“Brain Cells” is a game that my aunt, Jeanne Jurgensen, developed and generously gifted to me. Kids can bounce or throw koosh or ping-pong balls into the box, which is divided into “cells.” The word inside the box is the word we then work on by talking about its meaning, making a sentence with it, or pronouncing it. I modified the game by making a non-reader friendly version with emojis that have /r/ in word-initial, word-medial, and word-final level.
This game has been great for social distancing! I give the child the balls and place the box on the floor near me. The kids love bouncing their balls across the 3 feet of distance between us and trying to get them into the box.
I wish I had any tips for making the box yourself, but here’s a FREE copy of the grid I print to put inside it – complete with emojis for /r/ and 4th and 5th grade vocabulary words.
Here are some more ideas for addressing articulation in play-based activities.