Toys and Games

 This past week we've been enjoying toys and games during our therapy sessions.  With COVID it's been awhile since we've sat closer at a table and shared game pieces so this week was so much fun for the kids and myself!  Over the years I have created a wide variety of game companions and mats that can be used to target a variety of speech and language skills while also playing with toys or games.

Each activity is available separately but I have also bundled most of these Toys and Game companions on TPT for a discount! All the pictures below are linked.  Check them out!

Playdough Mats

First up, playdough mats!  I have a range of articulation and language mats that make planning mixed groups super easy. 

Pop it Companions

This is a new companion I made this year when the Pop it craze took over my kids.  They love this one!

Play N' Say Mats

Uno is always requested with my kids in grades 2nd-5th.  These mats make it easy to target speech sounds while also playing. When they play a card they must say the word on the color mat that matches. 

Speech Builders

I printed and laminated these strips and use them with a variety of blocks. Duplo, legos and hashtag blocks, they love them all!

While most of the toys and games we've played with are physical games, we have many boom card games we play too. 

Tic-Tac-Talk

This is an easy one for the beginning or the end of a session.  We always get a lot of trials in when we play this game. 

Articulation Four-in-a-Row

I have an articulation and a language version of this game. It's similar to Connect 4 except players can put their pieces anywhere on the board. First to four in a row wins!

Game Companions

This file has open-ended mats for a large variety of games. So many ways to play!

Guess What?

A little while ago I made an Articulation Mini-Objects kit and we use them to play many different games. This Guess What poster is an easy way to play using a mystery box or bag. We hide objects and the kids ask questions to figure out what's inside. 

Some of my kids need a little more help than the poster so we may use these Mystery Box mats to give them an idea of what could be inside the box.  

For my preschoolers I have a collection of toddler toys/games we like to play with to increase overall language skills. These Vocabulary Parking Lots are free and so much fun to "park" our cards on different words. 

Also for my younger kids or for my kids who are working to expand language skills we incorporate Aided Language Mats into our play.  We place the mats near the toys and point to the words as we use them or try to incorporate these common words while we play. 

Play-Based Speech and Language Therapy

Another FREE resource, are these play-based cards that give ideas, tips or tricks to target speech and/or language skills during play.  These are super helpful to send home to parents for home practice too.

That's a wrap for toys and games.  We played this past week but we often incorporate these toys and games throughout the year!