Emoji Kitchen

Emoji Kitchen is an example of a simple website that SLPs can leverage for a variety of purposes. Pick or search for one emoji on the left, and combine it with one on the right, and you'll get a mixture, like this one of angry corn:

Emoji are a fun way to use our tweens' and teens' interest in texting, chatting and tech in general to discuss a range of emotions, associations, and also figurative language, as many can be used to represent something else.

I used this in a group as a simple "add a thought" social engagement activity- what combo do you want to see? You could also add a storytelling component connecting the new emoji to how it would come about! What ideas do you have for Emoji Kitchen? Let us know in the comments!

An Actionable Idea for Magnetic Poetry

My sister has started a fun family tradition of playing games after Christmas Dinner. This year she rolled out Ransom Notes, in which each team is given an array of magnetic words, a tray, and a situation for which to construct a message. Hilarity ensues as all work to craft sentences with limited vocabulary. Though I don't yet have the game, I realized this could be translated to readily available magnetic poetry interactives online such as the original. The game description gives you a number of starters that could be used in a therapy session, such as "Explain to a child how giving birth works" (I wouldn't use that one but some other school situation, like a dance) "Tell someone you've clogged their toilet during a party" and "Ask a child in the airplane seat behind you to stop kicking." Also, here's a great way to use ChatGPT: ask it to create a list of embarrassing situations for teens, and voila, you've got a whole slew of game prompts.