As SLPs, we think about what we can do for others the majority of our day; what we can do for our students, our students’ families, our bosses, our colleagues, our fellow SLPs, our own children and significant others, etc. It’s time we think about ourselves once in a while. And wouldn’t it be great if doing so would make our lives easier and our jobs more efficient?! In my opinion, the best way to do that would be to treat yourself to a subscription to Smarty Symbols.
If you’re not familiar with Smarty Symbols, you may be living under a rock. (Kidding. A little.) Or maybe you’ve seen them bu you just didn’t realize what they were. Let me break it down for you:
- Smarty Symbols is an online library of visuals that you can download and use to create own therapy materials or enhance what you’re already using. Need visual to correspond with a book you’re reading? Find them here!
- If you’re an avid TpT buyer, chances are you’ve seen these images used in many products. They’re extremely popular among TpT sellers because of the sheer volume and diversity of the images.
- Speaking of diversity, Smarty Symbols has a cast of characters that represent a variety of ages, races, and genders. Need a picture of a girl feeling sad, a boy feeling sad, a child feeling sad, and an adult feeling sad? You’re covered. This is something you will NOT find in other visual libraries.
- Items are broken down into a variety of categories for easy access. Here’s a look at just some of the symbols in the “clothing” category:
- You can print symbols in isolation, in your own activity, or using a pre-made template from Smarty Symbols’ website.
- The images that you choose to download are yours forever and accessible offline, as long as you’ve saved them to your computer. Just because your internet is down doesn’t mean you can’t access amazing visuals to help your students.
- Worried about ink? Smarty Symbols can be downloaded in color AND black & white!
- Unsure what to do with the images? The website has an extremely helpful FAQ section as well as videos to help you every step of the way. There’s even a Facebook group specifically for subscribers. Make a suggestion for an image, ask the staff a question, or get help from fellow users!
- The images are so well thought-out, detailed, and varied. Some words/phrases/concepts have multiple depictions so you’re sure to find one that’s perfect!
- It’s affordable. A personal license is only $45 a year. Plus, it’s a tax write off!
Here are some products from my TpT store that use Smarty Symbols:
Ready to join the Smarty Symbols community? Click here to join!
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There are so many TpT products that use Smarty Symbols – such a great resource for SLPs! I would use Smarty Symbols to create fringe boards to go with my core language boards that I am starting to use more frequently with kids on a daily basis. I would love the opportunity to be able to have such a plethora of symbols available for constant use!
Yes, there’s a number of products on TPT that use Smarty Symbols. I like the playdough mats and bingo dabber activities the most.
I’d like a subscription so that I can make quick homework pages and/or games for my students. It looks like they have many templates available on their website.
I use a variety of interactive books with Smarty Symbols from TPT. I would use Smarty Symbols to create core vocabulary repetitive readers for my LAMP and other AAC users.
I love so many product that contain Smarty Symbols that it’s hard to choose a favorite! I would use the subscription to make visuals, social stories, and communication boards for my students.
Gosh I am not sure I can pick a favorite resource I love so many that have Smarty Symbols. I would love to have a subscription to make visual schedules.
Can’t say what my favorite resource would be- there are many! I would love to use Smarty symbols for creating customized communication boards for my students as well as for various activities I create at Speech Sprouts.