MindWing Concepts Blog

I thought this would also be a great way to review SGM components, create centers for individuals and story specific centers, and/or send weekly tasks home to parents! With this in mind, I went on a hunt to find these albums, which are plastic, hold about 25 photos, and measure 4”x6”. In my day, we referred to them as “brag books” and would have them filled with recent photos of children, dogs, garden, etc., whatever we wanted to share (“brag about”) with family and friends! I found a few at our local dollar store and our CVS had a good number for about two dollars each. The following are a few examples of how I will be starting to use these along with MindWing’s STAMPede Stamp Set this year. This is a work in progress and one of which I am excited!...

I know some of you are already in school, so forgive the “Summer Study” aspect of this post, as I am holding on to the last days of summer (which goes until September, anyway). I have been impressed of late with ASHA’s publication of “tutorial” style articles that offer a synthesis of research and practical ideas and techniques for intervention. One of these recent articles is particularly relevant to the topic of this blog and to MindWing’s tools for narrative intervention: Telling Tales: Personal Event Narratives and Life Stories (Westby and Culatta, 2016). In this post I will discuss this article along with tech tools particularly related to the intervention suggestions around eliciting and scaffolding event narratives. Westby and Culatta set out to emphasize the importance of personal event narratives...

It’s amazing how quickly summer flies by! I have mentioned many times that throughout my 38 years of teaching, I always appreciated the fact that each school year brought about new opportunities to improve my teaching techniques. Not all occupations offer one a chance to reflect on what worked and what could be refined, both in materials and delivery, with the overall goal of building upon children’s strengths. From our group at MindWing, we wish you a successful school year and hope you enjoy the following blog to help with ideas to “KICK-OFF” your school year!...

Recently, I saw a clever sound blending idea on Pinterest using rings and small cards. It reminded me of our very popular blog using popsicle sticks to teach story elements using the Story Grammar Marker®. With these thoughts in mind, here are two ideas that are simple to make and easy to transport from one site to another making them ideal for teachers/interventionists/therapists who move from class to class...

Kids love talking about the beach, and so many Kick-Offs can happen in a beach setting! While not everyone is close to a coastal beach, trips to beaches or pools with family are a hallmark of summer, and can be a great context for narrative work during summer sessions or upon return in the fall. Here are a number of technology resources that can serve as contexts and scaffolding for this summer topic. The Toca Life apps, featured here on the MindWing Blog previously, are excellent contexts for any level of narrative development. Toca Life: Vacation features a number of Settings from which you can develop descriptive elaboration: a beach (naturally), airport, and hotel. Toca Life: Town contains several homes...