Let’s face it, SLP friends. You get a testing kit (that costs buckets of $$$)… and it comes in a cardboard box? Is that really the best the assessment company could do-cardboard box that rips with each use. Before you know you are chasing that stinkin’ bouncy ball from the PLS kit around your room or worse…down the hall…or retrieving it from under the client’s couch! I have no idea what’s under my couch. Why do I want to look under other people’s couches? Ya feel me? The PLS struggle is real!
As a traveling therapist, there’s no easy way to carry all that testing crap from your office to your car to the client’s house back to your car and back into the office. Before that box breaks, you can NEVER get all the manipulatives back in there they came. It’s like the SLP version of Tetris. I tried a small bag-didn’t work. I tried a big bag-couldn’t find all those darn blocks that fall to the bottom! Oh, and don’t get me started on those crayons that melted to the side of one bag! So then as I was wandering through the aisles of my local Marshall’s, it hit me!
Those adorable rolling cooler bags (that I had no purpose for before) would make a great PLS bag!! It’s big enough to fit everything that comes in that ugly, broken down cardboard box. I can quickly zip it to keep little hands out. The inside is completely cleanable in case those giant crayons decided to melt in the 105 degree Texas sun. Plus it has a cute pattern that has some pink in it! (No, I am not “sold” on everything pink. Glitter maybe. But not pink.) My bag has a small zipper section on the front for stickers, pens and those wind up toys (that I like to keep hidden!)
So I bought that bag (a whole $20) and it has worked like a dream. I can wheel it into houses or carry it if needed. Everything is where I can find quickly-got to love those awkward transitions in the PLS from the toys to the book then back to the toys. It has room for a pocket folder that holds my consents and background history forms. Everything I need to conduct a PLS testing session is there! When I am done, I place it all back in the bag, zip it up and roll of into the sunset!
While this is not the exact one I have, here is one that I found on Amazon that is pretty close! Another option besides this cooler bag is a small suitcase/scrapbook/computer bag on wheels. Make sure it opens/zips from the top.
What works for you? Feel free to share in the comments!!
See more on my organization tips here!