Apple activities
Materials:  6 apples (2 each of red, yellow, and green), preferably in varying sizes

Matching – Have the children match the apples by color (then by size, if appropriate).

Comparatives – Pick 2-3 apples that are different enough in size and do receptive and expressive language tasks for big/little, big/bigger/biggest, and small/smaller/smallest.

Describing – Have the children describe the similarities and differences between the different types of apples.

Vocabulary/Parts of a whole – Discuss the parts of an apple, using the terms stem, skin, flesh, core, and seeds.  Cut an apple in half and show them the parts.
There are definitions for each of these parts at
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/gr2appleparts.htm

and an illustration of an apple with the parts labeled at
http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/sites/elementary/samoset/gr2applecutawaypopup.htm

Various speech and language skills – Print out this apple game board to use for a variety of skills.

To my friends in the Southern Hemisphere…I hope you are enjoying the beginning of spring.  You can use many of the ideas above using flowers instead of apples.  Silk flowers last longer and may be more consistent in size and color, but you can also just gather up a few from outside.

Why are bubbles so great?

They’re cheap, fascinating, low-tech, and a wonderful therapy tool – a must have for Speech-language Pathologists working with young children.  The effect bubbles can have on a child is amazing!  By blowing bubbles, you can quickly gain and hold a child’s attention or calm a fussy child.  You can work on early words and concepts, practice turn taking, and work on things such as air flow and lip rounding – while having fun!  They are also very portable and can be used in any setting.

How do you use them for language therapy?

When working on requests for action, I use bubbles to teach the child to sign or say:  bubbles, blow, more, my turn, and all done.  I also use them to work on basic concepts such as up, down, big, little, wet, dry, and body parts.  For up and down, big and little, I model these by commenting on bubbles I’ve blown.  They can, however, become requests by the child on how to blow the next bubbles.

For the concept of wet, we feel the table after blowing some bubbles on it, then wipe it off and feel “dry”.  Practicing body parts with bubbles begins with commenting on where the bubbles are landing (e.g., head, hand, finger, foot) and can become requests for where to blow bubbles.  Of course, be careful not to blow them in the child’s face.

Hints:

I recommend getting a no-spill bubble container so that you can hand the bubbles off to a young child without worrying about a big mess.  They are available for a few dollars at many stores and are refillable.

If caregivers are present for therapy sessions, have them take turns with you.  This is an enjoyable activity that can easily be part of a home program.

Have fun!

Making the cards

Grab some index cards and some stickers, making sure most of the stickers have an identical match.  Cut the index cards in half.  Place one sticker on each index card half.  It is helpful if the stickers are varied in theme and/or style (e.g., not all underwater animals).

Using the cards

When working receptively with the cards, start with matching ones and ask, “Are these the same?”  If the child answers correctly, give positive feedback.  If the child answers incorrectly or not at all, model, “Yes, these are the same.” Then say what the pictures are while pointing to them.  For example, say, “Fish.  Fish.  They are the same.”  After a few matching pairs, hold up two cards that do not match and ask, “Are these the same?”  If the child answers incorrectly, model, “No.  These are not the same.”  Then you can label the pictures while pointing them and say something like, “Fish.  Car.  These are not the same.  These are different.”

Once the child has the concept of “same” vs. “different” (or “not the same”), you can work on having the child expressively tell you if two pictures are the same or different.  Hold up two cards and give an open ended sentence such as, “These pictures are ___.”

After the child has mastered this concept, teaching other basic language concepts such as color, shape, size, or quantity will be much easier.

What goes into the eggs?

Depending on the child or group you are working with, you can change the stimuli (pictures, words, directions to follow, etc.) and prizes that go into the plastic eggs.  For example, for young children, I cut out stickers to put in some of the eggs.  For older students, I put papers in the eggs that say “pick again”, “candy”, or “extra point”.

What do you do with the eggs?

Here are a few different ways that you can use the eggs in your sessions.

1. Egg Hunt – Before the session begins, hide the eggs around the room.  Have the child or children hunt for the eggs and put them in a bowl.  When all the eggs have been found, they open the eggs one at a time, saying the target word or following the directions on the paper inside the egg.  Finding prizes in random eggs keeps it fun and exciting.  If time allows, let the child(ren) hide the eggs for the next group or client.

2. Pick a Good Egg – Have the clients take turns picking eggs from a big bowl or basket.  They say the target word or sentence or get a prize like in the Egg Hunt game.

3. Up, Down, and All Around – Plastic eggs can also be used for working on prepositions.  For a receptive task, place a few eggs relative to an object (e.g., on, in, next to) and have the child point to the one that is in the place you describe.  For an expressive task, place one egg relative to an object, and have the child tell you where the egg is (e.g., “in the basket”).