Session Props: What I Use And Where To Get Them

Confession time… I really, really, really dislike making props for work. Props like flash cards and movement items. Ugh. Just thinking of it puts a sour look on my face. I don’t like making these work items because I want them to be of high quality and I’m not able to create at the quality I want. What can I say, I have sewing skills, not crafting skills. Also, I don’t want to break the bank on these because sometimes they get destroyed by zealous clients.

Here is a look into my prop box with the details of how I got them:

ColorCards: Expressive Verbs – Ok, so these are probably in the $$$$ range when you’re talking about flash cards for work since they go for about $60. But, these are totally worth it. The box contains 48 cards of different expressive verbs like: yawn, kiss, hug, smile, thumbs up. The cards themselves are huge (at 6″x8″), have realistic pictures, great colors, glossy and are printed on sturdy cardboard type paper. I believe that usually speech therapists use this product but I’ve been able to use these as movement props, identifying emotions and even color teaching.

Books and Flash Cards from Target – These are on the total other price spectrum because they’re from the $1 bin at Target. (And who doesn’t love Target!) The books are lift-a-flap board books. The cards are first word flash cards. One side has a picture with the word written below; the other side has just the word written. These are very handy to have and very easy to buy because of the price. I wouldn’t call them high quality but I would use them with very enthusiastic clients without worry if they had to be trashed later on. One drawback is that they are only on the shelf periodically.

Alphabet Cards - I picked up this box of alphabet cards at a teachers supply store. These cards have a picture of an item with the first letter of that item on the back. I like this particular box because it actually has two cards per letter with one letter written in capital and the other lowercase. AND it doesn’t repeat any pictures. One potential danger with these cards is that there may be some pictures that you can’t use. Here’s an example: ‘M’ is a picture of a mitten. I’m in Florida. Kids here don’t know what what mittens are… so I can’t use that one at all. I don’t remember how much I paid for these but I think it was in the $10 range. And these cards did not come laminated I had to laminate all of them myself. Speaking of lamination…

Scotch Thermal Laminator – This is my current laminator. I like it and recommend it. You should know that I use this once in a while so I’m not sure how this product holds up with heavy use. (Also, I got mine on sale at WalMart, it might have been cheaper than the Amazon listing.) I used to use those big, sticker-like laminating sheets but I felt like I was spending too much money and went for a machine upgrade.

Where do you get your props for work?

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