Ways to use Pictures:
Picture/flash cards are great resources but can get boring when they are used only to label a picture. Switching up the way you use them can make it fun. Picture cards can be modified to play different games with the same set: Scattergories, Go Fish, Memory, Taboo, Jeopardy, Hedbanz, Charades, Pictionary, Scavenger Hunt, etc.
Scavenger hunt
Great for receptive language skills and for kids with high energy as it involves moving around.
Spread out the pictures across the room(s) and give clues based on your child's age.
Simple clues: Find broccoli; find the animal that gives milk; find a vehicle that can fly.
Complex clues: Find a vegetable that grows in fields and has “ears.”
Categories
Great for expressive language and vocabulary goals.
Sorting: Give them shuffled cards and have them sort them into categories.
Naming the items in a given category before flipping the cards. Challenge the older kids by asking them to name as many as they can in the given time.
Memory game
Great for following directions, taking turns, and social skills
Lay the pictures face down and have the child find all pictures in a given category. Keep it simple or complex based on the number of cards you use and number of cards in each category they have to find.
Guessing game
Great for expressive and receptive language and vocabulary goals.
Verbal cues: Use descriptive words or attributes that describe pictures based on color, size, habitat, function etc.
Drawing or using gestures helps develop cognitive skills and is a fun way to take turns guessing the target word.
Speech-Language Pathologist • Playdate Speech Therapy