Xyron Creative Station Review

You guys!  I'm seriously in love with this amazing contraption!

This wonderful product is the Xyron Creative Station!  It not only laminates, but also puts magnetic and sticky backing on paper to make them totally interactive!  I mean, how perfect for little hands that always need to be doing something! 

Let's start with laminating.  I LOVE my standard laminator, but I often don't have even the five minutes that it takes to warm up before I can actually use it.  Enter, the Xyron Creative Station.  This little baby can be used immediately to protect your materials!  Just slide a sheet of paper in, wind the handle, and use the sliding cutter to remove it!

A repositionable adhesive?!  Need I say more?!  I love that I can use the same materials over and over again with this additional cartridge!

And finally, the magnetic option.  I may love this one most of all!  I recently grabbed a few cookie sheet trays at the dollar store so I could try this out with a new product that I made, (Cookie Tray Activities for Early Childhood: Back to School Edition).  The magnetic side is surprisingly strong and the lamination on the front doesn't pull up at all even when I cut out the individual pieces to place on the tray! 

The pros:

* This small machine (slightly bigger than my standard laminator) can laminate, add sticky backing to a sheet of paper, and/or add magnetic backing to a sheet of paper!  Oh the possibilities!

* It's quick and easy to use.  Just roll a page right through it!

* The cartridges easily slide in and out so you can use whichever one suits your needs!

The cons: 

* Umm... nothing?  The Xyron Creative Station is a seriously great machine that I'll be using time and time again!

You can find the Xyron Creative Station at a bunch of local retailers.

You can find a video about the Xyron Creative Station HERE!



Disclaimer: This product was provided to me for review.  No other compensation was provided.  The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

{App Review} Endless Alphabet

This must be the week for wonderful apps!  I have yet another app review to share with you!  "Endless Alphabet" by Originator, Inc. is an interactive educational app that is great for younger kids, older kids, or as a fun, reinforcing app for any child!

This app includes 100 words to spell!  Students can choose any word that they'd like!

First, monsters run in and scatter all of the letters.

Then, as the letters are dragged back to their correct place, they each say their sound (over and over) as they go!  This is an AWESOME way to work on letter sounds!

Hooray, all of the letters are back where they belong!

Once all of the letters have returned, the word is defined.  

What a great way to work on vocabulary, since the definition is given verbally and a picture of the definition is also included!

I can tell you that this app is definitely kid-approved!  My 3-year-old stole my iPad and played this app for almost an hour before I even got a chance to explore it!

You can find this fantastic app for $8.99 HERE!


Disclaimer: This app was given to me for review.  No other compensation was provided.  The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

{App Review} Social Detective Intermediate

You know I LOVE anything Social Thinking, so I am very happy to share an awesome new app with you called, "Social Detective Intermediate"!

This app is FABULOUS!  I have a group of rather rambunctious energetic spirited 2nd graders and this app has held their attention throughout multiple sessions over the last few weeks as I have been checking out this app!

So what is included in this app?  Each social situation includes a video, which is awesome for engaging students!

Following the video, students must answer a few questions about the social situation.  First, they must make a smart guess.  This is basically like inferring information about "expected behaviors".

Students must also determine emotions within the app.

Additionally, students must make guesses as to what the people are thinking in the videos.

This app really gets at all of the common social skill areas that I feel I work on with my students!

This app is so easy to use!

Pros:
* The videos are incredibly engaging, even for students who sometimes have difficulty with attending, in my opinion.
* Each video targets basic social skills and is super easy to use.
* Videos can be replayed, so you can stop and start them as needed.
* There are a bunch of videos, so you can definitely use this app session after session after session.

Cons:
* I wish there was a way to go back to previous videos because sometimes my students would quickly push buttons instead of having conversations about why they were choosing their answers.

This app is currently $19.99 and you can find it HERE!  In my opinion, this is a WONDERFUL app for anyone who teaches social skills!

Disclaimer: This app was given to me for review.  No other compensation was provided.  The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

My Gingerbread Color Book {FREEBIE}

This time of year, who has time to prep?!?!  Here's a simple, fun, no-prep, free holiday activity for you!

"My Gingerbread Color Book {FREEBIE}" includes 10 half sheets that can be used to teach/reinforce colors, requesting, syntax, etc.

Simply print one set of books for each student.  Cut the pages in half on the dashed line, stack in numerical order, and staple together.  Then, read the sentences with your students and have them color the gingerbread men to match the sentences.  Students can work on syntax with the repetitive sentences, request various crayons to color the gingerbread men, etc.

You can find this versatile and easy to use activity HERE!

(FREEBIE) No Prep Find and Fix Syntax Activities for Halloween

Happy (almost) Halloween!  This is one of my favorite times of the year!

I have a lot of students working on syntax skills, which is why I have added a free sample of one of my go-to products to my TpT store!

 "No Prep Find and Fix Syntax Activities for Halloween" includes 5 no-prep (just print!) sheets that can be used during therapy sessions or can be provided as homework!  

After reading the sentence, students must determine if the sentence makes sense or not.  Then, they fill in the thumbs up if the sentence does make sense and the thumbs down if the sentence does not make sense.  Students can then fix any sentences for which they have colored in the thumbs down.

You can snatch this not-so-scary treat at my TpT store!

*FREEBIE* Cut and Glue Articulation Sampler for Fall

I have a feeling that this is going to be a very busy school year, which is why I LOVE minimal prep activities that are interactive!  

Today, I have a "Cut and Glue Articulation Sampler for Fall" to share with you.  This product is a selection of a larger activity, "Cut and Glue Articulation for Fall".  This product includes pages for /p/, /b/, /t/, and /d/ in the initial and final positions of words.  (The entire product includes worksheets for all sounds in the initial and final positions, as well as the vocalic /r/, /l/-blends, /r/-blends, and /s/-blends!)

Simply have your students color and cut out the apple pictures on the left side of the page.  Then, they can glue the apples on and around the tree!  (Students can even take their picture home for additional practice!)

You can grab this activity HERE!

My Community Helpers Book: Emergent Reader Freebie

My newest product, "My Community Helpers Book: Emergent Reader Freebie", can be used as an emergent reader or it can be used to target vocabulary skills!

This resource includes 10 half sheets that each include a community helper.  Students can dot or color every picture!  Then, just cut the pages apart, stack them, and staple them together to create a small book!

You can find this FREE activity HERE!