As a brand new graduate in 1997, money was very tight. I shopped at garage sales and thrift stores for therapy supplies. Believe it or not, I even remember drawing and coloring some of my own materials during my clinical fellowship! Nowadays, you can easily download an activity with the click of a button on Teachers Pay Teachers and print it in color within minutes. But if you’re not paying attention, it is easy to spend hundreds (thousands?) of dollars a year on materials. This blog post summarizes some of the ways that I have found to save money as a speech therapist.
Thrift Stores and Garage Sales
Therapy materials can be very expensive and I’m always amazed at what I find at thrift stores and garage sales. I ALWAYS check the toys/games and children’s books sections. You never know what you will find! I have snagged many children’s books in excellent condition for under a dollar. Believe it or not, I even found a Cariboo game in excellent condition for only $3.99 years ago! Sometimes you can find some rare therapy treasures that are hard to find or no longer available. You can read more about some of my favorite Fun Finds and Therapy Treasures in this blog post!
Free Printables
There are a variety of websites with FREE printables for educators on a budget. Here are a few of my favorites:
Kizclub: If you don’t mind dodging pop up ads, you can find a variety of free story props at kizclub.com. This image above shows some kizclub visuals for the book Rosie’s Walk.
DLTK Kids: Another place to find free printables is DLTK Kids. This site is a little hit or miss but it’s another place to look for visuals that go along with themes, songs, and books.
TPT Freebies: You can find thousands of FREE activities on Teacher Pay Teachers. Simply click “FREE” in the drop down list when you are searching for resources. Here is a link to the FREE activities in the Pinwheel Speech TPT Store. Also, don’t forget that you can earn FREE TpT credits when you leave reviews for paid purchases. Simply go to your ‘My Purchases’ page and click on the ‘Leave a Review’ button next to each product. Each time you give feedback on paid purchases, TPT gives you credits that you can redeem for future purchases!
Free Websites
You can find a variety of FREE activities and games online. Here are a few suggestions:
PBS Kids: PBS Kids has a variety of free activities with your youngest students’ favorite characters. This website is especially useful for a fun reward at the end of a session. Students can guess the feeling, dress up Elmo, make their own Pinkalicious Story!
ABCya! ABCya features free online educational games and activities. I especially like the “Make a….” activities where students can build things on the screen (e.g., make a robot, make a gingerbread house, make a snowman).
Pink Cat Games: Pink Cat Games is one of my go to websites for teletherapy. I love that you can create your own word lists to target specific skills. This subscription is around $5 per month so it is one of the best deals out there! If you are not ready to commit to a subscription, there are several FREE games that you can access, including their Build a Monster, Feed the Shark and Quiz Wheel Games.
Tarheel Reader: Tarheel Reader is a collection of FREE easy to read accessible books. These books are ideal for AAC users and students who benefit from simple repetitive lines.
Tarheel Gameplay: Tarheel Gameplay is a collection of FREE accessible videos and songs. Many of these songs/videos will pause and prompt the user with a core word (help, go, mine, more, etc).
Boom Learning: Boom Learning is an online platform with digital learning resources such as digital task cards, quizzes, interactive lessons, stories and games. If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial. You can find a variety of FREE Boom Cards that will fit right in your budget. Here is a link to the FREE activities in the Pinwheel Speech Boom Learning Store.
Jeopardy Labs: Jeopardy Labs is a website that allows you to find and create your own jeopardy type games. You can find games to practice vocabulary, inferencing, idioms, and even articulation skills. These games are probably best for older students because they do not have pictures (only text).
Edpuzzle: Edpuzzle allows you to find and create interactive video lessons. I especially love these videos for my upper elementary students who are working on making social inferences. Simply search “social inferences” and you will find a variety of video lessons.
Simon’s Cat videos: You can find so many free videos on youtube but Simon’s Cat videos are my favorites because they are short, funny, and my students love them. These videos are fun for practicing making inferences, making predictions, and recognizing nonverbal communication/facial expressions.
Special Promotions
SCS Direct: SCS Direct has announced a new “Learning Through Play” program for teachers and school SLPs. If you are a school SLP, please check out these blog posts to learn how you can receive a FREE Tall Tales Storytelling Game from SCS direct.
Shop the Sales!
TPT sales: You can expect site wide Teachers Pay Teachers sales at the beginning and end of the school year. They usually have one on Cyber Monday too. The date for the sales isn’t usually announced until a few days before so you will want to be checking social media for the dates.
#halfoffspeech: Look for half off speech and language sales on TPT on the 15th of each month. The hashtag changes each month so you will need to check social media or emails for the exact hashtag.
Super Duper Deal of the Week: If you are an SLP (or studying to be an SLP), you have probably used Super Duper products. You can find so many great resources from Super Duper but it can get pretty expensive quickly. Did you know that they discount one product 50% off each week? Look for Super Duper’s Deal of the Week on their instagram page (@SuperDuperPub). They often post promo codes for 20% off your order. You can always use promo code pinwheel10 at checkout to receive 10% off your order (excludes sales and clearance items)!
Zulily: You can also find select discounted Super Duper resources up to 40% off on Zulily.
Amazon Prime: It is so easy to find exactly what you need and order it with the click of a button on Amazon. Amazon prices are always changing so take advantage of their discounts on Amazon Prime Days and Cyber Monday.
Instagram: Be sure to follow your favorite SLPs on instagram and check in regularly for up to date information on sales. You can follow me @Pinwheelspeech!
Email Lists: You can also join email lists for the latest news from TPT sellers (including freebies, flash sales and dollar deals). Join the Pinwheel Speech Community HERE!
Library
Don’t forget about the best deal in town….the library! I have been known to run to the library during my lunch breaks. You can borrow books from the local library or even from your school library. Most libraries allow you to place books on hold and this can really make the process a lot quicker because the stack of books is already waiting for you when you arrive.
Don't Be Afraid to Ask
Through the years, I have found that many groups are happy to donate funds when you explain your need for materials. Here are a few ideas:
PTO/PTA Funds and Grants
Community Grants for Educators
Administration/School Funds
Wish Lists
Donorschoose
A Final Recommendation
My final recommendation is to look for versatile activities that can be used to target a variety of goals! That way, you can use the same books and games with multiple groups. You can find more ideas in this blog post about speech and language activities for mixed groups. I would love to hear your favorite tips for SLPs on a tight budget. Please comment below!
