Speech Therapy: Kitchen Game and Clues Game

In moving on from "Where" questions, Miss Lisa introduced some different activities,
including two games I call the "Kitchen Game" and the "Clues Game."  Of course,
we spent several months practicing "Where?," but these were some "games"
to break up the monotony.

Kitchen Game:

It didn't occur to me that Sara did not fully grasp the names and uses of the kitchen
appliances.  (The things we take for granted, huh!?)   I thought Miss Lisa was wasting
time when she started asking Sara these questions, but I quickly saw that we needed
to work on them!

What do we use to keep food cold?  (refrigerator)
What do we use to keep food frozen?  (freezer)
What do we use to bake a cake?  (oven)
What do we use to make coffee?  (coffeemaker)
What do we use to toast bread?   (toaster)
What do we use to heat up food?   (microwave)
What do we use to wash dishes?  (dishwasher)
Where do we keep the forks?  (in the drawer)
Where do we keep the plates and cups?  (in the cabinet)

These questions continued the focus on locations (Where?) and
also target object functions.  (More on functions next post*)

Clues Game:

This is a game I witnessed a friend playing with her child on the playground
when she was two years old.  Of course when Sara and I came home I
immediately started asking her the same questions.  She did not understand.

Fast-forward a year and a half and now Miss Lisa is working on it in Speech,
but with a little more explanation along the way:

"I am thinking of an animal. . . It's black. . . What do you think it could be?"
Sara:  a bug. . .  a dog. . . a horse. . .
"It has a web."
Sara:  A spider!

"I am thinking of a fruit. . . it is red. . . What do you think it could be?"
Sara:  A strawberry!

Other examples:  (After the first two clues, give more clues one at a time until the
guess is correct)

"I am thinking of an animal. . . it has black and white stripes. . .
it looks like a horse. . . "  (zebra)
"I am thinking of a shape.  . . it has three sides. . ."  (triangle)
"I am thinking of a vehicle. . . it is yellow. . . kids ride it to school. . ."
(school bus)

You get the idea. . . I apologize if this is too repetitive.  I want to give enough
examples to help you move on with your own clues!

The Clues Game is still one of Sara's favorites.  It's a great car game for long trips!
Use it to practice locations ("I'm thinking of a toy. . . it's on the top shelf")
and functions ("I'm thinking of a tool. . . you use it to hit nails").