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