Happy Birthday!

Today is the official one year mark of Speech Lady Liz. 

I'm cognizant enough to tell all of you that I never thought I would last this long.  I am the queen of starting something and never finishing.  It's an awful characteristic that I work on daily to change. That being said there is only one reason as to why I've done this blogging thing for this long and plan to continue....wait for it, wait for it (How I Met Your Mother reference there) it's you all. 

We SLPs have one of the most wonderful communities out there. My CF year was let's just say stressful.  I had not a single material in my hands on my first day and I had to come up with things fast.  I would not wish that situation on anyone, so that's why I do this.  I love lesson planning.  It's a weird guilty pleasure that I have.  On work nights when I'm at home, I can pretty much tell you that I'm watching awful reality television, pinteresting, drinking wine and coming up with ideas to use in therapy.  If you've ever seen a post with one too many grammatical errors it's probably because the wine was more a priority then anything else and I got a little "publish" happy. 

Looking back over the year and what I have published so far, I strive to create more ideas that are multi-purpose and are there to target a range of goals your students may have. I want to create a site that is easy to navigate and provides you all with free materials. I have to make this stuff for my students anyways, so why wouldn't I share my goods?!?

Needless to say, yet important for me to say is that I appreciate all of you.  You all are so supportive, encouraging, inquisitive and just plain old wonderful.  So in honor of Speech Lady Liz's birthday, here are the most looked at posts over the past year.  Enjoy and THANK YOU!

Who the heck needs an iPad when you have styrofoam cups and beans?!

All time favorite book with a language lesson plan and articulation lesson plan.

A personal favorite...maybe it's the title of the post that makes me happy, or the plethora of transportation ideas. 

Sometimes I feel like this Very Hungry Caterpillar

And my all time personal favorite and one that I got the most wonderful comments and emails about...

Make sure to leave comments.  I look at all of them and truely enjoy seeing what you have to say.  Thanks for sticking with me this past year and here's to many more years to come!

My New Job

So I've gotten email from people that are telling me I've been mysterious about my new job.  Trust me, that was not my intention.  I'm extremely proud of the place I work and just wanted to get settled in before I blasted it all over Speech Lady Liz. 

In advance thanks for being patient as I've figured my life out and gotten settled in this new job.  It's different than what I've been used to and has taken a little adjusting.  I work at a place called Black Bear Academy in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.  It's a pre-school owned by an SLP who is extremely passionate about providing the best services for all her students.  So let me give you some basics on ol' Black Bear.  Black Bear is a pre-school with 2 different tracks.  A neuro-typical pre-school (taught by early childhood educators) and a therapeutic pre-school (taught by SLPs).  The facility is top of the line and coming from the public schools it's amazing to me the kind of materials that are now at my fingertips. I've always loved working with the little one's and here I really get to know each child.  If you ask any of my old co-workers they will tell you that I used to cry and blubber about how I wish I had more time with each child to work on all their goals.  When you're in the public schools and have 60+ kids on your caseload it is physically impossible to be able to do that.  In the therapeutic classes, Black Bear has a 3:1 student to teacher ratio (yes, I allow all of you to be super jealous right now).  I see some kids for 7-8 hours a week. Talk about seeing improvement.  There is consistency and you truly get to know the child.  Basically everything I always wanted in the public schools, but realized was physically impossible to achieve.  I'm still figuring out my role and how I can continue to provide you all with resources and materials that will fit all of your caseloads.  I will do my best, but bare with me.  My dad always says that when he doesn't hear from his children it usually means that everything is going well, so take this recent absence in posts as a sign that Speech Lady Liz is happy and will be back in full swing soon.  Make sure to check out the Black Bear website.  I still have some work to do, but I might have already had my hand in it. :)

If you would have told me that I would be blogging and organizing websites last year I would have laughed in your face....I guess the joke is on me!

Also, if you live in the Chicago area and have any questions about Black Bear, please email me and I would love to give you more information.

Yay to new jobs and new experiences!