Games – The Speech Meadow

Using Cups in Speech Therapy

Collette — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 00:42:00 +0000

Cups are a fun tool to incorporate into your speech and language therapy. They are inexpensive, I buy mine at the dollar store, versatile, and easy to store. They come in a variety of sizes and colours. If one breaks, they are easy to replace. They also low prep activities (for the most part). Here are eight ways to use plastic cups in speech therapy.

Using Cups with Artic Therapy

1. Stack artic cards with cups. Stacking cups in speech therapy is a great activity during group therapy. The students can all be working on their individual sounds and it keeps them occupied while another student is practicing their sound. After your student(s) has practiced their sound(s), give them the artic card and a cup. While another child is practicing their words, the child(ren) can build their towers. Using the cards as part of the structures allow the children different building options.

2. Have tower races. If you have a group of students, have them race to see how high they can make their towers before they crash. Student’s get a cup for every artic production or group of productions.

3. Ball drop. This is an oldie, but I still use it frequently. Have a group of cups grouped together. Have numbers written at the bottom of the cup. Have a child stand above the group of cups or a short distance away and drop the ball into one of the cups. They then have to say their targets the number of times as it says on the cup. Hint: if you don’t want the balls to bounce around, big pom poms work well too. If you are looking for more ideas for changing up your speech therapy sessions check out this post on doing therapy outside or in the gym (check here).

Using Cups in Language Therapy

4. Following directions. You can purchase cups in a number of colours and sizes. Have the cups out and give directions about which cup to pick up and where to put it. Great for also working on prepositions! An alternative is to have the child tell you which cups to pick up and where to put them. It also makes a great barrier game!

5. Describing. Have the student make a structure (machine) with cups (and other objects if you like) and then have the students explain what they built, and how it works.

6. Sequencing. Have a set of pictures out to make a structure. Have the child use the photos to make the structure while telling you the steps. Once it is complete, have them tell you how they made it.

7. Modelling for AAC. Model words on a student’s AAC system such as on, colors of the cups, crash, fall, put, cup, big, little, tall, beside, between while building towers.

8. Pretend play. Build structures and then add figurines. You would be amazed at the type and breadth of play children can create.

9. Social skills. If you have children who are working on social skills/language, have your students build towers together. They will have to work in a group, negotiate, problem-solving, and deal with situations where they experience failure (e.g., the towers fall).

These are ways I have used cups in speech therapy. Do you use cups in therapy?

Using Balls in Speech Therapy

Collette — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 18:53:00 +0000

Balls are a great therapy tool for early intervention up through to children of elementary school. You can play quick games which allow for a high number of repetition in artic therapy, and because the activities can be short, it can keep the attention of young children. They can also be used one on one but also in small groups. Here are some ways I have used balls in speech therapy.

Language Skills

1. Communication temptations: We will take turns rolling/throwing the ball. I will wait until the child reaches to/points to/says ball then I will roll/throw the ball back.

2. Requesting: This goes with communication temptations. I wait until they ask for the ball before sending it back.

3. Making Choices: I will often have more than one ball with me. I have the child choose which ball they would like use. If choosing which ball to play with is too complicated, I will often give them a choice to play with it and something they don’t want to play with (e.g. a sock).

4. Taking Turns: Roll or throw a ball back and forth. Rolling usually works better for young children. This allows children to interact with others and they get the idea that conversations are two-way. I will also use a ball like a talking stick, whoever has the ball get to talk. When you are done with what you want to say you give it to another, and then that person responds.

5. Increasing Sentence Length/Describing: I will often have more than one ball with me. The balls are usually different in size, and colour and sometimes in patterns. We will pass the ball back and forth for a couple of turns and then I will ask which ball they want and have them use phrases such as “big ball” or “green ball” or “I want the big yellow ball.” As you can see, I also use this to work on describing skills.

6. Increasing understanding or use of verbs: When working on comprehension of verbs, I will tell them how to get the ball back to me. You can use words such as roll, throw, kick, bounce, dribble, walk, hand (me), hold, jump, run, skip, march, etc… When working on having the child use the verbs, they get to tell me how to get the ball back to them. This is usually a huge hit as what child doesn’t like to “boss” an adult around.

7. Following directions/increase understanding of longer sentences: There are many different ways to work on following directions. They can be used for single-step all the way up to multi-step directions. Here is a couple. Have some balls out. Tell the child which ball to use, how to get it there and/or where the ball needs to go. Have pictures out/draw pictures. Tell the child to throw the ball at the different pictures on the wall. If you are in the gym or at a playground, you can use the equipment available and tell the child(ren) where to roll their balls. This is also an excellent way to work on prepositions.

8. Asking and answering where questions. Roll/throw/kick a ball and have a child say where the ball landed. E.g. “The ball is under the slide.” or “The ball is in the ball pit.” You can do this with pictures on the wall. Have the child say which picture they hit with their ball.

Another fun but ultimately messy activity is to paint with balls. I have used this as a reward or on days where I know that focusing is going to be difficult (e.g. near Christmas). Draw a picture on a sheet or paper. I usually use old bed sheets. Put the large sheet on the wall and a couple of sheets on the floor. Get balls that are different sizes, and textures. As well, get out different buckets full of paint. Have the child(ren) throw balls covered in paint at the sheet on the wall and tell you where their ball hit the sheet. You can do this over a number of sessions/groups. It can make some very interesting pictures.

Articulation Therapy

9. Artic therapy: I will use balls during artic therapy frequently. You can throw balls back and forth as the child(ren) are practicing their sounds. As well, you can dribble/bounce a ball off a wall as you are saying the words/phrases/sentences etc… I have also played a version of HORSE with older children. Each letter is randomly assigned a number. Before you shoot, the child has to say their words X number of times. If they miss, they have to say addition words based on the number associated with the letter.

I’m sure there are more ways to use balls in speech therapy, but these are how I have used them. For more ideas on doing speech therapy in the gym or playground check this post out. For an speech therapy freebie to encouraging moving, click here. Do you use balls in therapy?

Using the Game “Tummy Ache” in Therapy

Collette — Mon, 20 Feb 2017 19:13:00 +0000

As you have seen, I love using Orchard Toys in therapy. They have great, educational games that children seem to love playing (as usual, no affiliate links). This time I thought I would talk about the game that boys (aged 4-8) request the most, Tummy Ache. The idea is to gather a full dinner by picking up different cards. Some of the cards have the usual foods you would see at dinner (e.g. rice) and some cards have food but they are covered in creepy crawlies (e.g. maggots on a pizza). If you play the game as it is supposed to be played, the first person with a complete meal wins. I never play it this way. I continue to play it until everyone has a full meal. Here are how I use it in therapy.

1. Building Vocabulary: This game contains a wide variety of foods from steak to chicken, from rice to beans and juice to smoothies. If the children are not familiar with some of the food, I will sometimes bring them it for them to taste test. The game also includes a wide variety of bugs that I have used to build up vocabulary.

2. Categorization: I have used this game to sort food or the creepy crawlies. I have also had children name the category of the food that they have picked up.

3. Describing: The children have to describe the food and/or creature that they have picked up.

4. Expanding sentences and pronoun use: It is great for practicing longer sentences such as, “I have _________.” “I like __________.” “I don’t like _________.” “You have _____.” “Yuck, I have _____.” or “The _________ goes in the garbage.”

5. Commenting: This is a great game for teaching social language skills. Often conversations are started around what food they like and don’t like. It is a great way to talk about appropriately responding to comments when you agree or disagree what the other person has said. It is also a great way to ask why a person likes/dislikes a particular kind of food.

6. Learning about others: Everyone has food they like or dislike. This game naturally brings about discussion regarding favourite kinds of foods. It is a great way to work on initiating a conversation.

7. Teach about trading, sharing and negotiation: I will often play the game that if they don’t like the food they have picked up, they could ask another person to trade with them. This can sometimes get a little heated as some foods are more desirable then others. Some children will say yes or no right away but others will start negotiating by offering to trade another food or will want another piece of food thrown into the deal. This is also a great way of having children work on asking questions.

8. Lastly we work on some play skills as we pretend to eat the food when everyone has a full plate.

This is a game that children request again and again. It is a great motivator and reward for the children’s hard work. If you are interested in some of the other Orchard Toys I use, check out this blog post. Do you use this game in therapy?

Ten Ways to Use the Post Box Game in Therapy

Collette — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 14:42:00 +0000

With Valentine’s Day approaching, many SLPs are looking for theme related ideas. One game that I bring out often, is Orchard Toys Post Box Game. Here are ten ways to use the post box game in therapy.

Children as young as three can play it and children as old as five and six frequently ask for it. The idea of the game is pick up an envelop and see the colour, the put it in the correct mailbox.

Language Activities

1. Building vocabulary. For younger children, it’s great for learning colours and animals. Most of the animals are common (e.g. pig, rabbit, dog, rhino) and great for teaching colours.

2. Expanding Sentences. Because the letters are four different colours (red, green, blue, yellow) you can start to use those colours to increase the length of sentences (E.g. “I have a red letter.”)

3. Prepositions. This is great for teaching in for those younger children. It can also be used to teach in front and behind (the cards fall behind the mailbox). I will ask where a certain card and have the children answer. A version of this is to hide the letters in various places in your therapy room. Either tell the children where they could find a letter or have the children tell you where they found the letter.

4. Following directions. This can be work on one-step directions (e.g. “Put a red letter in the mailbox.” or “Put the duck’s and the cat’s letters in the mailboxes.”). You can also work on two-step directions (e.g. “First put a red letter in the mailbox, then put a green letter in.” or “Before you put the rhino’s letter in, put the duck’s letter in.”)

5. Pronouns. I will put out pictures (a boy, a girl and a group) and divide the letters among them. The children will pick out a letter from one of the piles and have the children say who is mailing the letter. I will also put out pictures of the different animals. The children then deliver the letters that were mailed. They can then say, “She/he/they get a letter.” or “Here is your letter.” or “You get a letter” etc…

6. Possessive Nouns. The children pick a letter and look at the animal on the letter. The child then would say, “It’s the ________’s letter.”

7. Categorization. One activity, is to flip the letters colour side up. Then name a category and have a child pick out that animal’s letter. (E.g. Find an animal that lives on a farm) or I will ask for the all the animals in that category. Another version is for the child to pick a letter then say the animal’s category (e.g. A child picks up a letter with a rhino. The child says, “The rhino is a zoo animal.”). I will sometimes ask them to name another animal in the group.

8. Describing. Have the children play clue by either describing the animal or guessing what animal is being described. This is a great activity for small groups.

9. Similarities and Differences. Take two letters and say how the animals are the same or different.

Speech Therapy

The obvious sound to target is “L” by saying letter. I frequently incorporate the possessive noun activities into therapy which is great if you are working with mixed group. I will also take smaller artic cards I have and use removable glue dots to put them on the letter. Then have the child choose a card and then say the word. As well sometimes I will just have the children put artic cards in the mailboxes.

Lastly, I have the children help me set up the game. This is another way of targeting following directions. It is also great for working on sequencing as you have to set up the game in specific way. It can also work on some problem solving skills because the triangle supports that keep the mailbox up must be in a specific direction or the mailboxes are very wobbly and tend to fall over. As always this post does not contain affiliate links. If you are interested in other Orchard Toys that I use in therapy go here. Overall the children really enjoy playing this game and I’m able to target a wide variety of goals which is a win for all.

Why I like to use cooperative games in therapy

Collette — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 22:19:00 +0000

I frequently use cooperative games when working with 4, 5, 6 and 7 year olds. Here is why I find them valuable.

They reduce the stress some children feel when they are losing. We have all had those children where the game becomes more important than the therapy because they are sooo concerned about losing. Most co-operative games (at least the ones I’ve played) still have winners and losers but you win or lose as a group. This group mentality seems to ease the fear that children have about losing.

They help teach children how to behave when they lose. There seems to be less temper tantrums and bursts of anger when you lose as a group. I think it has something to do with working as a group. Losing provides an opportunity to talk about how you don’t always win, what could you do differently next time, and did you try your hardest? If they lost, I will almost always have them play that game again the next time I see them and talk about what they would try differently this time.

They are good for teaching children how to behave when they win. We probably have all had a child who goes over the top when they win and makes the other students feel bad (e.g. “Oh yeah! I’m a winner and you’re a loser!”) Winning as a team eliminates the taunting. When they win, I talk about and show what winning should look like (e.g. high fives, talking about good teamwork). If a child is learning about how to win gracefully then they play these games before they play more traditional one player wins type games.

They “force” children to work together. For the most part, you can’t win without working together. Children are motivated by winning and with some guidance they start working together. If they lose and did not work together then odds are they will try to work together next time.

They help with problem solving. Most of the games I have played have a strong strategy component to them. Which character are you going to move on the game board? Which road piece are you going to put down? Are you going to give a card to another player? It also fosters communication between the players. They will often come up with plans (e.g. “If this happens we should do this…”) and negotiate what they should do. It is also a great teaching moment to help children realize that no everyone is going to follow their plan.

They are great for teaching social skills. These games are great for helping children learn taking turns, negotiating which strategy they should use at a turn, when should they suggest a strategy, how to give compliments, and how not to hurt a team members feelings. These are just a few skills targeted with co-operative games.

They have some games geared more towards girls’ interests. Now I don’t believe in “girl” toys and “boy” toys. The girls I work with don’t mind the games that are a little more geared towards boys but their faces light up with utter joy when I pull out a game about mermaids or fairies. Funny side note: The biggest argument I had last school year was when I brought in a mermaid game for the girls in the class. The boys were all up in arms that they couldn’t play it first. The game ended up in the classroom for a week and was played multiple times a day.

I have found that using co-operative games to be invaluable in therapy. They are fun, the children really really like to play them and they are learning how to become better friends.

Using Nursery Rhymes for Teaching the Preposition “Over”

Collette — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 20:17:00 +0000

Working with preschoolers, I try to use nursery rhymes as much as possible in therapy. I use them for a couple of reasons.

They are quick and engaging. You can do lots of repetitions in a short time period.
There is more and more research out there saying that exposing young children to book and literacy activities are very important for later reading success. I read somewhere (I wish I could find it again) that the more nursery rhymes a child can recite by memory, the better their reading proficiency in later years. Now, I’m not proposing that you sit down and make children memorize nursery rhymes. It’s more about exposing them to a variety of books and stories and all the exposure to important pre-reading skills (such as rhyming) that nursery rhymes provide.

Now back to talking about the preposition “over” and nursery rhymes. I use “Jack be Nimble” and “Hey Diddle Diddle.”

I like for children to experience prepositions with their bodies. I tend to use”Jack be Nimble” for that. I will have a “candlestick” that the children can jump over as I (or we) recite the rhyme,

“Jack be nimble,

Jack be quick,

Jack jumps over the candlestick.”

It’s fun to challenge the kids and have candlesticks of various heights and see how high the kids can jump (then you can also work on “tall” and “short”). The physiotherapists I work with also love this activity because it works on jumping skills and they seem to always be working on jumping.

Once they have experienced jumping over the candlestick, I use “Hey Diddle Diddle.” The rhyme goes,

“Hey diddle diddle,

the cat and the fiddle,

the cow jumps over the moon,

the little dog laughs to see such fun

and the dish runs away with the spoon.”

I mainly use felt board activities or using the characters with a whiteboard and a magnet on the back such as what you see in the picture. I then have the children use the characters to re-enact the whole rhyme. Later I also encourage the children to use their imagination and create stories with the characters. The children I work with love these activities and I hope you have an chance to try them.

Those Crazy Pronouns: Working on He, She and They in Therapy

Collette — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 11:00:00 +0000

Pronouns can be very very tricky for children with language delays. Every year a good portion of the children I work with end up with pronouns as one of their therapy goals. As usual the first step is to figure what they are doing and why they are doing it. For some of the children, it’s a problem with pronunciation. They can’t pronounce he, she or they. They substitute another word that is easier for them to pronounce. For other children, it’s the fact that they have difficulties distinguishing boys from girls and so they interchange “he” and “she.” The last group uses the wrong type of pronoun. The most common mistake is using possessive pronouns for personal pronouns. These children will say “His is running” instead of “He is running.” Okay, so now you have figured out what they are doing wrong. How do you help them use the correct pronoun? Here are some ideas that I use in therapy.

1. Make it personally relevant. Children learn faster when it is relevant to their lives. In circle, I will have each child come up and we will identify if Suzy or Jonny is a he or a she. I will ask a child to come up and I will say, “Here is Suzy. Suzy is a girl. Suzy is a ‘she.'” I then go through all the kids. When I have done this a couple of time, I’ll get the children to yell out some of the answers. I will say, “Suzy is a ….” and then they respond. I also have the children sort themselves into “he” and “she”groups. The one they like the most is when I “work on” he and she. I’ll make mistakes and have the children correct me. I tend to do this when they are comfortable with the task.

2. Bombard the children with pronouns. At school we use Handwriting Without Tears and as such the children are very familiar with Matman. After we have sang the song and drawn Matman, we make up an adventure. We talk about what he needs. Usually I (or sometimes the children) will draw what he needs. For example, “Matman is outside in the rain. He needs a coat. He needs rubber boots. He needs an umbrella.” Matgirl will also make an appearance and sometimes they will both go on an adventure together.

3. Sort by he or she. You can use pictures of boys and girls. I tend to use Disney characters or Super heroes depending on the child’s preferences. This makes it more fun for the children than regular pictures of boys or girls. The children tend to want to stay longer and you can have some great conversations about the characters they are sorting. I avoid animal characters as it is confusing if they do not have “it” pronouns.

3. Use puppets. I have a few male and female puppets that come out on a regular basis and by the end of the year the children all know their names and are very excited when they come to visit. The children like it because you can make the puppets exaggerate their responses. It’s great for you because the children are learning. The kids think it’s hilarious when one of the puppets wants eat something silly. One day, Pirate Pete only wanted to eat bugs and another day, Doctor Dana only wanted green foods. Yes I tend to work on classification with the puppets too. Have the children receptively identify “he” and “she” by having the children give “he” or “she” an object. E.g. “Oh! He wants the ant.” Another way is to have the children tell you who (“he” or “she”) they are going to give/feed an object to. “Who wants the carrots?” “He wants the carrots.” Sometimes a child will have a strong preference for a particular pronoun and it can be a challenge to get them to use the other pronoun. That’s when the puppets can really “act out.” Make it so the child has to use the other pronoun by having the puppets use phrases such as “No, No, No! I don’t want that!” and/or “I really want it! Give it to me!” Children tend to be more receptive taking those types of suggestions from a puppet.

4. Use materials from Teachers Pay Teachers. There are many great products to help with pronouns on this site. I have a number of games that work on pronouns. One is called Feed the Chefs. These games help children to work on pronouns in a structured but fun way.

5. Use pronoun cards. I use these pronoun cards a lot! I like them because they have a he, she, and they version of each picture. I use them in a number of ways. The one that the children seem to like the best is jumping on the cards and then either sorting the cards or saying what the people are doing. Another favourite is placing the cards down a hallway or in the gym and have the children run around picking them up and identifying them.

6. Use in Pretend Play. I will bring out the doll house or use Melissa and Doug‘s Magnetic Dress Up sets. This gives the child a chance to use pronouns in a more natural environment. It gives you a chance to monitor how they are using their pronouns in a more natural setting.

A quick note, when working on “they” I always try to have a variety of different people together to make up the “they.” Some children have difficulties if there are only boys together, they will use “hes” or only girls together “shes”. Some children think that “they” is used only if one girl and one boy are together.

Using Orchard Toys in Speech and Language Therapy

Collette — Sun, 05 Apr 2015 02:11:00 +0000

First off I’m not benefitting financially in anyway from this post. I just love Orchard Toys. These games are some of my “go to” games when doing therapy. Many of them are co-operative games which can eliminate the need many children have to be the winner and the subsequent tears, disappointment or anger when they don’t win. You can work on a number of goals at one time which is very helpful when you are doing therapy in groups.

The kids I work with love to play them. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a ton of classic SLP games that get used regularly such as Pop Up Pirate, Crocodile Dentist and Guess Who but the Orchard Toys games are usually my top requested games to play. The following are just some of their games I have. Many of my fellow speechies have borrowed them and if I included them all this would be a very long post!

This is currently the most requested game I own. It works well for children four to eight years old. The object is to put supper on your plate and avoid getting food full of bugs. This works well for expanding sentences, food and “bug” vocabulary (not all are bugs), describing, and turn taking. I have also used it to teach trading and as conversation starters. For more information on how I use it, check out this blog post.

It works well for children three to six years old. Children try to get all the body parts named in the song. This works well for expanding sentences, as well as colour and body parts vocabulary. I have also used it for a general artic game.

This game was in the preschool room last week and the kids couldn’t get enough of it. I played it for hours. It works well for children three to seven years old. One side of the spout has blank squares and the other side has shapes. The games comes with a spinner and two kinds of dice so there are many ways to play. I most often play with the spinner. It is a great game to work on shapes vocabulary and the words “up” and “down.” It is also great for working on sp-blends or as a general artic game.

Another fan favourite, it works well for children three to seven years old. Children sort letters into mailboxes depending on the colour of the letter. It works well for expanding sentences, possessive nouns, animal vocabulary, and working on initial “L” in sentences. For more ideas on using this game check out this blog post.

This a board game where you are trying to make it home without getting eaten by a crocodile. No one ever gets eaten by a crocodile. I use it to work on negation, expanding sentences, colour vocabulary, and as a general artic game. It’s also a challenging puzzle for the kids to put together.

There are two challenges though with this company. The first is that you can’t find them in major toy stores but many independent toy stores, at least here, carry them. Also you can order them from Amazon. The second problem is that they don’t seem to produce their games for very long. Many of their games are in production for a year or two and then they are gone. This makes it difficult when your game is soo well loved that you need a new one!

Do you use Orchard Toys in therapy? What are your favourite ones and how do you use them?