Picture exchange organization

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Wow it's been a week.  Last weekend I was out of town visiting my then 91 year old grandmother.  My birthday was the 1st and hers was the 3rd, so Labor day weekend seemed like a good time for a visit.  The visit was lovely. Unfortunately, by my birthday I had come down with a chest cold.  Ah, the joys of working with little children. (Although, to be fair, I'm pretty certain it was a coworker that got me sick.) I am getting better day by day, but I've been fairly low on energy.  I did want to share what I've been working on to make my job easier.

If you follow me on instagram.com you might have seen this picture: http://instagram.com/

My new coworker (not the one that made me sick) showed me how she stored her pictures for picture exchange, and I was inspired!
I pulled out a 3 ring notebook and got to work.  The first thing I needed was pocket page protectors.  These were invented to display baseball cards, but they work well for our purposes.

  

One of the tricks of the trade I learned early on is when I make a picture for communication, I always make more than one, because the odds are good I will need that picture again. I already had some pictures.  But I went ahead and restocked as well as created some pictures that I thought I would need, but didn't have already. 

There are lots of ways to get pictures for picture exchange.  The most common is Boardmaker.  They have a ton of pictures and have been around since the dark ages. (Well at least since I was in grad school.)  But if you read my blog you know I'm a convert to lessonpix.com.  It is a monthly subscription, but I can access it anywhere, including my living room couch, and I don't need to worry about the version of Boardmaker working with the type of computer the school has assigned to me.  If you have lessonpix.com feel free to use my picture exchange starter kit to get you started.

Picture exchange starter kit

By seanaslp at LessonPix.com

After printing them out, I laminated the pictures.  There is a laminating machine in our school, but our campus is huge and the work room is on the opposite side of campus.  Add in the facts I can't always guarantee the machine is working, I live in the desert and don't always desire a hike in the heat, and that I was sick and took a sick day on Tuesday...I decided to use my own personal laminating machine.  I highly recommend getting one.  They are not that expensive, pretty reliable, and can save you a lot of time.

This is the one I own:

Don't forget to order laminating pages:

After you laminate  and cut out your pictures the organization can begin:

My first category is highly motivating toys. 

I have a section for requests for activities,

 and snacks.

In my note book I also keep a pencil pouch to store scissors and velcro:

In the back pocket I store laminated half folders. These are what I use to get started when a kid needs a fast low tech communication system:

I store my notebook in my SLP "go" kit so that I always have it when I need it.  

Having accessible pictures isn't just for picture communication for the non-verbal student. I pull these pictures out for behavior modification, sequencing activities, and following directions. They are fairly sturdy, and if they do fall apart, I always have more. For the SLP working with preschool aged children, having ready access to pictures is a must. 

Welcome Routine and Student Folders

So Tuesday was the first day of school for my school district, and it was fun to wandering into classrooms and seeing all my old students.  I won't start official therapy until next week; the first week of school is usually about finding where all my kids are and getting my caseload together.  I will have 4 special education preschool classes, several preschool speech therapy only kids, and I will probably have a few k-5 as well.

I am also setting up my materials for my speech room routine. I like routines.  It makes my life easier.  It also makes my students' life easier, because they know what to expect and what they are supposed to do, which makes them more independent.

This is my welcome routine, which I made using lessonpix.com:

Welcome Routine

By vcverve at LessonPix.com
 

I use this with all of my students who come to my room.  I review it several times after introducing it my students can either do this independently. Occasionally I have to refer them to the list to get them back on track.

This week I got every thing ready to put student folders together for the new year.

Shipping labels, pocket folders, and a reward chart are the main items.  You can download my reward chart for free teacherspayteachers.com here.

On the first session, my students will pick a color for their folder.  I will then put a shipping label on the folder and either myself or the student will write their name on the label. Afterwards, they get to decorate their folder with stickers.

Inside the folder I keep their data sheets and reward chart.

I keep the folders in a file box I bought from Big Lots many years ago.

I made the dividers with poster board and shipping labels.

Most 4 year old's can recognize the first letter in their name.  After some practice they are able to look for their letter, and then recognize their own folder.  Some of my 3 year olds can also do this, but if they can't, I am able to help them pretty easily without getting out of routine myself. 

It's taken me a few years and adjustments to make this system work for me, and this is the first year I haven't felt the need to tweak it a bit.  It's helped reduce behavior issues, and has helped keep me organized.  Hopefully it will give you some ideas.

Do you have a welcome routine?  What is it?  Leave a comment below.