Producing the /r/ Sound

By Speech Fairy

When I’m doing therapy focusing on a specific sound, for example /r/, I will choose a game that contains the sound. Here are some of my favorites for /r/. Even the name of the game gives opportunities use the sound. (Once they master the sound, I notice they are very proud to ask if we’re going to play Rooster Race today.)

When introducing how to produce /r/, it is helpful for the student to understand where to put their tongue, teeth, and lips. Describe placement. Use visual aids like mirrors or a spoon to feel where the tongue belongs. A drawing of the tongue and teeth may also be helpful in visualizing where to place the tongue.One way to approximate placement is to start with another sound and then shift to the /r/ sound. Imitating a wolf/coyote sound gets their attention. Start with an ‘ah’ sound. Then slide into a roo sound for “ahroo.” Eventually drop off the initial sound and try producing just the “ar” sound.

Using words containing /gr/ and /kr/ blends may help in getting better placement. Reinforce growling when saying words starting with /gr/ or /kr/.

Practice these /kr/ words: crane, crush, crate, crease, cream, creak, creep, cry, crime.

Practice these /gr/ words: great, greet, grit, groan, grow, grape, grade, grip, grin, and grid.

Another way to approximate placement for /r/. Start with “sh.” Drop the back of your tongue and turn on your motor. Your tongue should curl slightly up at the sides.

Using a small spoon can help approximate placement for /r/. Put the spoon just inside of mouth. Practice curling tongue around the bowl of the spoon. Practice producing /r/.

Reinforce rounding the lips. Saying “oo” will help getting lips in position. That will help approximate overall lip placement for /r/.

The Sneaky, Snarky Squirrel Game

Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel is a great therapy game for speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and special education. The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game by Educational Insights comes with a Gameboard, 4 Logs, 20 Acorns (4 each of green, blue, red, yellow and purple), a Squirrel Squeezer, a Spinner and directions. During the game, the therapist can incorporate many objectives into the activity.

Fine Motor: Practice spinning the spinner using just your index finger, going either forwards or backwards. Use your finger and thumb to flick the spinner. Make sure the child is holding the spinner down with the other hand to encourage using two hands together. Have the child use the squirrel squeezer to pick up the acorn of the color that they spun on the spinner. Reinforce using one hand, modeling how to hold the squirrel squeezer on the top of the squirrel’s body. Have the child match the colored acorn to the same colored ring on the tree. When cleaning up the game, have the child pick up given colored acorns using a pincer grip and hold the bag in the other hand; reinforce crossing the midline as they put them away.

Gross Motor: Reinforce sitting position for improved stability. Practice midline activities. Have the child reach across their body to pick up the squirrel squeezer or spin the spinner. The therapist can also place the gameboard at a distance. In order to take a turn, the child has to do a gross motor movement (jumping, hopping, standing on one foot, walking like a given animal).

Special Education: Practice following the directions. Have the child spin the spinner and retell you what the space they landed on means. See if they follow the direction according to the spinner. Have the child label colors and match colors. Have the child sort acorns by color. Have them count how many purple acorns they have (do this for each color). Ask questions like if you have 5 red acorns and you have the same amount of blue acorns, how many blue acorns do you have? Practice concepts like more or less. If I have 3 acorns and you have 4 acorns, who has more? Who has less? Who has the least? Who has the most? Have them count the total number of acorns. If they are older, have them count by 2’s or count by 5’s.

Speech Therapy: When using this game for speech therapy, cards can be incorporated to practice articulation sounds. Reinforce placement and production for target sounds. Cue the child where the sound is in the word (this has your sound at the end of the word). Depending on their progress, modeling, cueing, or independent production can be used. After they produce their sound (word, phrase or sentence level), have them spin the spinner. As speech is a motor function, it is important to reinforce trunk stability (appropriate sitting: side, or criss cross), crossing midline and hand use. Following directions can be incorporated by asking questions, what do you do after you say your sound… (spin the spinner, identify where the spinner stopped, pick up the squirrel squeezer, find the correct color acorn and match to the correct ring on the tree). Reinforce color matching and identification. Have the child sort the acorns by colors. Count how many in each color group. Incorporate concepts like same and different. (Here are 2 blue acorns and 1 red.) Which one is different? Which two are the same.

These are just some ideas that can be incorporated into a simple game! Happy Therapy!

Scoop Up

Using games in therapy sessions

Scoop Up is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Scoop Up

Scoop Up has 4 starting ice cream cones with one scoop and 48 scoop pieces (6 each of 8 flavors), numbered 2 to 49.

Suggested lesson for Scoop Up

“Today we’re going to play Scoop Up and build some yummy ice cream cones. Pick a scoop from all the scoops of ice cream. Turn it over and read the number. It is a number 5. 5 is larger than 1, so we can put the scoop on the ice cream cone.

“Now, it is my turn. I turn over a 10. 10 is larger than 1, so I put the scoop on my ice cream cone.

“Now, it is your turn. Pick a scoop and turn it over. It is a number 3. 3 is not larger than 5, so we have to turn the scoop back over.

“My turn. I turn over a 25. 25 is larger, so I put the scoop on my ice cream cone.

“Now, it is your turn. Pick a scoop and turn it over. It is a number 12. 12 is larger than 5, so we can put the scoop on the ice cream cone.”

The first player to get 10 scoops of ice cream on their cone is the winner.

For children who are able to follow these directions, add another step. You can incorporate vocabulary cards or articulation cards. If you are working on particular sounds, reinforce the correct placement and production of the sounds.

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence. Start with a carrier sentence, then go to a more complicated sentence.

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions.

Speech & Language Therapy

Practice prepositions (on top of, in front of, next to, etc)
Describe the colors of the scoop
Describe what flavor you think the scoop is

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline
Place the pieces (during set up) in groups by “flavor”

Special Education

Arrange the scoops in rising numerical order
Arrange the scoops by numbers with “odds” together, “evens” together

Threading Game

Using games in therapy sessions

Threading Game by HABA is a great fun activity that can be used by occupational therapists, speech & language therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Threading

This is a great, very unusual game from the German manufacturer HABA. This game includes 1 thread with police station, 1 thread with police car, 1 bank, 2 police officers, 1 police dog, 1 thief, 1 stop sign, 1 pr of handcuffs, 1 moneybag, 4 2-sided templates (self-correcting 2 pieces), 1 cloth bag, and instruction booklet.

Suggested lesson for Threading

“Take two matching template pieces and fit them together to make a scene. Look at the template and find the starting place of the scene (left side). Is it the Police station or the Police wagon? It is the Police station – the building where the police work. Find the block that matches it – it will have yarn and a wooden needle attached.”

“Now, let’s look at the next image on the template? It is the Stop sign. Find the Stop sign block and, using the needle and yarn, push the needle through the Stop sign block so the yarn goes through.”

“What is the next image on the template? It is the Police officer. Find the Police officer block and, using the needle and yarn, push the needle through the police officer block so the yarn goes through.”

“What is the next thing that happened in the scene? We see the Thief. Find the Thief block and, using the needle and yarn, push the needle through the Thief block so the yarn goes through adding it to the line.”

“Let’s compare our thread with the picture shown on the template. Do they look the same?”

Speech & Language Therapy

Practice sequencing from the 2-sided templates
Name different kinds of money
Name different kinds of dogs

Occupational Therapy

Improve motor skills by threading the different pieces together
Reinforce midline crossing
Reach into the bag and identify the piece you need by feel alone, without peeking
Assemble the template with self-correcting halves

Special Education

Practice threading in sequence from the template
Group pieces by colors
Group pieces by kind (people, objects, etc)

Candy Land was one of the most popular games ever in America. Everyone knows Candy Land, but here are some things about Candy Land that maybe you didn't know. It has its uses as a game for therapy, but is a timeless game that anyone can enjoy. Candy Land has been around for a long time, but there are always more things to learn.

1. Candy Land requires no reading by the players.

Other than the directions that would require an adult or older child, there is no need to read cards for answers or directions. Preschool children can play this game after a rudimentary explaining of the rules.

2. Candy Land sells about one million games per year.

Candy Land has been one of the most popular games in modern times. Candy Land has sold more 50 million games in the 70 years since it was first published. Candy Land has been a perennial favorite of Baby Boomers, GenXers and subsequent generations.

3. Candy Land's game track is made up of 134 red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple and pink spaces.

The track is often described a "rainbow colored" though it does not include Indigo and Violet, it does include Purple and Pink.

4. You move by drawing cards with a colored square and you move to the nearest square of that color.

This unique method of moving means reading is not necessary. Children can draw a card and scan the board to see a matching color, which tells them where to put their token. In 2013, new games have a spinner to randomly select a color instead of a deck of color cards.

5. Candy Land was designed by Eleanor Abbott while she was in the hospital recovering from polio. and was first sold by the Milton Bradley company in 1949.

Eleanor Abbott, a school teacher, contracted polio at age 36 and was hospitalized as was the common practice for polio. In the polio ward were several children who spent their days in the grim hospital setting. Eleanor wanted to give the children something to occupy their time during the long endless hours. The home-made game was extremely popular and Eleanor's friends suggested she show the game to the Milton Bradley company.

6. In 2005, Candy Land was inducted in to The National Toy Hall of Fame at the Strong Museum of Play.

Candy Land was the thirty-second inductee into the National Toy Hall of Fame, and the fourth game inducted (after Monopoly, checkers, and Scrabble).

Race to the Roof

Using games in therapy sessions

Race to the Roof is a board game from Ravensberger. The game can be played by two to four players. The object of the game is to be the first player to get from the front door to the attic window. Race to the Roof is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Race to the Roof

Race to the Roof includes a game board (in two interlocking pieces), 16 Room cards, 20 Object (chance) cards, 4 playing tokens, game rules, and a die. The room tiles can be arranged in any order you choose.

Suggested lesson for Race to the Roof

“Today we’re going to play Race to the Roof.”

“Let’s assemble the game board and place the 16 Room cards in the open spaces on the board. And we place the Object cards in a face-down pile.”

“It is your turn. Roll the die. What did you roll? You rolled a four, so move your game token four spaces into the first room.”

“Now it is my turn. I roll a three. I move three spaces.”

“It is your turn again. Roll the die. You roll a six. When you roll a six, you get to pick a card from the pile of Object cards.”

“Your card is the Jam Jar. Look at the different rooms for a Jam Jar. It is in the Kitchen on top of the Refrigerator. You can move your token to the red circle on the Kitchen room card.”

To win the game, the player must roll the exact number on the die to match the spaces remaining to reach the Attic window.

Speech & Language Therapy

Practice prepositions (on top of, in front of, next to, etc) when describing the different rooms
Identify an object and describe its appearance
Describe its use (function)
Locate and name the room that contains the object
Explain why that object is in that room

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce midline crossing
Roll the die using two hands to “shake” the die
Move the token landing on every circle, counting as you go

Special Education

If you roll a four (for example), count out loud one, two, three, four as you land on each circle
When you draw an object card, what color is the object?
What would you do with this object?
Would you have more than one of this object?

1, 2, 3, 4-Bean Salad

Cooking and baking are great ways to interact with your children. It is a way to spend time together, develop appropriate skills, and, of course, have a finished product. There are many emerging skills that can be incorporated into cooking and baking.

Some ground rules for cooking with children

1. Be consistent. Children learn best from consistency. It teaches them what to expect.

2. Limit your time. Don’t make it long and tedious. Children do not have the same attention span as adults. Younger children (3-6) are less focused than older children (7-10).

3. Stop if either you or your child becomes bored or frustrated; otherwise, this will become a dreaded time. Inform your child of the estimated time so they will have appropriate expectations. “This will take us 15 minutes to put together.” Before you begin, have all of your ingredients ready so you can keep within expectations.

4. Get your child’s attention before you speak and give them your full attention when s/he speaks. Have your child repeat the direction back to you to make sure they heard and processed the information.

5. Talk about what you are doing (self talk) and what your child is doing (parallel talk). An example of self-talk would be “I am mixing the butter and sugar together.” An example of parallel talk would be “you are cracking the eggs.”

6. Use short phrases. “Count out 2 eggs” or “Unwrap one stick of butter”

7. Repeat key words and phrases.

8. Expand on your child’s comments by adding comments of your own. “The broccoli is green.” “Yes, the broccoli is green and has a bumpy texture.”

9. Make statements about similarities and differences as they come up.
“The flour and sugar are both white.”
“The egg shell is white and hard and the flour is white and soft.”

10. Explain cause and effect.
“When butter melts it goes from a solid to a liquid.”
“Touch a hot stove and you can burn your finger.”

1, 2, 3, 4-BEAN SALAD

Ingredients

1 can wax beans

1 can green beans

1 can chick peas

1 can kidney beans

1 small red onion

Italian dressing

Directions

Open all cans, drain liquid, and empty into a bowl.

Reinforce using two hands to open the cans and mix in the bowl.

Cut up onion and toss with the beans.

Have your child describe how the beans are alike and different.

Mix well.

Reinforce using two hands: working hand and helper hand.

Toss with Italian dressing and mix well.

Use a wooden spoon to stir and mix thoroughly.

Cover and refrigerate.

The activities suggested here are designed to reinforce in children some very basic skills. This is not intended as a substitute for therapy by licensed therapists. If you have concerns about your child’s physical or language development, consult your pediatrician or a licensed therapist in your area.

Supervise your child when using sharp knives and other potentially dangerous utensils.

Slamwich

Using games in therapy sessions

Slamwich is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Slamwich

Slamwich is a fast moving card game from Gamewright that can be played by two to six players. Slamwich contains a deck of 55 which include 40 Food cards, 12 Muncher cards, and 3 Thief cards. Slamwich can be played by two to six players for ages six and up.

How to play Slamwich

Deal an even number of cards to all players. Place the leftover cards in a pile in the center, face up.

Start with the player to the left of the dealer. On their turn, each player quickly flips the top card from their hand onto the center pile. When a player recognizes that a double decker sandwich (two identical cards in a row) or Slamwich (two identical cards separated by one different card) has been built, they slam the pile – putting their hand on top of the pile. The first to slam the pile keeps all the cards.

Watch out for a Thief card or a Muncher card. If there is a Thief card played, you want to slam the pile and say “Stop Thief.” The first one to slam the pile and say “Stop Thief,” stops the Thief and gets to keep all cards in the pile.

Muncher cards have a number on them, the next players can play up to this number of cards from their pile in hopes of making a Double Decker or Slamwich, or playing another Muncher or Thief card. If the Muncher is not stopped (by a Slam, a Thief card or another Muncher card), the pile is taken by the player who played the original Muncher card.

If a player slams the pile at any other time, they must place the top card from their pile on the bottom of the center pile and their turn ends.

For children who are able to follow those directions, add another step. You can incorporate vocabulary of the food cards.

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence. Start with a carrier sentence, then go to a more complicated sentence.

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions.

Speech & Language Therapy

Say the name of the ingredient on the top of the pile
Reinforce correct sound production of target sound

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline
Take and place the cards with appropriate grip

Special Education

Count the number of cards in a stack
Describe the food item on the card

The Missing Cupcakes Game

Using games in therapy sessions

The Missing Cupcakes Game is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Missing Cupcakes

The Missing Cupcakes Game has a game board, 14 cupcakes, 20 birthday present cards, 4 character tokens and stands, and a game spinner.

Suggested lesson for The Missing Cupcakes Game

“Today we’re going to play The Missing Cupcakes Game.To setup, pick out a character token and place it on a corner of the game board. Put all the Birthday Present cards face down on the gameboard as a stack. Place all the Cupcakes on Grumpy Toad’s cupcake tray (in the box).”

“It is your turn, so spin the spinner. You spin a 3. Move 3 spaces to a Birthday Present spot. Draw a card and look at it. The Birthday Present is a guitar. Demonstrate through actions a guitar or playing a guitar. If another player guesses correctly, you can move 2 Cupcakes from Grumpy Toad’s Tray to Cupcake Spaces on Pete the Cat’s Birthday Party Table on the game board. Your turn has ended.”

“Now, it is another player’s turn and they spin a 4. Moving 4 spaces they land on an Activity Spot with an Apple on it. They must name a yummy food. If they do this, they can take 1 Cupcake from Grumpy Toad and move it to Pete’s Birthday Present Table.”

“It is my turn and I spin a 3 and land on a Grumpy Toad spot. This allows Grumpy Toad to take back 1 cupcake.”

“The game is won when all the Cupcakes are on Pete the Cat’s Birthday Present Table and Grumpy Toad has no Cupcakes.”

Speech & Language Therapy

Practice prepositions (on top of, in front of, next to, etc)
Describe the colors of the Cupcakes, Present cards

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline
Hold your character token with a pincer grip

Special Education

Name the colors of the Cupcakes
How many animals are on the game board
How many cupcakes are on the game board
How many balloons are on the game board
How many words are on the game board

Feed the Woozle

Using games in therapy sessions

Feed the Woozle is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Feed the Woozle

Feed the Woozle is a co-operational activity game from Peaceable Kingdom. The game can be played by two to five players playing as a team. The object of the game is to feed the Woozle 12 snacks, carrying the “snacks” on the spoon and depositing them in the Woozle’s mouth, eight-to-ten feet away. For every snack you get in the Woozle’s mouth, collect a Yummy card. Collect 12 Yummy cards before you run out of snacks, and you win! Included in the game: 1 stand-up Woozle, 24 Silly Snack tokens, 12 Yummy cards, 1 die, 1 spoon, and 1 spinner.

Suggested lesson for Feed the Woozle

“Today we are going to play Feed the Woozle. We need to help the Woozle eat his yummy snacks, so we’re going to carry the snacks over to him using this giant spoon.”

“The Woozle is over here, with his mouth open. He is about 5 or 6 steps away. Let’s start here and take those steps. Let’s count as we step.””

“And to make it fun, we have a spinner that will tell you how to walk from here to there. It can be March, it can be Walk Backwards, it can be Hop like a Bunny. We’ll spin to decide how you do it. So, let’s spin, and it stops on March. Can you show me how you can march?”

“Now, pick up the die and roll it to see how many yummy snack tokens you’ll take over to the Woozle. And you rolled a 2. So, let’s get 2 yummy snacks from the box and put them on the spoon.”

“Now, let’s march over to the Woozle, holding our spoon and trying not to drop any yummy snacks on the floor. And, when you get there, pour the yummy snacks into the Woozle’s mouth.”

“One snack fell off, but you got 1 snack in, so you get 1 Yummy card. Now, back to the starting line and it’s our friend’s turn to spin the spinner and roll the die.”

Speech & Language Therapy

Describe the Snack - would you eat it? How would you make it? How would you make it tastier?
Describe the Movements listed on the spinner – when would you move that way?

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline
Roll the dice using two hands to “shake” the dice
Roll the dice using one hand
Try holding the spoon with different grips: pencil grip, fist grip, etc.

Special Education

Count out the snacks and subtract the number that fell off the spoon. Three snacks minus one that fell on the floor = 2 snacks.
What other silly movements can you think of that are not on the spinner?

What Happens Next? Picture Sequencing

Using games in therapy sessions

What Happens Next? is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

What Happens Next? Picture Sequencing

What Happens Next? Picture Sequencing Game from Carson-Dellosa with 14 sets of 3-piece sequence puzzle pictures. The game can be played with one player for ages three and up.

Suggested lesson for What happens Next?

Pre-select the 3-piece puzzle. Take it apart and present the pieces in a jumbled order. For this sample, we will use the “Puppy on the Slide” sequence.

“We’re going to put together a story puzzle. The pictures on the puzzle tell us what happened to each character. Let’s look at the pieces.”

“Tell me what is going on in this piece? Yes, the puppy is at the top of the slide.”

“What is going on in this piece? Yes, the puppy is standing next to the slide and he is wagging his tail.”

“And what is going on in this last piece? Yes, the puppy is sliding down the slide.”

“Let’s put them in an order that makes sense. Would you be at the top or bottom of the slide before you slide down.”

“Yes, you would be at the top. Let’s put those pieces together. They fit together.”

“Let’s look at the last piece. The puppy is at the bottom of the slide wagging his tail. He is happy, he wants to slide down the slide. Let’s fit the piece to the side of the other two pieces. It fits.”

For children who are able to follow those directions, you can add another step. You can incorporate vocabulary cards or articulation cards. If you are working on particular sounds, reinforce the correct placement and production of the sounds.

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence.

Start with a carrier sentence, such as: “I see a puppy.” As they are successful, go to a more complicated sentence, such as: “The puppy likes to ride the slide.”

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions about the sequence cards.

Speech & Language Therapy

Describe what is happening in the puzzle picture
Describe the place where this is happening

Occupational Therapy

Use two hands together to manipulate the pieces and put them together
Reinforce crossing the midline

Special Education

Name a word that rhymes with the animal or item on the cards
Where would you expect to find the animal
What sound would the animal make

Why USED Games are the BEST for Therapy

When I first started out as a therapist, and older colleague always had in her bag a battered old copy of Candy Land. I, on the other hand, was very proud of my new games. I was always combing the catalogs and looking in toy stores for new, interesting yet appropriate games. Then the colleague explained to me about New Car Syndrome.

1. New Car Syndrome. When you spend $20, $30 or $40 on a brand-new game from a store or ordered online, it is like your new car. You are so proud of it. And when the first grumpy child who doesn't feel like doing their best work that day, grabs the cardboard token and BENDS IT IN HALF! You feel like your car has been totaled. It is not the shiny, new car any more.

If they misbehaved with a game that I'd had for five or ten years, or a game I "inherited" from my predecessor, it wouldn't have wounded me in the same way. So, you have a discussion with them about how that is not nice/they should use their words if they are upset/that is unacceptable behavior and they will be in timeout, or whatever. BUT, my game is no longer the brand-new game it once was.

2. Used games are kid-tested. New games may sound interesting to you (as an adult) but kids may be bored with them. Used games have been pre-enjoyed by many different kids so you can be sure there is a universal appeal.

3. Popular/familiar characters at a discount. You don't have to stand in line at Toy Store to get the latest game from the newest Kid Show or latest fad. You can buy Mickey Mouse or Toy Story or Berenstain Bears games used and save your money. If the child is three, Toy Story is a brand-new movie to them, so any game with those characters will be of interest and exciting.

4. Vintage games and discontinued games. You can pick up old games or older versions of classic games that the manufacturer no longer makes. In many cases, they are better games, just not as flashy to parents. When companies "update" their games, they will dumb them down, or take away some of the activities that were beneficial for fine motor skills. (Pop-o-matic dice instead of traditional Rolling Dice.)

5. Four or five used games for the price of one brand new game. If you have a diverse caseload, you are trying to please many kiddos, and very seldom will one game interest all the kids. Some may like dinosaurs, some like unicorns, some like construction trucks, some may like Paw Patrol. Your dollar will go farther picking up four or five games instead of one shiny, brand new game.

6. Don't need four character tokens if you are doing one-on-one therapy. Some used games are not complete. They may be missing a card, a playing token, or a Cootie Bug leg. But, if you are playing a game with one or two kiddos, if the 4-player game is missing one token -- it doesn't matter all that much -- you don't have four players. The game still works.

7. Reuse and Recycle games. Just like in Toy Story 3, we all want to keep Woody out of the landfill. A pre-used game still has many years of use, and to a three-year-old -- it is a new game! -- to them.

Brown Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?

Using games in therapy sessions

Brown Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Brown Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?

Brown Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See? is a Sequence Matching Game from University Games with 36 cards, a game board, and instructions. The game can be played with two to four players.

Suggested lesson for Brown Bear, Panda Bear

Lay the four bear cards, face down on the game board.

“We both pick a card to see what bear we are. You picked a Brown Bear. You sit here with the picture of the Brown Bear. And I picked a Panda Bear, so I will sit here.”

Lay the other 32 animal cards face down in the center of the game board.

“It is your turn, so you pick a card from the middle. Turn the card over so we both can see it. What is it?”

“Yes, it is a Green Frog. Let’s look at your animals on the board. Do you see a Green Frog? Yes, there is a Green Frog. The Green Frog on the card and the Green Frog on the board – they match. Green Frog and Green Frog. They are the same. So let’s put the Green Frog card on top of the Green Frog picture.”

“Because you got a match, you can pick another card. Turn the card over so we both can see it. What is it?”

“Yes, it is a Red Wolf. Let’s look at the animals on the board in front of you. Do you see a Red Wolf? No, there is not a Red Wolf. (But, there is a Red Wolf for the Panda Bear.) So, let’s put the Red Wolf back in the middle, face down.”

“Now, it is my turn. I remember that you picked a Red Wolf. So, I pick this card and show it so we both can see. It is a Red Wolf and it matches the Red Wolf on the board. The Red Wolf and the Red Wolf are the same – they match. So, I put the Red Wolf on top of the Red Wolf on my side of the game board.”

“Because I got a match by remembering where the Red Wolf card was, I can pick another card. So, I pick a card and turn it over so we both can see it. It is a Yellow Duck. I’m looking at my animals, but I don’t see a Yellow Duck. Do you see a Yellow Duck anywhere?”

“Because I didn’t get a match, I put the Yellow Duck back face down in the middle where I picked it from.”

“Now, it is your turn to pick a card. You can pick any card from the middle. Do you remember where the yellow Duck card is…”

Play continues until one player has collected all the animal cards in their sequence on the game board.

If a player has matched all 8 cards in their sequence:

If playing as a Brown Bear, recite:
“Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? I see a Red Bird, I see a Yellow Duck, I see a Blue Horse, I see a Green Frog, I see a Purple Cat, I see a White Dog, I see a Black Sheep, I see a Goldfish… Looking at me!”
If playing as a Panda Bear, recite:
“Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See? I see a Bald Eagle, I see a Water Buffalo, I see a Spider Monkey, I see a Green Sea Turtle, I see a Macaroni Penguin, I see a Sea Lion, I see a Red Wolf, I see a Black Panther… Wild and Free!”

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence.

Start with a carrier sentence, such as: “I see a Brown Bear.” As they are successful, go to a more complicated sentence, such as: “The Brown Bear lives in the woods.”

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions about the animal cards, for example: Where does [this animal] live? What does [this animal] like to do?

Speech & Language Therapy

Name a word that rhymes with the animal or color
Where would you expect to find the animal

Occupational Therapy

Pick up and turn over cards with appropriate grip
Reinforce midline crossing

Special Education

Name a word that rhymes with the animal or color
Where would you expect to find the animal
What sound would the animal make

Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti is a favorite activity that I use with many of my school-age kiddoes. This is a great activity used in conjunction with emerging math skills.

Tutti Frutti

Tutti Frutti is a card game from Discovery Toys for two to six players, recommended for ages six and up. Tutti Frutti contains 56 playing cards (each card showing a different number of fruits: red strawberries, purple plums, green limes, and yellow bananas, in combinations from one to five) and one steel bell.

The object of the game is to recognize when there are five of one fruit visible. This could be a card that shows, for example, five strawberries. Or it could be the sum of two different cards, for example, two plums on one card and three plums on another card. If you recognize that five fruits are visible, reach to the middle to ring the bell. The first one who rings the bell gets all the cards played.

Suggested lesson for Tutti Frutti

To set up the game, place the bell in the center of the table so all can reach it. Shuffle the cards and deal out an equal number of cards to each player. All players should place their pile of cards face down in front of them.

"I will go first. I'll turn the top card over and place in front of my pile. You turn the top card of your pile over and place it in front of your pile."

"What do you see on my card? What kind of fruit is it? Yes, it is a Strawberry. And how many Strawberries on my card? Yes, there are one-two-three-four Strawberries on my card."

"Let's look at your card. What is the fruit on your card? Yes, it is a Banana. And how many Bananas on your card? Yes, there are one-two Bananas on your card."

"Do we see five of one kind of fruit showing? Let's look. There are four Strawberries and two Bananas. Are they the same fruits? No, they are not the same fruits, so we both draw new cards."

"What is on my card? Yes, my card has a Lime on it. How many Limes are on my card? Yes, there are one-two Limes on my card."

"Now let's look at your card. What is on your card?"

"Yes, there are Limes on your card. The same are on my card. How many Limes are on your card? Yes, there are one-two-three Limes on your card."

"Our cards have the same fruit on them. They match. Limes and limes."

"How many limes are showing? Two Limes on my card and three Limes on your card. What is three plus two? Yes, it is five. There are five Limes showing. Five is our goal. Ring the bell and collect all the cards showing."

When a player loses all their cards, they are out of the game. The winner is the player who collects all the cards.

For children who are able to follow these directions, add another step. Incorporate vocabulary cards or articulation cards. If you are working on particular sounds, reinforce the correct placement and production of the sounds.

If the child is more proficient with sound production, have them use the word in a sentence. Start with a carrier sentence, "I like strawberries." Then go to a more complicated sentence, "I put strawberries on my cereal.".

If the goals are to improve receptive and expressive language, incorporate WH questions.

Using games in therapy sessions

Tutti Frutti is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers.

Incorporate the game play into your therapy session, having kiddoes say their target sounds before moving their token, picking a card, or whatever action the game calls for.

Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Speech & Language Therapy

Say the name of the fruit and its color
Switch around fruits and colors (would you eat a red banana, would you eat a yellow plum)
Say the target sound before playing a card
Say the target sound before ringing the bell

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline

Special Education

Practice simple addition
Practice naming fruits and their colors
Can you make a rhyme for the fruit
Is there part of this fruit that you don’t eat

Why I Love Ravensburger Games

The games are designed to be re-playable and fun to master, as it is a new experience every time. Race to the Roof has a game board that is a house template and you place the "rooms" on the game board in any order you want. So as you race to the roof, you might go through the kitchen, then the bathroom, then the living room. The next time, it might be the play room, the living room, then the kitchen. Every time you play the game it will be different.

I am always on the lookout for for new and interesting games that I can use in my speech & language therapy practice. I look for sturdy, well-made games or activities, underlying educational nature, and colorful kid-friendly appearance. A good number of the games I select have the blue triangle in the lower right corner of the box that is the trademark of Ravensburger.

Ravensburger games seek to build knowledge and social skills by allowing players to gain knowledge and basics skills through playful education.

Ravensburger games help develop abilities like creativity, imagination and open-mindedness.

Ravensburger games are easy to access and start, so that any generation can begin using Ravensburger games instantly.

The games are durable and long-lasting, manufactured with quality and sustainability in mind. Games such as Snails Pace Race have sturdy wooden player tokens.

Animal Friends Puzzle Sticks

Using games in therapy sessions

Animal Friends Puzzle Sticks is a great fun activity that can be used by speech & language therapists, occupational therapists, and special education teachers. Games can make therapy fun and engaging for the child while the therapist can elicit responses and actions that meet therapy goals.

Animal Friends

Animal Friends Puzzle Sticks includes 24 double-sided puzzle sticks that create six 8-piece animal puzzles that can be used in therapy sessions. Completed puzzles feature illustrations of a chicken, a bear, a cat, a fox, a panda, and a leopard. Each puzzle has a unique background to help you sort and match the pieces.

Suggested lesson for Puzzle Sticks

“Today we’re going to play Puzzle Sticks and build some animal faces.”

“Spread the puzzle sticks out on the table.”

“Look at the pictures on the box, and pick a puzzle to assemble. We’ll assemble the Leopard.”

“The Leopard has a red background, so collect all the puzzle sticks with red ends.”

“Look at the Leopard picture for clues. The Leopard has two black Ears and a Hat at the top of their head. Find the stick with Ears, this is the top of the puzzle.”

“The Leopard is wearing a coat and tie. Look for these images with a Red Tie, these are the bottom of the puzzle.”

“Look at the picture. The Eyes are below the Ears and above the Nose and Mouth.”

“Move sticks higher or lower until the puzzle matches the picture.”

Speech & Language Therapy

Practice prepositions (on top of, in front of, next to, etc)
Describe the animal in the puzzle
Where would you find the animal?

Occupational Therapy

Reinforce crossing the midline
Sort the puzzle sticks by “end” colors
Assemble the puzzle sticks, moving pieces up or down
Sort the puzzle sticks by facial features (eyes, mouths, ears)

Special Education

Arrange the puzzle pieces by “end” color
What color is the animal in the puzzle?
Imitate the sound the animal would make