Love it & List It: Top 5 Therapy Games

Speech Room News is hosting a linky party, and you're all invited! This week SLP Bloggers, participating in the party, are posting their favorite games to play during therapy (and as you all know...there are so many GREAT games out there!) I've narrowed my list down to my top 5! Enjoy!

1. Jumpin Monkeys - "Be the first to catapult all of your monkeys into the tree and get a bunch of bananas" There are 4 sets of plastic monkeys (primary colors - red, blue, green, yellow). Students take turns using their matching launcher, to catapult a monkey up to the big plastic tree. If they're lucky, the monkey will catch a branch and hang on. Then the student collects a banana. The student with the most bananas at the end, wins! This is a great game to use for turn-taking, articulation practice (e.g., /sw/ - swing, medial /k/ - monkey, etc...), concepts (more/less, most/least)....my students love it!

2. Guess Who? - "Try to deduce the identity of their opponent's mystery person and ask the right questions to eliminate the wrong faces." This is another game my students just LOVE! Asking questions, answering questions, descriptions, negation, etc... You get it all with this game. (I even have several different versions - Disney Characters, Star Wars Characters, etc...). 

3. Chutes and Ladders - "A game of rewards and consequences. Chutes and Ladders is ideal for younger children who are still learning to take turns. No reading required. It's also a gentle introduction to the higher numbers as players climb to 100 at the top of the board." 

4. Cootie - "Be the first to create your own Cootie. Just arrange the bug parts on the fold-out board and roll the die to win the parts you need. (Roll a 1 and pick a body, roll a 2 and select a head, roll a 3, etc.)" - This is a great turn-taking and following direction game! Another favorite of my students!

5. Topple - "To play, perch the game board (a five-level, 8-inch square of molded plastic) on top of the 7-inch- high stand, choose your color piece, and agree on what score will win. Each player then rolls a die and must place a piece on the game board level that corresponds to the number rolled." My older students love this game. I use it in articulation sessions, and in language sessions. Number matching, cognition, problem solving. It's all here!