be on summer vacation when I see this dance duo live and in person?    

#3 Bluebonnet Season in Bloom
I shared "The Legend of the Bluebonnet" with students this week.   The sweeties loved it.   It is one of my favorite Tomie dePaola books.   Thank you Lady Bird Johnson for encouraging Texans to beautify our big state.   It is amazing her legacy brightens the days of so many each spring.







We decided to make a cowboy version of our Superhero Spatial Concepts just for Texas teachers and SLPs and are happy to introduce Travelin' Through Texas: A Texas-Themed Concepts Unit!


This unit include 50+ pages total, including:

* Cover page
* Where in Texas? - cards with pictures and spatial/comparative concept words, pictures without words, and words only. Duplicate for memory games.
* Cowboy Concepts - pretend to be a cowboy/cowgirl with these direction cards
* Texas Write the Room - 14 pictures and a B&W recording page
* Where is the Cowboy? - B&W recording page with a word bank
* Thank You and Credit pages

Have you ever found that, when working with memory games in groups, the students never pick the cards with their target? I've changed up the way I play memory games to control that more. First - I usually don't use matching cards. GASP! What am I up to? As I've learned more about literacy, I have realized that I need to provide more written support. At the beginning of the session, I pass out the cards according to goal. For example, if a student working on blend reduction might get "front" and "through"; a student working on opposites would get "far" and "near"; and a student working on fluency would get "up" and "out". The students hold the cards in their hand and look at the pictures. The matching set, either the pictures without words or the words only are laid face-down on the table. That way, the students are looking for the words with their particular objective.

Here are some preview pages. First up are pictures with words.
Texas shapes with words only.

Cowboy Concept cards for getting in some movement and following directions.
Write the Room cards.
Travelin' Through Texas is $8 at our store, All Y'all Need. Thanks for taking a look!


From Lisa:
Apparently, It's been all play and no work during my Spring Break. Better late than never!

#1: New products

My School Memory Book Expander Set #1 - I finally finished and posted the first expander set that goes with our School Memory Book. I can't believe there are only 10 more weeks of school left! Head on over to our TpT store to check it out.

#2: March Madness 

I absolutely LOVE basketball. Growing up in a family full of coaches, I grew up in the gym. March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year. There are always incredible, excited, unexpected games and stories during the tournament. I love it! 

#3: Catching up on my favorite TV shows over Spring Break

Downton Abbey and Once Upon A Time 





















From Amy:

#1   Snow White on TpT
I created our unit inspired by the fairy tale Snow White.   Y'all know we our love fairy tales.    So, look for more fairy tale units from us very soon.



#2  Return of Dancing with the Stars
I am happy "Dancing with the Stars" has returned to Monday nights.     I totally have two left feet, so I cannot imagine having to remember a dance routine and execute the dance.


#3   TpT Conference
We are super excited to be going to the TpT Conference this summer.     Can I just say all of the sessions look awesome?    It sure looks like TpT knows how to throw a party.     We hope to meet y'all at THE Conference of the Summer.

From Amy:
#1  
Laura and I have been on Spring Break this week.   Yippee!   It has been a wonderful week.    Lisa will be on Spring Break today about 3:15.   

#2  
Eating out at lunch time!    It is so much fun.   I guess because lunch out only happens on a school break.    Here is one my favorite Austin eating establishments.    Stop at Foodheads in Austin if you are in the neighborhood during breakfast and lunch time.

#3

Ok, confession.   I am not a huge late-night-TV-program watcher.    But I have really enjoyed Jimmy Kimmel's Austin Week.     On Monday Jimmy cowboy upped.    It is SXSW Week in Austin.   There was an absolutely horrible accident at SXSW.   My prayers to the families of those killed and/or injured.   My prayers also to Police Chief Art Acevedo and his first responders to keep Austin weird and safe during this busy week.

From Laura:
#1 - Happy Pi Day! We were in Austin yesterday and saw a bunch of planes and numbers in the sky. Turns out, skywriters were doing 527 digits of pi - #PiInTheSky - a day early for SXSW! Picture courtesy of Forbes.
#2 - I. Hate. Allergies. Thank goodness for nasal spray!
#3 - I'm a little addicted to Origami Owl, and their spring collection might include some really cute, fun daisies! Too bad I'll be back in school on March 17, the official announcement date, but it will give me something to look forward to after school!


AL (Amy and Laura) are on spring break this week and enjoying a very nice 75-degree day! Don't be jealous - our predicted high tomorrow is 53 :( Meanwhile, Lisa gets to gloat at us next week during her spring break. With spring fever starting, we thought we would round up some activities for you!
First up, who's ready for a little March Madness? Anyone trying to win the $1 billion? I used to be all into the NCAA Tournament, but not as much anymore. But I think I could just make guesses and have a chance after last year's surprises! For basketball fans, we have a Basketball ABC Order {FREEBIE}! Just like our FB page and download! This is great in the classroom and also for SLPs co-treating with OTs - it gets in vocabulary and fine-motor!

Next is Spring: Write and Say the Room, $2.50. This also incorporates seasonal vocabulary and artic with movement.

If you're ready to hit the outdoors, Park Place is the perfect unit! For $5, you get book suggestions and activities for categorizing, prepositions, and rhyming. Each activity has a B& take-home page.

Swinging into Spring, $5, is an Ask Away Activity that goes great with Guess Who? templates, and it can also be used in groups!

We have another forever {FREEBIE}, St. Patrick's ABC Order.

And St. Patrick's Day Informative Reader's Theater, $3,  is perfect for combining artic, turn-taking, literacy, information, language, and fluency all in one pack!

Thanks for taking a look, and wishing warm spring thoughts to everyone!
From Amy:
#1   I am late to share, but I wanted to share my absolute, hands-down, super-duper favoritest purchase at the last TpT Sale.

It is from Ramona Recommends.   Her packet of inspiring quotes are adorable!     I remember from a past quote of Dr. Phil: "it takes 1,000 attaboys to counteract a really bad message".     I am all about encouraging my sweeties.     These posters rock!

When I read that as a kid Courtney (aka Miss Ramona Recommends) liked to look around her classroom and read the quotes.   And that it made her happy when someone she admired said something she believed…..W-o-W!  

I, too,  remember reading quotes that teachers posted around the room.   Ok, I am old so they might have been written in yellow chalk on a green chalkboard.     But, I have memories of reading quotes and being impressed and challenged.    I remember thinking how cool my teacher was for sharing these quotes.    Because sometimes it felt like someone was saying something I never thought about or sometimes the quote affirmed what I already knew.

See, I cannot stop talking about my favorite purchase!


Here is one of my favorites from the pack.   But it is only a teaser.   Check out the packet for yourself to see how the quote is finished.

And do not miss


#2    Shoe Shopping
So, I do not have as many shoes as Lisa.    She has the most darling shoe collection ever.    But I am not shoeless.   I do not have any more room in my closet for shoes.    But I really needed these shoes, right?    They are FitFlops and they are gold!    Gold shoes, my, my!   Gold shoes, must buy!

#3   Happy Spring Break, friends!
Laura and I will be on Spring Break beginning about 3:15 today.     Sorry to say that Lisa must continue to work.   Our Spring Breaks are not compatible this year.   But, be safe and have fun if you are Spring Breaking with us.


From Laura:
#1 - 1sparklleslp. Have you read her blog? Sparklle, as I call her, never fails to brighten my week with her posts and Instagram photos.
#2 - Paczki. On Monday, my licensed assistant from Detroit asked if we had any "punchkey" in Central Texas. I had never even heard that word before. Her birthday was on March 4, Fat Tuesday. I went to get her a king cake from a bakery and saw signs for "paczki". The accompanying picture looked like "punchkey", and sure enough, it was! Do these look like the real thing?
And she was not exaggerating about the love for paczki in Detroit!

#3 - My new favorite singer, Adele Nazeem. She can totally sing a Wicked version of Let It Go!
#4 - My wonderful husband is a middle-school counselor. Registration for 5th-graders moving to 6th grade is very soon, so he made this awesome video!

With just a short time to go before Spring Break - woo hoo! - there were a LOT of things to cram in. My licensed assistant, Alison, focused on Reading Across America with some Dr. Seuss books last week, we were at TSHA on Thursday and Friday, this Monday and Tuesday focused on Mardi Gras, and the last part of the week on Texas Public Schools Week with state symbols. Whew!
With Wocket in My Pocket, Alison had the students raise their paper pockets when they heard nonsense words. It was great for rhyming and artic.

We brought Mardi Gras Merriment to Central Texas! From this pack, students made mini-books and used crayons to highlight vocabulary and artic words. It made for a great take-home page, too!
And of course, Texas has its own week. From Texas Two Step, students worked on categorizing 25 state symbols to address language, artic and fluency.
Spring Forward is coming up, and I'm so glad it's during Spring Break!
Need a chuckle? One of Lisa's Kg Kiddos told her that her eyes weren't opening right. She told him she didn't use eyeliner today. His response? "I don't think that's a good look for you!"

If you are in Texas and work with a diagnostician, this is Educational Diagnostician Week! We have some subway art just for diagnosticians at All Y'all Need. 3 prints for $1.




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