Death and Destruction (a.k.a. a Valentine for the boys)

Getting anything Valentine themed for a boy is a chore.  I know it’s hopelessly sexist to look at all the lace, pink and glitter and think, “Nope.  They won’t go for it.”  But I see the kids for such a short amount of time, I can’t afford “talking into it” time nor do I really want to.  So this Valentine’s Day, I’m going with a more aggressive speech language activity.

Materials:

Webber artic worksheets (or any photocopied cards or worksheet)

“Void” stamp and/or mini hand crank shredder (shredder is the coolest)

In Action:

Do your worksheet as usual.  Since we were gearing up for excitement, I felt like I could get away with rote drill.  We did a Webber sheet–forward, then backward, then columns down, then columns up.  Then I pulled out my self inking, bright red “VOID” stamp.  We discussed “void.”

“It means it’s of no use any more.  You finished that so completely, it’s done for today.”  (He loved that)  “Which one will you void first?”

Yep, he said them all again.  In fact, a couple he wanted to “extra void” and he said the target word each time he stamped.  Extra credit!

On to the next Webber sheet.  We went down columns, up columns, forward and backwards.  I took the stamp back and pulled out scissors.  I cut three strips of words and took out the mini shredder.  I got huge eyes at this.  He started cranking (mine makes a very satisfying clicking noise).

“What are you shredding?”

“I’m shredding ‘sale’ (crank, crank), ‘salt’, (crank, crank), ‘sand’ (crank, crank)!  I need more!”

I had boys that would have shred paper all afternoon!  They shred into the cup of the machine, on to the table, over the trash.  They were enthralled wathcing the blades work.  They made fringy brushes and felt them on their arms and cheeks.  One boy made little lanterns and scarves.  Another made the “monster” throw up. (Can you see the screw “eyes” and the stuff coming out the mouth?)

So for Valentine’s Day, I’m photocopying our next words onto a lovely lavender or baby pink paper.  I might punch out some hearts and put our target on them.  I know they’ll happily void every heart and shred it to bits…when you’re seven, gooey love stuff can wait.

This has fast become one of the most beloved articulation activities in my room!

You may also be interested in my “Valentines Bug Me” print and go game which adds an icky bug factor to a sweet holiday!

I bought my mini shredder off Etsy, but I think Spy Gear has one too.  The stamp was from my local Office Depot.  (The shredders are actually for making your own quilling strips.  Bonus points if you use your scraps for that!)

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This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Carol

    I ordered 2 customized stamps from and online stamp company, a ” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10″ and an “All Done” . My older kids will happily do 100 repetitions of an article target if they get to do the stamp. The little ones love to stamp the “All Done” on their visual schedules.

    The 1-10 stamp has also helped with my data collection: I put a single slash through for a correct response and an X for incorrect. At the end of the session I can quickly add up my base-ten data into neat percentages!

    1. admin

      This is such a great idea! Do you mind sharing which online company? I particularly like that you’re using the number stamp for the kids and your data collection. And who wouldn’t like a big “All Done” on all sorts of stuff?! Kim

    1. admin

      I’ll bet those inpatients have a lot of paperwork they’d be delighted to shred!

  2. Elizabeth Vosseller

    LOVE this! You get those boys! What a fun way to practice artic. I do have a kid that likes to shred pictures of the “Unthinkable” (Social Thinking) who is invading his brain….never thought about using the shredder for artic. May just have to get a mini shredder! I imagine the destruction is much more fun when manually created!

    1. admin

      What a great idea! In my house, we’ve been known to write down the date after a particularly bad day just so we can shred it to smithereens 🙂 Kim

  3. Pam Dahm

    I LOVE this! I will totally have to buy a mini-shredder. Smart lady!

    1. admin

      It’s so fun, Pam. Be sure to give the kids a turn 😉

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.