This is the second post in my toys and games series. Click on the previous post if you missed the first one about classic children’s games! The summer I graduated from grad school with my masters, I found out that my position working in Chicago Public Schools would be in a school that has no stash of speech therapy materials. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Not surprisingly I had a very limited budget since I had just graduated. Pro tip: hit up garage sales in wealthier suburbs and use Craigslist to select garage sales that specifically list “children’s board games and toys. Here’s what I found to feather my speech therapy nest without breaking to bank:
- A playhouse – I use playhouses with my very quiet students, students with social skill deficits, students struggling with basic vocabulary and categories…the list goes on and on!
- Mr Potato Head – My preschoolers love the old potato! It’s great for requesting, naming body parts, and using prepositions.
- Connect Four – What is it about this game? I think it’s nice, but kids love it. You can use it to work on articulation, preposition words, basic colors, etc.
- Play food – You will want to wash any play food you find but play food is a home run with the 3-5 year old set! It’s great for basic categories, colors, description words, requesting and on and on!
- A ball – Using a ball in speech is really a terrific tool with preschoolers. It’s great as a warm up for those wiggly kids. But it can be used to work on following directions and taking turns.
What great preschool toys have you found at garage sales? I want to know!! Bonus points if you were ever able to find an elusive Cariboo game at a garage sale!
I’ve come away from yard sales with therapy puzzles, blocks, balls, and – all time fave – wind-up toys!