Our “stop” in the Great Smoky Mountains was a fun one. For our previous stops, we pretended to be a park ranger. For this one, the kids pretended to be a black bear searching for food in the mountains! I love speech therapy sessions when the kids can move around!
Getting Started
To get into “character,” the child made a black bear headband. They were only given a black crayon to start with. You have no idea how many times I explained that we were going to be black bears but the child requested any color but black! While the child colored, I cut two long strips of black cardstock to create a headband. Once colored, the bear face was cut out and stapled to the strips. I staple one end of each strip to the bear and then stapled the strips together in the back.
It’s your decision if you want the foods colored. My clients did not color theirs. I did give each student a brown paper sack to put everything in and take home. Using this activity in a group? Prep enough food for all the hungry bears in the room!
Articulation
Set this activity up like a scavenger hunt. Place the food cards around the area you’re working in. Each time the child find a food, he/she must produce a target word correctly 5x. For my one on one clients, I write the target words on the back of each food card. Continue until all foods have been found.
Language
Set the activity up in the same way for a scavenger hunt. When the “black bear” goes searching for food, the child has to tell you where each piece was located. You want to emphasize the child using words like “under” or “beside.”
The National Park virtual road trip has been a blast so far! You can find these blog posts helpful if you’re planning a road trip for your speech therapy sessions.
Transform Speech Therapy: Adventures in National Parks
Top 10 National Parks Books for Speech Therapy
Engaging Speech Activities Inspired by Florida National Parks
Engaging Speech Therapy: Crafting in Big Bend
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