Why I dumped the dum-dums, LINKY!

In my house, my husband likes to shop as much, if not more, than I do.  He's a somewhat unique breed, called the male bargain-hunter.   He takes notice of the things I use at school and searches for them on his shopping outings, a sweet gesture that has a downside.  He noticed that I bought dum-dum lolli-pops to use with some of my students and guess what?  A HUGE bag of dum-dums ended up sitting in our pantry.  Sigh...I know he means well but I have to find a way to use those at school or else I feel wasteful!  That means the dum-dums not only get used as oral motor tools but also as reinforcers for my students.

This year, I had to have a heart to heart talk with him.  Honey, put away the Costco card.  I am starting fresh and I will no longer contribute to the of cavities my students.  That's why I was so excited to link up with  "Kayla SLP" for her  Why I dumped the treasture chest LINKY!  I am switching over to reinforcerment cards this year, "Superhero Speech Tickets!" It's a simple concept, really.  My room is decorated in a superhero theme so my tickets are too!  Instead of a treasure chest or dum-dums, my students receive black and white superhero tickets (or color) that have specific praise or feedback on them, such as "You were caught using super speech" or "Super Listener."  I also have blank ones that I can use to individualize.  That's right, no candy, no cheap prize!

Students can color or decorate them (with superhero stickers of course)  if they'd like or simply take them home to showcase their speech or positive behavior.  An added plus, it doubles as a "note home" (a positive one)!   In the picture below,  the top tickets are from my  Superhero Speech Tickets Packet.    Also pictured, are exit tickets from my Superhero Speech Ladder and Classroom Decor packet.  The ones pictured are black and white but there are color options too!

I store them all in spider man  tin box I bought at Target.  My students get so excited when they see the Superhero box come out at the end of the session!  Best of all, no-one has asked about the exit of the dum-dums yet!!

Donna