This brilliant idea comes from a very talented colleague of mine. Jan Tomanio, a Special Education Preschool Teacher, decided that she wanted a colorful version of Teddy from the Teach Together Toolkit™ for her classroom.  

So, she copied Teddy on large construction paper in layers by using a dark brown background, with lighter brown mouth and ears, white eyes, and of course, the red bowtie!  She then cut the features out, pasted them on the brown background and laminated it -- making her very own version of Teddy!

You can use this quick & easy method too -- it's a great way to make a lightweight and colorful bear to go along with your Toolkit. Thank you, Jan, for sharing this wonderful Teddy Talker™ Tip!

As educators, we are always learning!   One of the most exciting Teddy ideas
came from the parent of one of my students.   She decided that her son 
enjoyed playing with Teddy so much, she would make magnets out of 
the Mouth Position Pieces from the Teddy Talker Teach Together Toolkit!™  

All you need to do is copy and laminate the pieces, and put a small magnetic strip on the back.  The Toolkit tells you the piece numbers for each sound, so you know which ones to use.

You can make a great "refrigerator" game for home practice ("Guess what sound this is..."  "What letter makes this sound?"  "What does your mouth do to make
this sound? etc.) or a fun activity within the therapy or class setting.  Children can 
take turns trying to find Mouth Position Pieces that match letters or put up the articulators on the magnetic board so their friends can guess.   There's so many possibilities!