Going to Target for speech therapy materials is a no brainer — but it can get costly after you leave the dollar spot. I take you through a Target with my SLP hat on and share which games I like to use, how much they cost, and where to find them in store. In fact, I go to two different stores to make this video!
Speech Therapy Ideas at Target
- Articulation games:
- Connect Four: Say a targeted speech sound
- Jenga: Say a targeted speech sound, pull a block out.
- Fishing Game: Say a targeted speech sound, go fishing
- Yeti in my Spaghetti: Say a targeted speech sound, pull out a spaghetti
- Language games:
- My First Bananagrams: This game is a fun and educational way to help children develop their language skills. Players take turns building words from letter tiles. The first player to use all of their tiles wins.
- Pop-Up Pirate: This game is a great way to help children develop their listening and comprehension skills. Players take turns taking turns popping the pirate out of the barrel. If the pirate pops out, the player loses.
- Heads Up: Name a word given only auditory clues. This is also available in an app
- Headbanz: Put a picture on a card and put it on your head.
- Guess Who?: This game is a classic game that can be used to help children develop their ask questions. Players take turns asking yes or no questions to try to guess the identity of their opponent’s mystery character.
When choosing games for speech therapy sessions, it is important to consider the child’s age, interests, and speech and language goals.
Tips for Games in Speech
- Make sure the game is appropriate for the child’s age, interests, and speech and language goals.
- Explain the rules of the game, but feel free to modify to make it easier for certain students.
- Provide positive feedback and encouragement.
- Consider your student’s reaction to losing. Sometimes for some students it helps them to build character to lose a game. For other students, losing is devastating and they cannot recover from that. In those situations, I have “thrown” games and lost on purpose. Keep in mind that games based on luck can not be rigged.
Games can be a fun and effective way to help children in speech therapy sessions. By choosing the right games and using them appropriately, kids on your caseload can develop their speech and language skills in a motivating and engaging way.