1.

Play "Rock, Paper, Scissors"

2. Arm wrestle
3. Thumb wrestle
4. Push palms together to see who can push the hardest
5. Stack hands one atop the other, pulling out the hand at the bottom and bringing it
up top
6. Stack fists, using same rules as above
7. Stack arms, similarly
8. Play with your child's hair
9. Let your child play with your hair
10. Draw a letter on your child's back with a finger and see if he or she can guess
11. Draw a letter instead on your child's arm
12. Have your child draw a letter on your arm or back, and you do the guessing
13. Take off your shoe and have your child practice shoe-tying
14. Take off your child's shoe and find a different way to lace it
15. Take off your child's shoes and sock and use the socks as puppets
16. Use your wristwatch to give a lesson in telling time
17. Use your wristwatch to time things going on around you
18. Let your child try on your wristwatch
19. Let your child try on your jewelry
20. Count by twos, threes, fives, tens
21. Count backward from 100
22. Pick a number between one and 10
23. Teach the 9 times table trick

(The 9 Times Quickie

1. Hold your hands in front of you with your fingers spread out.
2. For 9 X 3 bend your third finger down. (9 X 4 would be the fourth finger etc.)
3. You have 2 fingers in front of the bent finger and 7 after the bent finger
4. Thus the answer must be 27
5. This technique works for the 9 times tables up to 10.

The 4 Times Quickie

1. If you know how to double a number, this one is easy.

2. Simply, double a number and then double it again!

The 11 Times Rule #1

1. Take any number to 10 and multiply it by 11.

2. Multiply 11 by 3 to get 33, multiply 11 by 4 to get 44. Each number to 10 is
just duplicated.

The 11 Times Rule #2

1. Use this strategy for two digit numbers only.

 2. Multiply 11 by 18. Jot down 1 and 8 with a space between it. 1 --8.
3. Add the 8 and the 1 and put that number in the middle: 198

Deck 'Em!

1. Use a deck of playing cards for a game of Multiplication War.

2. Initially, children may need the grid (below) to become quick at the answers.
3. Flip over the cards as though you are playing Snap.
4. The first one to say the fact based on the cards turned over (a four and a five
= Say "20") gets the cards.
5. The person to get all of the cards wins!
6. Children learn their facts much more quickly when playing this game on a
regular basis. Seeing the Patterns
7. Use a multiplication grid or let your students/children create one.
8. Look carefully at all of the patterns, especially when the numbers correspond
with the facts e.g., 7X8 and 8X7 = 56 L
9. et students/children practice the 'fast adding' which is what multiplication is.
10. When students can count by 3s, 4s, 5s 6s, etc. they will automatically know
their multiplication tables.)
11.

24. Give a math equation for your child to figure mentally

25. Give a string of math equations and ask for the answer at the end
26. Make up math story problems
27. Say words to spell
28. Say words to rhyme with
29. Play "I Spy"

(#2: I Spy

You know, it's the one where you:

Spot something in plain sight and reveal one detail, making the other player
guess what it is.

Like this:

"I spy, with my little eye, something that begins with J."

Sneakily strengthens:

• Receptive language
• Expressive language
• Deductive reasoning

Five ways to tweak it:

 1. To focus on receptive language (listening skills), have your child be
the "spyer" more frequently than the guesser.

2. To focus on expressive language (oral skills), have your child be the

"guesser" more frequently than the "spyer."

3. To focus on categories, choose items only by color -- "I spy something

that's blue" -- or shape -- "I spy something that's square" -- or function -- "I
spy something you use to write."

4. To focus on phonics, describe items by the sound they start with: "I spy
something that starts with the 'f' sound.

5. To focus on vocabulary, use items from your child's reading list in your
"spied" things and guesses.

#1: "I Went to ..."

#3: Twenty Questions
#4: Tongue Twisters
#5: Silly Songs)

30. Try some tongue twisters

#4: Tongue Twisters

You know, it's the one where you:

Say super strenuous sentences stuffed with silly speech sounds.

Like this:

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Sneakily strengthens:

• Articulation
• Speech speed
• Sense of humor

Five ways to tweak it:

1. To target articulation, select tongue twisters featuring phonemes that are

particularly difficult for your child; ask his or her speech therapist for
suggestions, or check the IEP.
 2. To bolster confidence, select tongue twisters featuring phonemes your
child is particularly good at ... or you're particularly bad at.

3. To make a game of it, print out a bunch of tongue twisters, cut them into
individual strips, put the strips in a basket, have each player draw one,
and award points based on how few repetitions are needed to master it.

4. To work on speed, add a stopwatch to the game and make the player
who can recite the twister correctly in the shortest time the winner of each
round.

5. To motivate your child, use tongue twisters as "Get Out of Time-Out

Free" cards; if your child can recite one correctly, he's sprung.

31. Play "I Went to ..."

#1: "I Went to ..."

You know, it's the one where you:

Recite a long list of items and then add one, alphabetically, for the next player to
remember.

Like this:

"I went to the zoo and I saw an anteater, a bear, a crocodile, a deer, an elephant
and ... a ferret!"

Sneakily strengthens:

• Vocabulary
• Phonics
• Memory

Five ways to tweak it:

1. To focus on vocabulary, do the reciting yourself and just have your child
add a word each time.
 2. To focus on memory, have the child recite the long string of items while
you provide the next selection.

3. To focus on phonics, have the destination and every one of the items
endlessly added all start with the same sound: "I went to Kansas and I
brought candy, Christmas cards, kittens, catalogs ..."

4. To focus on articulation, pick a sound to target and then make the

destination and every one of the items endlessly added all start with that
sound: "I went to the supermarket, and I bought soda, celery, sandwiches,
steak, strawberries ..."

5. To focus on alphabet, change the destination each round and come up

with a place and three items that start with the same letter; next player has
to come up with the same for the next letter: "I went to Alaska and brought
an ax, an atlas and an anteater." "I went to Boston and I brought books,
bottles and band-aids." "I went to Cancun and I brought carrots, cupcakes
and cola."

32. Sing some silly songs (softly)

#5: Silly Songs

You know, it's the one where you:

Sing the same lyrics over and over and over, with minor variations and changes
in volume.

Like this:

"B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O! And Bingo was its name-O!"

Sneakily strengthens:

• Memory
• Volume
• Phonics

Five ways to tweak it:

1. To focus on alphabet awarness, set other five-letter words to the tune of

the "BINGO" song.
 2. To focus on speech volume, use songs like the camp classic "I'm a Little
Striped Skunk" that get louder with every verse, or lead your kids in
singing their own silly favorite with loud and quiet verses.

3. To focus on memorization, try songs like "Do Your Ears Hang Low?" that
have long strings of words and actions.

4. To focus on categorization, sing songs like "Old MacDonald" or "The

Wheels on the Bus" that focus on many things that happen in one place,
then adapt those melodies and word-patterns to other places and groups
of things.

5. To focus on number concepts, subject yourself to "99 Bottles of Beer on

the Wall" -- or "22 Bottles of Juice in the Fridge," or "10 Bottles of Paint on
the Shelf," or whatever other silly combination your kids can think up and
count to.

33. Do songs with hand motions, with and without the words
34. Play "20 Questions"

#3: Twenty Questions

You know, it's the one where you:

Pick a person, place, or thing and give the other player 20 yes-or-no tries at
guessing what it is.

Like this:

"I'm thinking of something." "Is it a person?" "No." "Is it a place?" "Yes."

Sneakily strengthens:

• Receptive language
• Expressive language
• Deductive reasoning

Five ways to tweak it:

1. To focus on observation, limit the person, place, or thing to something in

plain sight.
2. To focus on deduction, use a chalkboard or write-erase board to jot
down all the "clues" as they come, so your child can remember and use
them to figure out the answer.

3. To focus on conversational skills, have your child answer the "yes" or

"no" questions in a complete sentence: "No, it isn't a book."

4. To focus on expressive language, allow questions that are not "yes" or

"no" and have your child answer in complete sentences: "What color is the
thing?" "The thing I am thinking of is red."

5. To focus attention, have all persons, places and things chosen pertain to
a subject your child is intensely interested in; for example, if your child
loves cars, you could make him guess makes and models of cars, people
who work with cars, places you take a car, or other car-related terms, and
have him think of the same for you: "I'm thinking of something that has to
do with cars."

35. Look for things out the window

36. Play paddycake
37. Teach your child some clapping games
38. Have your child teach you some clapping games
39. Whisper secrets, silly and serious
40. Say "Tell you tell me three things you did today"
41. Tell a story, taking turns one sentence at a time
42. Write a poem, taking turns one sentence at a time
43. Hide something (even just your thumb) in one fist -- guess which hand?
44. Count your change
45. Count your currency
46. Make a stack or a snake with loose change
47. Fold or roll up currency
48. Make a pattern, train, or house out of credit cards.
49. Show your child the pictures in your wallet (yes, even your driver's license)
50. Try to remember one of your child's favorite storybooks; let your child correct
your mistakes.
51. See how your child looks in your glasses
52. Give an invisible manicure
53. Give an invisible pedicure
54. Get an invisible manicure or pedicure
55. Have your child name all his or her classmates
56. See how many people your child can name in your extended family
57. See how many birthdates of friends and family your child can recall
 58. Name a relative's birth year and have your child figure out how old; invent
relatives if necessary
59. Guess what the people around you do for a living
60. Make a Christmas or birthday wish list
61. Count how many words you can spot -- on signs, posters, clothes
62. Make faces
63. Play Straight Face

SIMPLE WORD GAMES

The Sound Game Look out the window of the car, (or use a picture book on an airplane.)
Have your child name items he sees, and then figure out what the first sound is.

The Alliteration Game This one can be funny. Find alliteration words for their name, or
a friend's name. Make them as funny as possible. Or use names of animals. For example,
"loud little Louie" or "silly Sammy Snodgrass" or "leaping Larry lizard." When your
child gets the hang of it, they will take off on their own.

Straight Face This one can be veryfunny. One child is "it" and the others pick a phrase
for him. Try "the cat's tail." The others ask him questions, and he must answer with "the
cat's tail." Other children ask him questions like,

• What do you brush your teeth with?

• What is your favorite breakfast food?
• What would you write with?
• What do you comb your hair with?

When he laughs, it is someone else's turn to be "it." And you pick another phrase.
Some phrases

• My monkey's moustache
• Six smelly sneakers
• The cat's tail
• Humpty Dumpty's hat

64. Try to make each other laugh -- last one wins

65. Have a staring contest
66. Have your child narrate a favorite movie
67. Interview your child for a TV news show
68. Speak Pig Latin
69. Play "Truth or Dare"
70. Make up your own secret code
 71. Think of rhyming words for items around you
72. Take turns naming words for a letter of the alphabet; last one to think of a word
wins, and you move to the next letter
73. Same as above, but with rhymes
74. Same as above, but with entries in categories
75. Explain the meaning of various figures of speech
76. Make up silly similes
77. Make a puppet face with your fist, with your thumb as the lower jaw
78. Flip a coin
79. Do "This little piggy" on feet or hands
80. Give a backrub
81. Get a backrub
82. Crawl fingers up your child's back or arm like a spider
83. Make up an acronym for your child's name, and the names of other family
members
84. Ask for favorites: TV show, movie, book, color, game, animal, friend
85. Play peek-a-boo
86. Give your child the name of an object and ask what color it is, what letter it starts
with, what shape it is, if it's heavy or light
87. Go on a "hike" with your two fingers walking over your child's arms, shoulders
and head
88. Break an egg over your child's head by rapping it gently with your fist and then
opening your hand to make the egg roll down the face
89. Do charades
90. Be mirror images
91. Play "Simon Says" on a smale scale.
92. Throw an imaginary ball
93. Blow imaginary bubbles
94. Blow a raspberry on your child's arm
95. "Steal" your child's nose
96. Be a little goldfish

Goldfish Fingerplay
Learn this fun rhyme submitted by Bear.

My darling little goldfish

(Wiggle one finger)

Hasn't any toes

(Point in your toes)

He swims around without a sound

(Pretend one finger is swimming)

And bumps his hungry nose

(Point to nose)
 He can't get out to play with me
(Point to yourself)

Nor I get in to him

(Point to children)

Although I say, "Come out and play."

(Motion finger to come out)

He says. "Come in and Swim."

(Pretend you are swimming)

97. Do "Here is the church, here is the steeple," or make your own version for another
building

C! given by: Junkill

A finger rhyme for young children. Widspread throughout the English-speaking world.

Fold hands together so that fingers are hidden inside, with thumbs pressed together and
pointing straight up.
Here is the church,

Raise index fingers and put tips together to form a tall triangle.
Here is the steeple!

Separate thumbs.
Open the doors,

Turn figure 'inside out', to reveal ten fingers interlaced and wriggling.
And there's all the people!

Variation:

Begin with fingers on the outside of clasped hands instead of the inside. Repeat first three
steps and verses. For final verse, turn figure inside out to reveal an 'empty church'. Act very
surprised, and say:
But where's all the people?
Oh, wait.
It's Saturday!
 98. Try guided relaxation

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Guided Relaxation for Children with Special Needs

From Terri Mauro,
Your Guide to Parenting Special Needs.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

by Patti Teel

Continued from previous page

Heavy and Relaxed

Excerpt from The Floppy Sleep Game Book

Directions:

• Lie down on your back. Wiggle or move your body to make it

comfortable. Now be still and close your eyes. Allow your feet to fall
slightly apart and turn your palms upward.

• Feel your right hand. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your thumb, first
finger, second finger, third finger, fourth finger, the palm and the back of
your hand. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, relax your whole
right hand.
(With younger children add, Good-night hand.)

• Feel your right arm. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your wrist, lower arm,
elbow, upper arm and shoulder. Take a deep breath in and as your
breathe out, relax your whole right arm.
(With younger children add, Good-night arm.)

• Feel your left hand. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your thumb, first finger,
second finger, third finger, fourth finger, the palm and the back of your
hand. Take a deep breath in and as your breathe out, relax your whole left
hand.
(With younger children add, Good-night hand.)

• Feel your left arm. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your wrist, lower arm,
elbow, upper arm and shoulder. Take a deep breath in and as your
 breathe out, relax your whole left arm.
(With younger children add, Good-night arm.)

• Feel your right foot. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax the big toe, second toe,
third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe, bottom of your foot, top of the foot and
heel. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, relax your whole right
foot.
(With younger children add, Good-night foot.)

• Feel your right leg. It is heavy and relaxed.

(With younger children add, Good-night leg.)

• Feel your left foot. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax the big toe, second toe,
third toe, fourth toe, fifth toe, bottom of your foot, top of the foot and
heel. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, relax your whole left
foot.
(With younger children add, Good-night foot.)

• Feel your left leg. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your ankle, calf, shin,
knee, thigh, and hip. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, relax
your whole left leg.
(With younger children add, Good-night leg.)

• Take another breath in and as you breathe out, relax your right buttock
and your left buttock. Feel your lower back. It is heavy and relaxed. Take a
deep breath in and as your breathe out, relax your whole lower back.
(With younger children add, Good-night back.)

• Feel your shoulders. They are heavy and relaxed. Take a deep breath in
and as you breathe out, relax your shoulders.
(With younger children add, Good-night shoulders.)

• Feel your neck. It is heavy and relaxed. Take a deep breath in and as you
breathe out, relax your neck.
(With younger children add, Good-night neck.)[

• Feel your head. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax the back of your head, the
top of your head, your forehead, right eyebrow, left eyebrow, right eye, left
eye, right ear, left ear, right cheek, left cheek, right nostril, left nostril,
upper lip, lower lip, and chin. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe
out, relax your whole head.
(With younger children add, Good-night head.)

• Feel the front of your body. It is heavy and relaxed. Relax your throat, right
collar bone, left collar bone, right side of chest, left side of chest, the belly,
the right groin, left groin. Breathe in and as your breathe out, relax the
 front of your whole body.
(With younger children add, Good-night body.)

• Feel your arms and legs. I feel my arms and legs and they are heavy and
relaxed. Relax your whole right leg, your whole left leg, your whole right
arm, your whole left arm. Breathe in and as you breathe out, relax your
arms and legs completely.

99. Practice breathing techniques

Elevator Breathing

Begin by having your children observe the natural inhalation and exhalation of their
breath without changing anything, then proceed with the directions.

Directions:
Your breath is an elevator taking a ride through your body.
Breathe in through your nose and start the elevator ride.
Breathe out and feel your breath go all the way to the basement, down to your toes.
Breathe in and take your elevator breath up to your belly.
Hold it. Now, breathe out all your air. (Pause)
This time, breathe in and take your elevator breath up to your chest.
Hold it. Now breathe out all your air. (Pause)
Now breathe in and take your elevator breath up to the top floor, up through your throat
and into your face and forehead.
Feel your head fill with breath. Hold it.
Now breathe out and feel your elevator breath take all your troubles and worries down
through your chest, your belly, your legs, and out through the elevator doors in your feet.
(Repeat)

Day time Follow up: Blow up a real balloon. Show children how it fills up, from the
bottom, the middle and finally the top. Let out some air. Watch the balloon deflate from
the top, the middle, and the bottom. Explain that they can inflate and deflate the air of
their imaginary balloon (in their bellies and chest) in the same way.

100.Repeat what the other person says; repeat what the other person says.
101.See who can go the longest without talking.