Welcome to The 12 Tasks for Christmas Therapy Guide from teachmetotalk.com and
myei2.com!
These activities are designed to teach you 12 simple cognitive activities to build attention,
participation, and task completion through early structured teaching opportunities.
This information is appropriate for use by committed parents, therapists, and other
professionals who work with toddlers with language delays and other developmental
concerns.
Each task contains a list of easily obtainable materials, set up directions, and detailed
strategies for making these activities productive learning opportunities for both the child
and you! Troubleshooting tips are also included in case a child is having difficulty
completing the task.
The primary goal and several secondary goals are listed for each of the 12 tasks. (Please
keep in mind that the requirements for goal writing vary widely from program to program.
Use the suggestions Ive included as your starting point for writing goals according to your
own agencys guidelines.)
These activities are loosely organized by developmental level. The easier activities are at
the beginning of this guide and the complexity will increase with each new task.
Be sure to watch my video for discussion, demonstration, and practical application tips for
each activity.
Like several of my other projects, this 12 Tasks for Christmas Therapy Guide is written in
a homework format and may be copied and shared with families during sessions as long as
my name and website information remain on the page.
Heres wishing you super FUN therapy sessions during the holidays and most of all, a very
Merry Christmas with those that you love!
CHARM DROP
Materials: Buy two sets of wine glass charms. In the video holiday designs were shown. Find an object with two
rods suitable for sliding the charms on such as a paper towel holder or empty DVD spindle. Or make your own
with a wooden base and two dowels. For an everyday version of this task, buy non-holiday wine charms or use
any round object with the appropriate sized hole to fit over the rod. Childrens plastic rings may also work. A
separate container can be used for holding the remaining charms for sorting.
Set Up: If youre making your own charm drop, drill a hole in the wood bases and glue each dowels into the
base. If youre not handy with tools and cant talk someone into doing it for you, use something like modeling
clay to make a base. Play-doh may work, but the child may be able to knock the dowel over. Place the remaining
charms in the separate container.
Primary Goal: The child will correctly match objects from a choice of 2 to build attention and task completion.
Secondary Goals: If youre working with a child during this activity, youll also target joint attention since youll
want him to include you. A child is also building fine motor, motor planning, and visual perceptual skills.
Instructions: Place the base on the table or the floor. Set out the container of charms. Rather than telling the
child what to do, select one charm and place it in on one of dowels. Select the other type of charm and slide it
over the other dowel. As you select and slide the charm on the dowel, say something simple to narrate your
actions such as, Wow! Its a snowman! Wheres it go? Snowman goes here! Snowman! Continue to provide a few
models if you think the child needs to see more before hes ready to try.
Give the child a charm and say, Its a snowman! Where does the snowman go? Provide cues like pointing if the
child seems unsure of what to do. Next give the child another charm to match. After a while, point to the
container with charms and say, Your turn! Get one! This helps a child become more independent with the task.
If the child doesnt put the charm on the correct spot after you cue him several times, help him complete the
task. Some children with motor delays will need physical assistance in the beginning.
Praise the child when he places the item on the correct dowel. Quickly offer or point to the container with the
remaining charms as a reminder to finish the task.
If a child makes a mistake, say something like, Wait! Snowman goes here! If a child likes exclamatory
phrases, say something playful such as, Oh no! Try to avoid saying overtly negative things like NO! Thats
wrong! This may drive the child away from you.
In the beginning, a child may only be able to match a few charms before he wants to move on to a new activity.
Gradually increase the number of items you provide to match.
Troubleshooting Tips: If a child makes mistakes, try an easier matching task. If a child becomes fascinated
with taking charms off rather than putting them on, then set up the task so that hes removing the charm and
placing the charm in a container. Set up two containers so that hes still matching, but youve modified to task
to fit his interest.
Moving Toward Independent Play: Once a child has mastered this task, make him more independent by setting
up the task and letting him play by himself.
MATCHING CHECKERS
Materials: Use a set of checkers and a checkerboard for this task. In the video red and green Christmas
checkers were shown. A container for holding the checkers will be helpful. Some children may prefer that you
add Velcro dots on the checkers and on the checkerboard square to make the checkers stick to the board.
Color the Velcro dots you place on the board in order to match the checkers.
Set Up: Most children will not be able to place the entire set of 32 checkers on the board initially, so you may
need to make a smaller board with appropriately colored squares for matching. You may be able to cut the
checkerboard from your set to a smaller size. Place the remaining checkers in the separate container.
Primary Goal: The child will correctly match by color when given a choice of 2 colors to build attention and task
completion.
Secondary Goals: If youre working with a child during this activity, youll also target joint attention since youll
want him to include you. A child is also building fine motor, motor planning, and visual perceptual skills.
Instructions: Place the board on the table or the floor. Set the container holding the checkers beside the
board. Rather than telling the child what to do, select a checker and place it on a square of the same color on
the checker board. As you match the checker to a same colored square, say something simple to narrate your
actions such as, Look! A red one! Where does it go? Right here! On red! Continue to provide a few models if
you think the child needs to see this before hes ready to try.
Give the child a checker and say, Its green! Where does green go? Provide cues like pointing if the child
seems unsure of what to do. Next give the child another checker or point to the container with checkers and
say, Get a checker! or More! If the child doesnt put the checker on the correct spot after you cue him
several times, help him complete the task. Some children with motor delays will need physical assistance in the
beginning.
Praise the child when he places the checker in the right spot. Quickly point to container so that he selects a
new checker. If he doesnt, provide assistance to help him pick up the next checker.
If a child makes a mistake, say something like, Wait! Red goes here! If a child likes exclamatory phrases, say
something playful such as, Oh no! Try to avoid saying overtly negative things like NO! Thats wrong! This
may drive the child away from you.
In the beginning, a child may only be able to match a few checkers before he wants to move on to a new
activity. Gradually increase the number of checkers you provide to match.
Its usually not a good idea to require that the child answer What color is this? We can lose a childs
attention because he may not be developmentally ready for naming colors correctly just yet.
Troubleshooting Tips: If a child is habitually matching incorrectly, try an easier color sorting task. If a child is
upset that the checkers move around on the board, add a Velcro dot to each checker and the squares on the
board for helping the checkers stay put once the child has matched.
Moving Toward Independent Play: Once a child has mastered this task, make him more independent by setting
up the task and letting him play by himself.
NESTING CUPS
Materials: Buy three sets of plastic cups. In the video I used holiday designs, but you can use this activity
throughout the year with other cups. This is also a great early color matching activity if youre using solid color
Solo cups.
Set Up: Set out one cup of each design on the table or floor as the child watches.
Primary Goal: The child will correctly match and nest object to build attention and task completion.
Secondary Goals: If youre working with a child during this activity, youll also target joint attention since youll
want him to include you. A child is also working on fine motor, motor planning, and visual perceptual skills.
Instructions: Set out one cup of each design. Rather than telling the child what to do, select a cup and place it
inside the matching cup. As you select and match the cup, point to the design on the cup and say something
simple to narrate your actions such as, Look! Its a Christmas tree cup! Wheres it go? Here! Christmas tree
cup goes here! Continue to provide a few models if you think the child needs to see this before hes ready to
try.
Give the child a cup and say, Its a snowman! Where does the snowman go? Provide cues like pointing if the
child seems unsure of what to do. Next give the child another cup and say, Your turn! Get one!
If the child doesnt put the cup in the correct stack after you cue him several times, help him complete the
task. Some children with motor delays will need physical assistance in the beginning.
Praise the child when he places the cup in the correct stack.
If a child makes a mistake, say something like, Wait! Snowman goes here! If a child responds to humor, say
something playful such as, Oh no! Try to avoid saying overtly negative things like NO! Thats wrong! This
may drive the child away from you.
In the beginning, a child may only be able to match a few cups before he wants to move on to a new activity.
Gradually increase the number of cups you provide to match.
Troubleshooting Tips: If a child habitually matches the cups incorrectly, try an easier matching task. If a child
loses interest, turn the cups upside down and build a tower. Knocking the tower down together may end up
much more social than anything youve tried, and its a fun variation of this game.
Moving Toward Independent Play: Once a child has mastered this task, make him more independent by setting
up the cups and letting him next or stack on his own.
tasksgalore.com
creeksidelearning.com
sharonscreativecorner.com
teacch.com
montessori.org
teachmetotalk.coms Pinterest pages
The following book is a very helpful guide for teaching visual learning tasks: