My Playhome Lite

Oh, the iPad, what a wonderful tool for speech-language pathologists!  Using the iPad, at least for me, can be a double-edged sword.  It is extremely motivating for my students, but when I don't do an activity using the iPad, some of my students will look at me with a facial expression that says: "um, lady, did you forget your brain today or something, where's the iPad?"  Or some students simply just come out and say, "where's the iPad?"  Those blunt little boogers.  

One of my favorite apps to use for language, especially with preschoolers, is My Playhome Lite.  This is a great app for working on concepts, such as prepositions and following directions.  I also get a lot of language out of my kiddos when using this app.  Here are some screen shots for your reference:

  

When working on prepositions, I have students place one of the family members "beside the table" or "in front of the chair."  I also place the family members myself and ask them where the family member is to address prepositions both receptively and expressively.

This app is very interactive, so it is great for working on following directions.  For example, in the kitchen you can pour cereal, eat pizza, do  laundry, do the dishes, and even fry an egg!  In the living room you can open and close the curtians, turn on music and tv, and turn on the light.  I may have kids follow simple directions, such as: "turn on the light" or more complex directions, such as: " eat the apple before you pour some cereal."

Usage of verbs is another great area to target with this app.  Once the child does an action on the app, you can expose them to verb vocabulary, such as "cooking, sitting, standing, swimming, watching, listening, washing, eating, and baking."  Once they learn the verbs, you can start working on past tense.  For example, if they have the mom cook an egg, you can model "she just cooked an egg" and reinforce this skill by asking what the mom just did.

This app is FREE, so there is really nothing to loose by downloading it.  I believe they have a full version that maybe includes a bathroom and backyard, but I can't promise anything!

What are some of your favorite apps?