Rainbow and Cloud Therapy Reinforcement Activities

Using just a few basic materials, you can do two different rainbow clothespin reinforcement activities with your students for St. Patrick’s Day, in the spring, or any time.  These activities are a great way to keep your therapy sessions fun and productive.

What you need:

• white card stock or poster board, cut into a cloud shape for each student
• painted or colored clothespins (You’ll need red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple for each student.)
• markers (for writing on the clouds, not for the activity)
• a standard six-sided die or
• a bag, bowl, or box for the students to reach into without being able to see what they are getting

What to do for the die-rolling activity:

1. Write the numbers 1-6 near the edge of the upper right of each cloud. Put a dot of color under the numbers to represent the colors of the rainbow (i.e., 1=red, 2=orange, 3=yellow, 4=green, 5=blue, 6=purple).
2. Give each student a cloud and a clothespin of each color.
3. After students complete therapy tasks (e.g., practicing speech sounds, answering questions), they roll the die and clip the corresponding clothespin on the number on their cloud.  For example, if Mark rolls a 3, he would clip the yellow clothespin on the number 3 on his cloud.
4. If students roll a number that they previously rolled, a clothespin is not added, and it becomes the next student’s turn.
5. The first one to get all six clothespins to make a rainbow wins!

What to do for the color-matching activity:

1. Make a mark of each color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) near the edge of the upper right of each cloud.
2. Give each student a cloud.
3. Gather six clothespins (one of each color) for each student.  Put the clothespins in the bag, bowl, or box.
4. After students complete a therapy task, they reach into the bag, pull out a clothespin, and clip it onto the corresponding color on their cloud.
5. If the students pick a color that they already have, the clothespin is returned to the bag, and it becomes the next student’s turn.
6. The first one to get all six clothespins to make a rainbow wins!