Quite often, Lil’ Man gets bored with his speech homework, so I am always searching for new and exciting ways to switch it up. Modifying Cranium Cariboo – A Magical Treasure Hunt game was a huge success in our house.
This game came out a few years ago and my older son loved playing it. It has doors that you unlock with a key, bouncy balls, and a hidden treasure that pops out of a chest at the end of the game. What’s there not to love about a game like that?
Although Jake liked playing Cariboo as is, here’s how I turned it into a speech therapy game:
1. I went to the Testy yet Trying blog and printed out the “Initial P: Free Speech Therapy Articulation Picture Cards” I chose /p/ words because those were giving Jake the most trouble in therapy.
2. I took the existing cards off the doors on the Cariboo game.
3. I cut out the new /p/ picture cards and slid them into the slots on the doors. Perfect fit!
Ta-da! The finished product looked like this …
Now it’s time to play! The new, improved, and somewhat-the-same rules are as follows:
Drop three bouncy balls into the holes at the top of the game. Child guesses which door each ball is hiding behind. The object of the game is to find all three balls. In the real Cariboo game, the player is supposed to draw a card from a deck and then open the appropriate door with a key. But, I just asked Jake, “Where do you think the balls are hiding?” He would choose a door, but before he could open it, he would have to say the word on the door three times.
So, what if you don’t have a Cariboo game to take apart and make your own? No worries! You can alter just about any game and turn it into a speech activity if you just think outside of the box a little bit. And, if you need a little extra help, you can find lots of game ideas on the Testy yet Trying blog mentioned above.
Jake's Journey with Apraxia 