Busy?
I've been busy for the last week at work or so, which is not the norm since my caseload is pretty low and I'm only at one school. But the past week has been the perfect storm since report cards are due and a couple of evaluations needed to be done and reports needed to be written and I had volunteered to teach a Kindergarten class about "speech helpers" (that would be the lips, tongue, etc). And that meant planning and preparing for said class. The good news is that my supervisor lent me this awesome plastic mouth model called Mr. Mouth (with a tongue that you can manipulate--too cool!). AND, last Friday at our SLP professional development meeting we had this awesome presentation from a SLP from MN about bringing music into treatment. We even got four of her CDs to use. I can't describe to you how adorable these songs are: they're all language-rich and simple and all about stimulation, and often set to oldies. My personal favorite is "The Carbo Chorus" which is a multi-syllabic masterpiece of "spaghetti's" and "potatoes" set to a military march. It makes you want to dance, listening to these songs. Anyway, to make a long, monotonous story short--I found a couple of songs on her CDs that are about using your tongue tip and also about making labial (lip) sounds. Perfect.

I did the class today and it lasted exactly the hour that I promised and the kids loved it. The music SLP presenter suggested bringing in instruments for kids to help them become more engaged, so I accomplished a little low-tech magic. I found some plastic eggs that were sitting around in my old apartment and then filled them with tiny amounts of dried macaroni. Voila--instant percussion instruments. I was pretty proud of myself and it re-affirmed my suspicion that *nothing* must ever be thrown away. I ran into one of the kids from the class today at the end of the day and he called out: "YOU're the one who taught us about tongues!"

So true, young sparrow, so true.


I would estimate that 90% of the time, the kids call me "Mrs. M___." I know it's the kids who are really familiar with me who nail the Ms.

In other news, spring has finally sprung. Today I skipped the gym and opted to go for a nice leisurely jog/walk around my new neighborhood, which I love more every second I inhabit it. It felt nice to finally feel some sunshine on the face.

Oh, and of course I need to give a food update. Todd and I tried out Kuma's Corner on Saturday. It's a pub that is actually a ridiculously tiny hop and jump from my work place. They won an award recently for offering some of the city's best burgers, and it was well deserved. Kuma's has some notoriety for naming their burger options after heavy metal bands. I ordered the Motorhead, and it was delicious, topped with goat cheese, tzatiki, tomato and lettuce. There is also the Mastadon, the Black Sabbath, the Slayer, etc. And despite the glowering heavy metal names, the server was super friendly and the place was popping with a diverse selection of patrons. Plus, nice beer selection. I'm taking you all there when you come and visit me in Chicago.