Congratulations! You have made it to Sentence Level Games for R. At this stage, you are going to throw away your flashcards.
Throw away your cards because when your child sees "speech flashcards," he or she goes in to "speech mode." In "speech mode," your child remembers to say R correctly. However, when your child is not in "speech mode," he or she may not say the sound right.
Therefore, your child now must work on R during more "natural" games. This is how we transition all the great progress made so far into automatic, everyday speech!
I created games that naturally contain R words. To be successful with these games, make sure to incorporate as many R sentences as possible. Also, give appropriate verbal, visual, and tactile cues as needed.
1. Remind your child that you are going to play a game and practice R at the same time. Everyone has to remember to use their good R sound! I like to do a quick "warm-up" and repeat a few R words for practice.
2. Introduce the target sentences and then practice them with your child before starting the game.
3. Incorporate as many repetitions of the target sentences as possible.
4. Make sure you, the parent, take turns during games. You have the opportunity to model the target sentence which has the power to accelerate the process.
5. Don't forget to give appropriate verbal, visual, and tactile cues as needed.
Lastly, remember to have fun!!
Target Phrases/Sentences
Let's race, 1..2..3..race, Ready...set...race!
How to Play
Have a foot race with your child. Create a start and finish line. When all players are ready, have your child start the race with one of the phrases above. The best one is ready, set, race since it has 2 R/r/ sounds in it.
Example Script
Target Sentences
I wrote, I will write, I write, Please write
How to Play
If your child is practicing writing or has some writing work to do at home, ask your child "what did you write?" when he/she is finished. Have your child respond with either "I wrote____" or "I write." If your child really likes to write, you can take turns being teacher and student and tell one another "please write_____."
Example Script
OR
Target Sentences
Toss the paper into garbage can, Squish the paper
How to Play
Get out scrap pieces of paper and an empty bucket. Take turns "squishing the paper" into balls. Once all the balls are made, take turns tossing the paper into the bucket saying "toss the paper" before each turn.
Example Script: Squish the Paper
Example Script: Toss Paper
Target Sentence
Teacher says_____
How to Play
One person is the leader and gives a command, i.e. “teacher says touch your toes.” The other players have to follow the commands only if the leader says "teacher says.” If the command does not include “teacher says,” the other players are not to follow. If they do follow the command, they lose and everyone switches roles. Remember, your primary focus is to make sure your child says "teacher" with a correct /r/.
Example Script:
Target Sentences
In that car____, In the car____, The car is going to____
How to Play
While driving, someone points to a car. That person is the story teller. The storyteller has to create a story saying, "in that car____."
Example Script
Child: In that car, I see a mom and child.
Target Sentences
This will depend on the book
How to Play
You will need a highlighter or sticky notes and a book. During story time with your child, have your child read a page out of a book while practicing /r/. Pre-marking each /r/ beforehand with a highlighter, pencil, or post-it at first is helpful. As your child improves, take away the markings.
Example Script
Target Words
Sugar, Fork, More, Burger, Rice, Etc...
How to "Play"
This is not a game at all. Instead, be aware of all the /r/ words you or your child might say during meals. A sticker or tally system for every /r/ word pronounced correctly may be good motivation to remain concentrated for an entire meal. See if your child can beat their previous record!
You've made it! If you want some more practice, check out some language worksheets.