On a typical weekend, now that I am a grad school grandma, one of my favorite routines is my Saturday trip to Target. I will go even if I have nothing specific to get and usually cannot get out of there without spending $50. Kind of a problem. But you can never have enough seasonally themed dishtowels or under $10 DVDs right? Last weekend, however, my shopping list was a little different than usual. Because one of my clinical placements this semester is in the Mama Lere Hearing School, I am constantly planning preschool-aged activities that have to be fun yet completely goal-focused every step of the way. That means a lot of manipulatives, toys, and games have to be redesigned for the purpose of targeting “wh” questions, final consonant deletion, correct “th” production, etc.
Vanderbilt’s Bill Wilkerson Center, which is home to the Mama Lere School, is wonderful and has closets full of such toys and games; however, the students don’t exactly get priority. We are not allowed to take materials off of the floor and we cannot get into the clinic on the weekends, which makes planning a challenge. Also, you never know if “What’s Inside Ned’s Head?!,” the game you had chosen to use for therapy to target adjectives, categorical sorting, and object identification, will be snagged up by another clinician right before your session is supposed to begin.
SOOO…on my last trip to Target I decided to peruse the toy aisle. Luckily, they have some inexpensive items, (the dollar books are my personal favorite), that will work for therapy. Though this shopping excursion was not nearly as exciting as those that result in a cart filled with new running clothes, make-up, and random craft/school supplies, these items will certainly come in handy the next time another clinician runs off with “Guess Who?” right when I need it!
I can't even handle how exciting my life is these days...
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