Marble Run: Using Classic Toys to Target Speech and Language Goals
As a clinician working with children of all ages, I am always on the lookout for new fun games to use in therapy. Parents frequently ask me how they can use my toys with their children outside of therapy, and how they can use the toys they already own to target our current goals. I also often get asked to recommend gifts for birthdays and other special occasion, which has led me to write a blog about my go-to therapy toys and how they can be used at home to encourage speech and language development.
My Marble Run set led me to a recent breakthrough with a client of mine, and it immediately became one of my favourites due to its versatility. Initially, I found the box to be too large and awkward, with a word in its name that many youngsters can’t even pronounce. So I got rid of the cumbersome cardboard packaging and put all of the pieces in a big clear storage box with the marbles in a zip-lock bag, making the pieces much easier to control (and more motivating because they were not in direct reach). I then created and laminated a visual picture menu of all of the pieces, along with simple requesting words to use as carrier phrases. I attached a copy of this board below for you to use! I began by giving the child two base pieces to start, while explaining that additional pieces must be won! This little kiddo, with whom I routinely struggle to find motivating yet educational activities, stayed engaged for the entire length of the session and didn’t even want to leave once the timer sounded indicating the end of our session 🙂
Here are some speech and language skills that I have targeted with my Marble Run set, and tips on how to implement them. I’m sure there are way more!
Early language development: Try modelling simple commenting or requesting words for toddlers just learning to speak and imitate. I target words such as ‘go’ (prompted with ‘ready set…’), ‘my turn’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘stop’, ‘push’, ‘help’, ‘me’, ‘give’, ‘fall’ and sound effects such as ‘boom’.
Concept development: You can practice labelling colours and sizes, identifying shapes, counting marbles, and using first vs. last (‘first the red marble and then the blue one’). You can target quantity vocabulary by requesting ‘all the marbles’, ‘some of the marbles’, or ‘the rest of the marbles’. You can also discuss similarities and differences between the pieces (‘this piece is long, this one is short’).
Requesting: By having the box of pieces and the bag of marbles out of reach from the child, they will be really motivated to use their words to request for it. Depending on their developmental stage, and level of promoting required, you can provide two choices, or use the board as additional visual support to supplement the verbal request.
Prepositions: There are truly endless ways to work on prepositions (in, on, under, etc) using the marbles and the connecting pieces. If you’re working on them receptively, you can ask your child to place the marble on/under/in the green ramp. If you’re working on them expressively, you can place a marble on the ramp and ask the child where it is (‘in/on/under the ramp’).
Following directions: You can provide basic or complex instructions for various levels (‘put the red marble in, then the green marble in, and then the yellow marble in’). You can also have your child be the one to give directions to other players. The pieces have various shapes and colours, allowing your child to add descriptors and qualifiers to their directions.
Articulation: If your child’s target sound is ‘s’, work on the word ‘slide’ or ‘fast’ while sliding the marbles down. If it’s ‘th’, work on having your child request pieces by asking for ‘this one’ or ‘that one’.
Sequencing: You can have your child use verbal expression to describe the process of building the Marble Run (‘first…..then….last’)
I’m sure there are many more ways to use a marble Run as a speech therapy tool or at home to target your goals. If you can think of any, I would love to hear from you 🙂
Please feel free to print, laminate and use my Marble Run board attached below, enjoy!
Sinéad O’Neill B.Sc. (Hons) Communication Disorders Assistant
