BACK TO SCHOOL BLOG HOP! Trading in the boogie board for a notebook–Adjusting to the back to school transition (and a few healthy school lunch ideas too!)

Welcome to the Back to School SLP Blog Hop!

I’m so excited to join some other fabulous SLP bloggers in my first “blog hop.”  You will get the chance to collect great back to school ideas for SLP’s, win prizes and get freebies by hopping around to 17 amazing blogs! Use the Linky Tools at the bottom of this post to visit each of the 17 blogs, collect some fantastic ideas, and grab all the clues!

Are you heading back to the classroom yet?  Depending on where you live, you may already be back! If you have a few more weeks of freedom like me, enjoy them while they last!  As a speech pathologist working in schools, the adjustment back to the old school routine requires me to reorganize my thoughts, my daily pace, my overall mindset.  I always put myself in the shoes of my students when the new school year begins.  If I (a pretty organized person) find it a little tricky to readjust, I can only imagine how challenging it must be for many of my students!  So many of them need to strengthen those all-important EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING skills—and back to school transitions definitely present a true challenge!

Applying good Executive Function skills when faced with a change (like adjusting back into the school routine) can make it so much easier to get back into the swing of things! Did you ever think about what goes into the daily functioning of a school-age child and the adjustments they must make once summertime turns into school time?   I created this chart to break things down. It includes some of the key areas of executive functioning.  I have compared how these areas are often carried out during the summer break -vs- during the school year. It provides a good “snapshot”  of the summer to school transition and contrasts the ways kids function during these opposing times of the year.

Note: The Educational Services Dept. at Rush Neurobehavioral Center developed a back-to-school transition plan using Executive Functions as a guide. The form that I created below was modeled using this site as a reference.

Applying executive function skills like organizing materials and setting up a time management system will contribute to a positive attitude toward school.   Sometimes a little helpful guidance is needed in getting this accomplished!  This is where the speech-language pathologist can help make a difference.  As SLP’s, we are aware of various tips and strategies that will help students improve time management, organization of space and materials, planning, and setting goals.

I have made those strategies into a fun and FREE board game that can be used in the beginning of the school year (or any time you need to address executive functioning strategies with your students).

As a “thank you” for participating, this activity will be free for a limited time—during the blog hop this week only—so grab it while you can!  I created this activity with my middle and high school students in mind, but the content is also appropriate for use with older elementary kiddos as well.  I hope it helps guide your students out of the pool or off the beach and back into the classroom this school year!  This FREEBIE is available in my TpT store.

To play: The SLP reads the 36 Executive Functioning strategy cards to the students as they take turns answering questions/listening to tips related to preparation, time management, organization, and good listening strategies that will help get them centered and focused for the new school year! After answering a question, players roll a number cube and move a token around the game board collecting all 7 school items. (Make 3-4 copies of the school item cards on pg. 7 before playing) The first to collect all 7 items is the winner. **Collect only one color backpack.  If you land on a backpack that someone else has already claimed, you lose one turn!  Good Luck and Welcome Back—here’s to another great year ahead!!!!

IT’S TIME TO MAKE THE LUNCHES (and apply good executive functioning!!)

There are so many executive functioning skills put into practice when navigating the school lunchroom scene! Time management, organization, initiating conversation….. I could go on forever.  Do your students bring lunch or buy lunch?   While the lunchroom menu has somewhat improved in many school districts across the country, I  usually opt to pack a healthy lunch for my own kiddo.  Brown bagging is often healthier, more cost-effective, and will keep students out of the long cafeteria lines so they can focus on spending a few moments properly refueling before heading off to the rest of their busy school day. Need some ideas for making lunch delicious and nutritious?  Here are a few favorites in my house. And remember to let your kids take part in the process!  It will help build their executive function skills and it’s an important life skill as well!

1-Turkey Tortilla Wrap —you can check it out step-by-step here!!     

         

2- The “ABJ Sandwich” In our house, the Almond Butter and Jelly Sandwich rules!!

I introduced my son to almond butter when he was very young. (One of the main reasons not to give peanut butter to your children until they are older is to prevent them from developing a peanut allergy). Almonds produce the mildest reaction of all the tree nut allergies.  Plus I learned that almonds/ almond butter was significantly better for you compared to peanut butter.  I started putting almond butter on apples, bananas, toast, and crackers. The almond butter “stuck” with us as the favorite nut spread in our house.

3- Snow Pea Salad Snow peas are high in vitamin C and also contain vitamins A and K.   They are a quick, delicious idea for packing in the school lunchbox. Simply blanche your snow peas and place them in a zip lock bag.  To jazz it up, add tomatoes, cubed cheese, etc. and a light dressing.

I discovered this one when my son was in preschool.  I wanted to give him cut up apples without having to add lemon juice to avoid them browning. (apples just don’t taste right with lemon juice on them).  So cut, cube or slice the apple however you like.  Throw the apples in a zip lock bag and then add a generous sprinkle of ground cinnamon.  Zip up the bag and shake, coating all the apples.  Done!  They will never notice the slight browning since the apples are covered in cinnamon… and the school cafeteria will smell like apple pie!  As a substitute for pie crust, pack a few graham crackers to accompany the apples.

5-Dried Fruit and Nuts This is so quick and simple, yet full of everything necessary to sustain your child’s energy.  Remember, lunch doesn’t always have to be a sandwich–there are plenty of other great options and substitutes. Of course, if your child has a nut allergy, or has a nut-free cafeteria, this one may be off-limits!!

      

5 WINNERS will receive a goodie basket of:  TpT Products

1 GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive the following in addition to the TpT products bundle:

• TpT Gift Card  for  $50
• 3 awesome apps from the following developers: Virtual Speech Center, Little Bee Speech and LocoMotive Labs  

The rules of the contest are simple:

• You must decode a secret message
• In order to complete this task,  you will need to visit each of the 17 blogs and find the OWL CLUE
• The OWL CLUE will include one word that is part of the code.
• When you enter the contest through  RAFFLECOPTER on any one of the participating blogs listed below, you will be asked to type in the secret code. Have fun and enjoy blog hopping with us! The contest will run from: Sunday, August 11th –  Saturday, August 17th

Enjoy reading through the blogs, downloading the freebies, and participating in our Blog Hop! Good luck everyone!

HERE’S MY SECRET WORD:

And before you enter this awesome and amazing giveaway, I just wanted to share with you all the ways that you can find me.  I’d love for you to stop by to say “hi,”  leave a comment, or share a fun and kid-friendly recipe idea (and if it’s school-friendly, all the better!)

Find SpeechSnacks on:

• FACEBOOK,

• TeachersPayTeachers,

• TWITTER,

• BLOGLOVIN’ and

• PINTEREST

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