Here’s another part of my speech room tour series!  Today I’m highlighting my articulation boxes!

The set I use is from Akro-Mils on Amazon. I’ve linked it for you below! All 24 drawers are organized by phoneme and place of articulation. Each drawer is full of mini objects from Dinky Doodads, Lakeshore Learning, and little items from around my house.  I recently discovered Speech Tree Co and she sells awesome sets of mini objects!  I also have 3 sets of tiny articulation cards from Mommy Speech Therapy (free on their website!) inside each drawer. There are objects and cards for each phoneme in the initial, medial, and final positions of words.  As I find tiny objects, I just add them to the drawers. 🤩 There are UNLIMITED ways to use mini objects in therapy sessions.

Here are some of my absolute favorite activities!

Easter Egg Hunt: Place objects with your target sound in Easter eggs and hide them around the room while the child closes their eyes. Help the child search for the eggs around the room and practice the target word inside each one as they find them.
Sensory Bins: Mini objects are just the right size for sensory bins! Again, place objects with your target sound inside the bin and have the child dig around to search for the objects, practicing the words along the way. Some of my favorite sensory bin fillers are kinetic sand, dry beans, Easter grass, and water beads.
Pretend Play: Use the mini objects for a sound-loaded pretend play sequence. This is especially fun if the target sound has a lot of animal objects. We like to use my doll house and farm.
Crocodile Dentist: In this game, the child pushes down the crocodile’s teeth. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but pushing down one of his teeth will make him chomp down! The tooth changes every time and the kids get so excited to play. The crocodile has a very large tongue and can fit any mini object. When he chomps down, it’s like he’s eating the object! Giggles for days! In my 1:1 sessions, I typically have the child practice the name of the mini object 1-3x, then let them push down one tooth. For example, if we’re targeting initial /k/ and there is a tiny cat in his mouth, that’s the word we practice. You can get a ton of productions this way!
Mystery Box: Place one of the the mini objects inside of an opaque container. I’ve linked one below, but anything will do! Have the child reach their hand in, feel around, and guess which object is inside, using their best speech sounds. You can even give them clues. Once they pull the object out, you can practice the word with a carrier phrase, such as “I found a seal.”

I’ve linked these items below for easy shopping!

What’s your favorite way to use mini objects in therapy?! Comment below!