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

The set I use is from Akro-Mills on Amazon. I’ve linked it for you below! All 24 drawers are organized by phoneme and place of articulation. There are objects and cards for each phoneme in the initial, medial, and final positions of words. Each drawer is full of mini objects from Dinky Doodads, Lakeshore Learning, Mini Brands, and little items from around my house. As I find tiny objects around my house or in stores, I just add them to the drawers. I went through some of my old toys from childhood and gathered little Barbie, Playmobil, and Lego accessories, so if you have any of those laying around that’s a good place to start looking. Amazon has lots of options if you search “mini trinkets,” “mini objects,” “alphabet objects,” or “resin charms.” I’ve also linked some of those for you below.  I recently discovered Speech Tree Co and she sells awesome sets of mini objects!  Each of my drawers also contains 3 sets of tiny articulation cards (initial, medial, final) from Mommy Speech Therapy (free on their website!). 🤩 There are UNLIMITED ways to use mini objects in therapy sessions.

Here are some of my absolute favorite activities to target articulation and phonology with mini objects.

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.”
Speech Sound Sorting Mats: Gather mini objects that include the student’s speech sound and some that don’t. Print out the pages and write in which sound you’re sorting. Say the word/brand aloud and ask the child to listen to the sounds. Did it have their speech sound? What position is the sound in? Organize the objects by sound and position to target auditory discrimination and improve generalization! Click here to download my articulation mini objects sorting pages for only $1!

Have I piqued your interest in Mini Brands?! Click here to read my blog post all about how I use them in speech therapy to target tons of different goals. Click here for the printable describing chart pictured below ($1). These activities work great with Mini Brands or ANY tiny objects you put in your speech sound drawers.

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

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