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Allison Fors, Inc.

Speech Therapy Tools for SLPs and Educators

The Best Preschool Language App EVER

my playhome app preschool speech therapy

I love love love working on preschool language and the app that I find myself continually coming back to time and time again with my students no matter their interests is called “My PlayHome.” It is perfect for speech therapy and developing language skills.  Discover why I love it and how I use it!

This app is essentially a digital version of a dollhouse! It is 100% worth the $3.99 price. If I were to spend money on only one app for the preschool population, this would be it! There are also STORE, SCHOOL, HOSPITAL versions, which are just as functional! There is a free “lite” version of the house to try out.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE MY PLAYHOME APP HERE!
myplayhome app speech therapyThese apps are incredibly interactive – everything does something!
Touch the oven door and it opens, hold the bubbles up to a person’s mouth and they will blow them, put someone on the trampoline and they will jump, or water the garden and watch carrots grow. It’s engaging and motivating! There are countless things to explore and do, allowing for fantastic language opportunities. 

I love using dollhouses in therapy because of how functional and versatile they are – you can easily target many goals in a fun way! This app is an excellent solution if you don’t have a dollhouse, are a traveling therapist, or are trying to pare down your materials closet. 

Read a breakdown of how I use the “My PlayHome” app in speech therapy for language development:

TURN TAKING
Practice the social skill of taking turns. Since this is an app, I like to set the boundaries and expectations from the beginning that we are taking turns playing with the app. This ensures that the child doesn’t take the device and ignore you while playing. Not only does this allow for working on taking turns, requesting turns, working on “my” and “your” pronouns, but gives you opportunities to have control to ask questions and work on the specific goals you have planned.

REQUESTING
This is a very enticing app – kids can’t wait to touch everything and discover what will happen. Use this to your advantage to have the child make requests via non-verbal communication (signs, pointing) or verbal communication (single word, complete sentence) depending on their ability.

VOCABULARY
Work on functional vocabulary, for example, food, rooms of the house, household items, etc.

RECEPTIVE IDENTIFICATION
Target identifying nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, descriptors and so much more! “Where is the dog?” “Who is eating?” “Where is the small bed?”

WH QUESTIONS
Work on “who” “what” “when” “where” “why” and “how” questions. 

NOUNS/PRONOUNS
Work on boy/girl, he/she/they, his/hers/theirs with the people. The app includes various children, parents, and grandparents. You can work on this expressively, “Whose chair is it?” or receptively, “Give her the chair.” I typically introduce these concepts with real people or real pictures, but this is a fun way to generalize and begin using nouns and pronouns in sentences and in conversation.

PREPOSITIONS
Work on spatial concepts such as, in/out, on/off, inside/outside, on/under, etc. Again, I like to introduce these concepts with tangible items, but the app is a great way to generalize and test knowledge of concepts. 

playhouse speech therapy

You can download this image for free – the PDF includes my other top favorite toys and goals to target with them!

CATEGORIES
Have the child identify the category or list items in a category. Example categories: family members, rooms of the house, utensils, furniture, food items, clothing, pets.

ASSOCIATIONS
Work on which things go together! You can present the child with 2 or 3 items from the app and have them tell you why they go together or select the 2 that go together. You can also provide them with an object and have them tell you something that goes with it.

OBJECT FUNCTION
“What is a ___ for?” Talk about household items and their uses.

VERBS & VERB TENSES
Playhouses are great for action words. Have the dolls “walk”, “knock”, or “wake up”. Then work on present progressive verbs (walking) and past tense verbs (walked).

MEAN LENGTH UTTERANCES
Incorporate expanding language while playing by modeling an additional 1-2 words based on what the child says. For example, if the child says “ball”, you can model “red ball” or “2 balls” or “kick ball” or “I see the ball.” 

SEQUENCING
There are multiple aspects of sequencing you can target. You can have the child following directions with sequencing terms (first/next/last). You can sequence home routines (how to brush teeth). And you can even work on higher-level sequencing by telling a story or demonstrating actions with the people and having the child retell or tell what happened in the correct order. 

FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS
Provide directions for your students to follow. These can be basic 1-step directions “give the baby a bath” or more complex directions “put the boy on the bed and then close the door”. Incorporate descriptors, pronouns, prepositions, and temporal concepts (“Before you put the dad in the car, put the baby in the car.”)

NEGATION
Negation can be a tricky concept to teach and learn! Examples of negatives include: no, not, never, none, no one, nothing, don’t, can’t, won’t. “Which girl is not sleeping?”

My PlayHome Trick!

Did you know you can sync and mirror this app on 2 devices?

  1. Open the app on both devices
  2. Press the blue play button that appears on the home screen
  3. Press the green checkmark on the other device

The devices are now synced and will mirror each other! You must be connected to WiFi. Watch a video below of how to connect the devices:

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A post shared by Allison Fors | Speech Therapy (@speech.allisonfors)

Do you use the “My PlayHome” app with your students? How else do you use it?


You may be interested in these other posts about apps:
Top 5 iPad Apps for Speech Therapy
8 of the Most Comprehensive Social Skills Apps

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my playhome app preschool language

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  • PreschoolMustHavesSpeechTherapyPreschool Must-Haves for Speech Therapy
  • social skills apps8 of the Most Comprehensive Social Skills Apps
  • Top 5 iPad Apps for Speech Therapy SessionsTop 5 iPad Apps for Speech Therapy Sessions
my playhome app preschool language

February 20, 2020 allisonfors Leave a Comment Filed Under: Apps, Preschool, Therapy Ideas

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Hi, I'm Allison! A speech & language resource author who loves the creative process of making therapy materials and clipart, as well as connecting with educators world wide. Learn more about me here! Read More…

The best selling, most wish-listed “speech devel The best selling, most wish-listed “speech development handout” resources are on sale, PLUS all proceeds during the sale will be donated to @smiletrain - Win-win!

My entire TpT store is 25% off Feb 7-8 with code: FEBSALE23

Now is a great time if been on the fence about purchasing any of the handouts! Save and know your purchase is going towards a great nonprofit for cleft care. 

Smile Train is an international children’s charity. They provide access to a full range of cleft treatment services - surgeries, speech therapy, nutrition programs, orthodontic and dental care, and more.

Links in stories // www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Allison-Fors/Category/-Speech-Development-502498
So what is /r/? It is the trilled “r” that occ So what is /r/? It is the trilled “r” that occurs in Spanish and other languages around the world!

Did you know this?

>> Download this FREE place-manner-voice chart!

🔗 bit.ly/freeIPAchart
Resurfacing this old post because it’s THAT impo Resurfacing this old post because it’s THAT important! 👇👇👇

When teaching phonemic awareness, DON’T add add a schwa to the end of the sound! For example, the first sound in “feet” is /f/ not /fʌ/. Not adding a trailing “uhhh” sound is critical because when a child is learning to blend and segment words to read, they will pronounce the word “fuheetuh.”

It feels natural to add a schwa to the end of a consonant...but don’t dooo it!

This YouTube video shows how all English sounds are produced ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiqUVnXExTQ&ab_channel=SallyCole

Tag an educator or parent 👇

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Pet Vet or Doctor Kit • This is a favorite toy f Pet Vet or Doctor Kit • This is a favorite toy for language delays because it’s FUNCTIONAL. Use it to teach how to express feelings and pains - “I feel hot”, “I am tired”, “It hurts here”, etc. Use it to find solutions to problems and learn how all the items help when you are hurt or sick. 

What are your favorite things to target using a doctor kit?

Save the post and tag a friend!

#earlychildhoodeeducator #playtolearn #openendedplay #speechtherapy #earlyintervention #pediatricslp
My go-to, can’t-live-without, best bang-for-your My go-to, can’t-live-without, best bang-for-your-buck toys with younger kids! 

What’s your go-to?👇🏻

All images available in my “Play Room” clipart set.

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Your time is valuable and limited, so all these resources are no prep, just print-and-go. No cutting, laminating, or assembling is necessary!

I am excited for you to be able to use these for streamlining therapy planning and sending them home for homework.

Most caseloads are diverse, so there are a wide variety of skills included.

I wanted to bring you fresh materials at a great price that you could download and use today >> allisonfors.com/print-and-go-bundle/

Comment below if you want me to message you the link!

#speechtherapy #elementaryslp #preschoolslp #speechtherapyideas #slpa #speechtherapist #speechpathology

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