Halloween is my favorite holiday for therapy! So much so that I will be discussing two more Halloween-themed books with activities to engage your students and work toward their therapy goals. In case you missed part one of this series and want two more books to use this Halloween season be sure to read my last blog post HERE! ?
Peanut Butter and Brains: A Zombie Culinary Tale by Joe McGee
Reginald wasn’t like the other zombies in Quirkville. While the other zombies liked to scare the townspeople while moaning and groaning for brains, Reginald was more interested in eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He tried to tell his zombie friends but they weren’t interested. This silly story is perfect for Halloween and will be a big hit with any of your elementary aged clients!
Activity #1
We learn in the story that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a hit with the zombies and Reginald soon learns that he loves pizza! With some fake food toys or even pictures of food, discuss with your students other foods that the zombies might enjoy. You can target -wh questions, categories, comparing/and contrasting, and predicting.
Activity #2
For all my Boom Card lovers, this I-Spy flashlight activity is ideal for Halloween! You and your students get to take the flash light and find spooky things in the night. This activity can be used as a turn-taking or reinforcement activity as well as target describing, using carrier phrases for articulation goals, answering -wh and yes/no questions, and much much more.
I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll
This story gives the audience a different take on monsters. One night, Ethan checks under his bed for his monster, Gabe. He finds a note from Gabe stating that he had left to go fishing and that he would be back in a week. Ethan knows that Gabe’s familiar nightly scares wouldn’t allow him to sleep peacefully. I love this story for younger students who might be afraid of the monster’s under their bed because it always gives them a good laugh and a little more peace knowing the monster under their bed maybe aren’t that scary after all.
Activity #1
To fit the monster theme, I like to pull out Go Away Monster. It is a cooperative game that will require the group of students to help each other. The game has four boards that resemble a bedroom, eight monsters, sixteen bedroom pieces, and a bag to hold everything so it is portable for our traveling SLPs! The premise of the game is that each student, with their bedroom boards, will pick an object from the bag of pieces. If the student gets a bedroom piece, then they can put it on their board or give it to a friend if they already have the object. If they pick a monster, the student has to say “go away monster!” Students will be working on turn-taking, answering -wh questions, as well as /g/ and s-blends.
Activity #2
I have a wide collection of Toca Boca apps so much that even my students have made comments on it! I’m a huge fan due to the design, the beautiful and vibrant colors, and the fact that they facilitate all types of play. If you are a traveling SLP, you only have so much room in your therapy bag and apps can certanility help in filling in any gaps! Toca Mystery House is a free play game with fun characters with a dark vibe. Your students will enjoy making potions, feed the different creatures, and explore the dark and mysterious house. Toca Boca apps are useful for targeting pronouns, sequencing, simplex and complex directions, phrase and sentence formulation, and a slew of other language and articulation goals!
What are your favorite Halloween therapy ideas? Comment below to share with our community! And if you’re looking for even more Story Sidekicks or literacy based lesson ideas, be sure to check out all of my blog post with my best book recommendations HERE.
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