In Santa’s Hat

I try to avoid artic cards with little ones and substitute toys or objects whenever possible.  Not only are they more engaging, but they lend themselves to spontaneous play and conversation which allows us to work on carryover right from the beginning.

What make the little toys extra exciting though is the way they’re concealed, and this time of year one of my favorite concealing objects is a Santa hat.

A Santa sack would certainly be more appropriate, but the hat is easier to come by and a better size.  Plus, the kids love the idea that Santa could even be hiding toys under his hat!

Before the child arrives, I fill the hat with an assortment of target appropriate toys.  This week it’s been medial /l/.  I have a telephone, a balloon, a dolphin, dollar, ruler, polar bear, Piglet, elephant, and more.  The child pulls the objects out one by one and after a couple trials, we will start to sort the objects into two piles, “Yes, I would want this for Christmas” or “No, I wouldn’t want that for Christmas.”  It’s fun to hear why they do or don’t want an object.  By the way, if Santa ever figured out a way to handle pet dolphin, I have a bunch of takers!

What do you use a Santa hat for in your therapy room?

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This Post Has 8 Comments

  1. Brenda

    Cute idea! I’m definitely doing this. THANKS!

  2. Nicole

    This is a very cute idea. I’ve done a similiar activity with a stocking. For the younger kids with language deficits, I’ve used winter related vocabulary items with trinkets and ornaments from a dollar store.

    1. admin

      Great variation. Thank you! Kim

      1. Amy

        I used little gift boxes I found in the dollar store. The students had to request thebox that they would open based upon size and color and then talk about the item in the box

        1. admin

          I use those too! In fact you’ll be seeing a post on those within the next month! Kim

  3. Jeanette

    Wonderful idea! I can always count on creative activities from your blog (and from the reader comments.) Thank you for the inspiration!

  4. Katy Smith

    Thanks! What a great idea – I bought a Santa hat on my way home from work last night and plan to try it out in therapy today!

    1. admin

      You’ll have so much fun! Kim

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.