One of the least exciting activities in speech therapy can be the use of flashcards. With all the amazing technology today, can we blame the kids for being bored with simple cards?
To make therapy more fun, I use the Connect 4 Launchers game to work on sound production. I cut out picture cards that I found at mommyspeechtherapy.com and placed them into individual slots on the game board.
The child uses the “launcher” to flip a checkers game token in the upper or lower slots. Before launching it, I ask the child to predict where the checkers token will land on the game board by saying the word on the picture in the selected slot. Then, I ask the child to name the picture on the card where the checkers token has actually landed.
If the child produces the sound correctly, he/she can launch a second checkers token. If he/she produces the sound incorrectly, the game partner (e.g. mom or dad, grandma, grandpa, sibling) takes his or her turn to launch a checkers token.
You can work on target sounds (e.g. “L” sound) at the word level (e.g. lion), at the phrase level (e.g. the lion) and at the sentence level (e.g. It landed on the lion) using this game.
This fast-flying game is sure to flip articulation and learning into a fun and engaging activity!
By Anick Labrèche-Garby M.Sc.S. (c), membre de l'OAOO Speech-Language Pathologist (c), Reg. CASLPO
Co-Founder ABC Pediatric Therapies & ABCommunication