Last Minute Shopping?
Each week we have some great suggestions for you with the Staff Gift of the Week. We’ll highlight a toy or game that a therapist enjoys using in sessions and give you insight into why this game is fun, engaging, and recommended! There may only be 4 shopping days left, but we’ve got you covered!
Emily’s Favorites
Pancake Pile-Up! is a favorite for all ages. Ideally suited for preschool and older, the game can be easily modified to meet the needs of many different ages and skill levels. Players reveal a recipe card and must use their spatula to stack the pancakes matching the sequence on the card. Correctly complete the stack of pancakes and top it with butter before your opponent to win. If you have more than two players, you can make this into a fun relay race. The first player carries a pancake on a spatula while racing to the plate then runs back and hands the spatula to the next player to complete the same task with the next pancake. Use this game to help your children learn to follow a sequence, use sequence words (e.g., first, next, last or 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.), understand and use prepositional words (e.g., on top, under, between, etc.), and expand vocabulary. This game is also great for developing fine and gross motor skills, balance, and coordination
Toysery Cartoon Game Wooden Blocks adds a twist to your classic Jenga game. This game comes with colorful wooden blocks with different animals on each. Use the wooden hammer to remove blocks from the tower and then place the blocks back on top without making the tower crash. This game is so fun your children won’t even realize that they are working hand-eye coordination and fine motor control. The colorful blocks provide natural opportunities to work on vocabulary, categorizing (e.g., colors, types of animals, size of animals, location of animals, etc.), comparing and contrasting, describing, and following directions (e.g., modify the game by giving your child simple directions such as move the orange block in the second row).
Need more ideas?
Happy shopping and if you need more suggestions, please refer to our previous Gift of the Week posts! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more speech and language activities!